Dogs on Thursday - Stella Reflected

Lena, a Hardworking Dog

Yay!  It is time for Dogs on Thursday!!!

Besides her incredible cuteness and hard core herding dog attitude, Leena is a hardworking dog. Every other day she is the "ride along" dog and gets to go to the ranch for the evening (yeah, mom spends dang near EVERY night up there with those two stupid horses, if me and Stella didn't "ride along" we'd never get to be with her.  We're talkin' doggie devotion here.)  

This is one of Lena's very favorite things to do (!?! Hmmm, thinking bones, fighting raccoons, chasing cats, jumping the fence,  jumping on people, and going to the beach . . . well, maybe its on the list of the top 10 things I like to do).   She LOVES to run circles around me while I find the horses in the 40 acre general pasture.  (True.  It smells like HEAVEN).  

Eating and rolling in digusting things completes her perfect night. 

(Hey!  Fifteen horses make a lot of delicious smelling piles.  I take my pasture patrol seriously.)

(Wait a minute - what is Red Horse doing here?????  This is a DOGS ONLY blog - Read the name "Going to the Dogs"!  No where does it mention a red horse.   OUT OF HERE DUDE! Mom has another blog for you.)

(Good, he's gone!)  

A hardworking dog is a happy dog.

Wordless Wednesday - Stella

Skywatch Friday #25

Welcome to Skywatch Friday #25

A leaf clings to its branch on New Year's Day.

Lena waits beside Max's burial site.

Dogs on Thursday (one day late)

I just discovered this dogcentric meme "Dogs on Thursday" and am so excited (yeah, us too) because I'm finding blog meme's an incredibly fun way to travel the globe and meet new folk.  And this one is about DOGS!!!!  (finally, something just for us!)  Ah, if you notice an echo in here it is not your imagination - Stella and Lena are getting pretty insistent on having their point of view be heard (you ain't seen nothing yet).

I'm signing up for Dogs on Thursday one day late and starting by honoring some of the dear ones who have graced my life over the last few decades.  I was thinking that my "pack" has shrunk to only two, but then noticed the size of my heart pack and felt great comfort.  Although you have already met some of the members, I am so honored to introduce you to the dogs who have shared, protected, loved, comforted, and laughed with me through my years as a single mom raising Jesse to this present time.

Sugar Bear

1975-1986

Oscar

1984-1998

Riley

1999-2005

Max

1999-2008

Lena

2004 (year she joined our pack, her birth date is unknown)

Stella

These wonderful dogs have enriched my life beyond words and been my partners in the day to day business of living.  I'm pleased to introduce them to you on my first Dogs on Thursday.

My Max

When I first saw him, he was chained in the backyard wearing a bandana around his neck - a four month old puppy who had been abandoned along a mountain road. His rescuer had named him Buck after the hunting trip that led to his discovery. There was no question, not an instant of hesitation, I knew he was my dog. He knew it too. "Buck" never paused as he trotted beside me out of that house and into the beginning of our too short nine years together. Hopping into the front seat of my old valiant, he wagged his tail, leaned into the seat and was ready to go. Whenever I asked, Max was always ready to go.

Max, you are forever in my heart,
yet how desperately
I miss you by my side.

My Beloved Steadfast Max is Gone

In His Sweet Memory 1999 - December 28 2008

JUST MY DOG

He is my other eyes that can see above
the clouds; my other ears that hear above
the winds. He is the part of me that can
reach out into the sea.

He has told me a thousand times over that
I am his reason for being: by the way he
rests against my leg; by the way he thumps
his tail at my smallest smile; by the way he
shows his hurt when I leave without taking him.
(I think it makes him sick with worry when he
is not along to care for me.)

When I am wrong, he is delighted to forgive.
When I am angry, he clowns to make me smile.
When I am happy, he is joy unbounded.
When I am a fool, he ignores it.
When I succeed, he brags.
Without him, I am only another woman. With him,
I am all-powerful.
He is loyalty itself.
He has taught me the meaning of devotion.
With him, I know a secret comfort and a
private peace. He has brought me understanding
where before I was ignorant.
His head on my knee can heal my human hurts.
His presence by my side is protection against
my fears of dark and unknown things.
He has promised to wait for me...
...wherever--in case I need him.
And I expect I will--as I always have.

He is just my dog. --- Gene Hill ---