Key West Collies

New Pals at Angel Paws

2012-05-20T20:32:00.002-04:00

We are always meeting new pals at Angel Paws. We want to introduce you to Scout, Picasso and Stanley. They come visit us at Angel Paws some days. Scout is just a pup, so Sherman plays with him all the time. It is really fun to watch Sherman play with the little guy. Sherman is very careful when he plays with the smaller dogs.

Sherman & Scout Say Hi

Sherman Tells Scout a Secret

Picasso

Stanley

Happy Mutter's Day - 2012

2012-05-13T13:40:00.001-04:00

Happy Mutter's Day to all you Mutter's out there.

Since Grand-Maw crossed the bridge in January 2008, this day has been tough on Dog Dad. Essex says that he used to talk a lot Grand-Maw. When we went on our walk this morning, he talked about Grand-Maw. He looked up at the stars during our walk and wished he a Happy Mutter's Day.

Thank you Grand-Maw. You raised a good hooman.

Essex & Sherman

Terhune Stamp Petition

2012-05-06T17:36:00.000-04:00

The Terhune Sunnybank Memorial (TSM) is having a petition drive to convince the U.S. Post Office to create an Albert Payson Terhune stamp as part of their “American Authors” series. At the bottom of this post is a PNG file of the “Petition” in case you want to print a copy to sign in support of this noble effort.

Terhune in a Collie Conference

We found out about this because of our subscription to a newsletter called “The Lookout” published by TSM. Now the US Post Office likes to do things around the 50^th or 100^th anniversary. 2016 is the anniversary of the very first time a story about a Sunnybank Collie was published. The title “His Mate” was featured in Red Book Magazine in January 1916. This was the first appearance of Lad, the 80 pound collie that many of us came to love and wish was our dog. Terhune is famous for his novels about his beloved collies, among the titles are Lad: A dog, His Dog, Lochinvar Luck, The Heart of Dog and Gray Dawn to name a few. Terhune breed and showed outstanding collies as well. The Sunnybank blood line can be found in many rough collies in the United States. Terhune was born in 1872 and crossed the bridge in 1942. We imagine a swirling large pack of collies rejoicing as the come to meet their master crossing the bridge.

Terhune sitting with Lad, Bruce, and Wolf

1922 second printing cover

The Post Office likes proof that people are interested in a Terhune stamp. So TSM is trying to get at least a thousand signatures, but more would be even better. Please join them in showing the U.S. Post Office the power of the paw with your signatures. Below is a copy of the petition. It has the address of the Marilyn Horowitz, who is gathering the signature. Have your friends sign, TSM says some folks have posted a copy in their vets office for folks to sign. Even if yours is the only name on the petition TSM will be happy to receive it. As for us, we plan to see if our paw pals at Angel Paws Dog Park will add their name to ours on the petition.

Dog Speed,

Essex & Sherman

All is Well - 29 April

2012-04-29T22:19:00.000-04:00

All is well with us folks. Dad is better and went to work Friday. Sigh, we wish he would have stayed home. This weekend was supposed to be really wet. It rained, but it was not nearly as bad as it was supposed to.

Dad watched the football draft and yelled at the TV. Something about the they drafted who? They are never going to win, if they draft like this. Good thing we were around to calm him down.
Friday evenings sky was spectacular at Angel Paws. Below is the paw-to-graphic evidence.

Essex & Sherman

Dad is Sick

2012-04-25T15:05:00.001-04:00

We'll cyber-paw pals, Dad is feeling sick - sore throat, coughing, fevered eyes. That means the smells of orange juice, chicken-noodle soup, NyQuil and Dad in bed at our house. Essex is keeping a good watch on Dad.
We are doing well. The ticks came back and Dad decided he needed to switch our flea and tick medicine. He tried comfortis. Doc told him to make sure we eat and wait an hour. Essex made it an hour though her tummy felt queasy. Sherman lasted about 55 minutes and then everything he ate came to see how Dad's living room carpet was doing. Sherman sniffed it and said I can't eat this stuff.

On the other paw, while Dad is up we asked him to post some pictures from this weekend. The first is Sherman sleeping. Why he decided to sleep under his food & water bowls is unknown. Both Dad and I thought about scaring him, but decided cleaning up all the water would be no fun.

Sherman Picks an Unusual Spot to Sleep

Saturday morning, it rained pretty hard when we went for our morning walk. This picture is of two rain washed collies. We were happy when Dad got out the towels. That is our favorite portion of rainy day walks. Essex likes to get dried off, while Sherman tries to play tug of war with the towels.

Two Wet Collies Back From a Walk

These next pictures were taken on Sunday at Angel Paws. We had a good steady breeze going. Dad loved the sight of the wind blowing in our fur.

The Wind Plays with Sherman's Fur

What is Sherman Looking At/

Sherman Looks to the Left

Essex Looks for Anything Barkworthy is Coming.

Dog Speed,

Essex & Sherman

Titanic Hundred Year Anniversary

2012-04-15T07:25:00.008-04:00

Yesterday, we watched the movie "Titanic." Dog Dad was quiet last night. This morning he had that wistful long ago look in his eyes during our walk. When we got home, he brewed some Kona Coffee. When the coffee was ready, he cut up some cheese. Then he raised his cup and said " They gave their lives so others could live; may we always remember their sacrifice. To those brave men and dogs." He drank some coffee and gave us the cheese.

Essex relayed that Dad has been like that every 15 April she has lived with him. Every year he toasts to them and remembers. Dad told her that it started back in 1996, when he lived in Washington D.C. The Washington Post did an article about a group of men that got together every year to remember that anniversary. Here is a link to the Washington Post article, that caused Dad to remember this day and to visit the monument when he lived in D.C. Those of you that have followed us for awhile, will remember this link to our post about it in 2008.

Dog Dad remembers the Titanic's story. The Titanic hit an iceberg at 11:40 PM on 14 April, next the first passengers were guided to the life boats at 12:15 AM on 15 April. At 2:20 AM the Titanic finally began to sink. In the end 1517 people and six dogs die in the disaster. Many lessons were learned and the world made safer, but we should never forget the sacrifice they made that day one hundred years ago today.

Dog Speed,

Essex & Sherman

Sherman at Angels Paws

2012-04-12T21:27:00.001-04:00

Sherman at Angel Paws - 12 April 2012

Leo's Dad took this pawsome paw-to-graph this evening of me and I barked at Dad to post it today. Our entire pack was at Angel Paws. I was playing with Leo and pawsed a moment to catch my breath. Essex she was doing Fence Patrol and Dad was talking with the other humans.

Dog Dad is in a better mood today as he is finished doing taxes.

Essex told me I watch Dad closely Sunday morning. Something about an annual toast. She told me that Dad has done the toast every year since she has lived with him. I wonder what Dad is toasting? Will there be any cheese? Does any paw have an idea, as Essex loves torturing me and making me wait instead of telling me.

Dog Speed,

Sherman

Barky Easter - 2012

2012-04-08T20:23:00.001-04:00

We hope every paw had a barky Easter. Dad went out to eat at Tonks' and Kiana's house to eat. We could tell because he smelled like them. Dad baked a cake to bring. It is shaped like a lamb. He told us that when he was a little boy, grand-maw would make an Easter Lamb Cake. He uses raisins for the nose & eyes, and a cherry for the mouth. At the meal there were the huskies' pawrents, Brooke & Sidney's pawrents, and Enzoe's Mom & Dad. The humans had fun and talked, while we got to stay home.

The Lamb Cake

Looks Good

Dad has been in a grumpy mood, but Essex tells me that is usual when he does taxes. We are glad they don't have a dog tax and that Dog Dad finished his this weekend.

Essex is Vigilant at the Fence

Leo Catches his Breath

Sherman Lays Down by the Water Bowl

Sherman and Leo Share a Bowl of Water

Joel & Red headed north to Maryland about two weeks ago. Essex is still doing fence patrol. Sherman still plays and especially love hanging out with his pal Leo. Sherman comes home tired when he plays with Leo.

Dog Speed,

Essex & Sherman

The 2012 Interceptor Shortage

2012-03-25T21:54:00.005-04:00

We fully expect to see a shortage of our favorite heartworm medicine, Interceptor. We have surfed cyber-paw space and have come away a little bit confused. This all started during the summer of 2011. We have provided links to what we have sniffed out.

The plant that makes Interceptor is in Nebraska, the state our pal Reilly used to live in. That plant made Interceptor and Sentinel for dogs; and Excedrin, NoDoz and Gas-X for hoomans. Well the inspection didn't go very well according to the FDA report.

The company that made Interceptor then sent out some letters on 11 December talking of a pending disruption. We found this out in the March 2012, Minnesota Wisconsin Collie Rescue Newsletter. That letter also talks about possible alternatives. Later in December the plant stops production and distribution. A letter to vets was sent out in early January.

On 2 February a press release from the company states the canine medicine is good and distribution of made product will happen. Nothing in that release states production is to resume and we couldn't find anything official from the company saying that.

20 February, we get wind something isn't right as PetMeds doesn't have Interceptor, lucky for us another place has it.

18 March, Shiloh and Dakota ask us if what we use for heart worms as they were told the plant that made it is shut down. We start to explore cyber-paw space. Confused and our head hurting from trying to understand what we have read, we e-bark the Collie Health Foundation (CHF) on 19 March.

21 March, CHF responds to our email. We hope that CHF puts something on their home page about this because a lot of us are concerned. The word Ivermectin causes many a collie owner to worry.
We hope the Nebraska plant comes on line soon. There are a lot of worried collie folks in the states. Collie owners overseas need not worry, there are plants that make Interceptor out there. Us in the states just can't legally order it from overseas. If anyone finds out something different let us know.

Dog Speed,

Essex, Sherman and Dog Dad

St. Pup-tricks Day - 2012

2012-03-17T15:58:00.000-04:00

We have a tradition in our pack of wearing the St. Pup-tricks Day hat. If you look at previous posts you will see my Great Auntie Essex and late Uncle Deacon with this same hat on. St. Pup-tricks day has been lots of fun.

Sherman - 2012

I wonder how many dogs it took to make that river in Chicago green?

From our pack to yours -- Happy St. Pup-tricks Day

Sherman

Collies' Choice

2012-03-16T20:58:00.002-04:00

A dog moon ago, late February, we were awarded the “Collie’s Choice Award” by the Collies of the Meadow. We are truly honored and humbled to receive this award. We admit we liked this award when we first saw it. We liked the award more when we started reading some of their past posts. Their Dad like ours truly loves collies. We found the story of Niamh especially touching. We could tell Niamh was a pawsome collie.

The Collies of the Meadow’s Dog Dad and our Dog Dad have things in common. They both love Collies and baseball. While our Dad grew up rooting for the Red Birds and the Tribe, their Dad grew up loving the Red Birds and the Yankees. In football they both root for the Browns and the Packers. Both enjoy watching and reading history, especially WW II. Both the names of Sherman and our angel collie Deacon originate from the WW II time frame. While the Essex was built during WW II, the time frame her name really references is the Korean War.

Their Dad asked about our cookie cutter. We are sad to say the place we got them went out of business. We did manage to get ourselves a Collie (top), Labrador Retriever and Border Collie cookie cutters. Wish we had extras. However, if you search cyber-paw space you can find some collie and other dog shaped cookie cutters.

Dog Speed,

Essex & Sherman

Liebster Award

2012-03-13T20:48:00.007-04:00

At times Dad is slower than an Alaskan Glacier. This is one of those times. We received two awards many dog moons ago and we will address the "Liebster Blog" award today and the other later in the week.

The received the "Liebster" from our cyber-pal Petal several Dog Moons ago, like way back in December. Petal lives with Lassie, Ella and their wonderful Dog Mom, Marquie. They live in Utah and they are pawsome. Lassie was born in Oklahoma, which has a special place in Dog Dad’s heart. Dad lived in Oklahoma for about four years, while working in the oil patch. He has some exceptionally close friends that still live there. Dad thinks Marquie is quite insightful for one so young. If you get a chance stop by and say hello to them at "Two Collies and a Mutt."

The Liebster award works as follows:

Liebster means “dearest” in German, and the award is intended to help up-and-coming blogs get the attention they deserve. As with any award, there is a bit of ceremony involved. In order to accept the award, we must do the following:

Copy and paste the award on our blog.

Link back to the blogger who gave us the award.

Pick our five favorite blogs with less than 200 followers, and leave a comment on their blog to let them know they have received the award.

Hope that the five blogs chosen will keep spreading the love and pass it on to five more blogs.

It was a bit of challenge as a lot of blogs we follow have either over 200 followers or have no follower list. Here are the five blogs:

Shikota~ Double Trouble Collie Tales: This blog stars Sherman’s brudder Dakota and cousin Shiloh. They have their own boy, Master B. We are jealous because most every dog wants a boy and a family of humans. Besides boys and girls are more fun than adults.

Cowspot Dogs: This blog stars Reilly, Denny, Jackson and their hoomans. When we first met them, they lived in Nebraska. Now they live in OurKansas (Arkansas). Their Mum is originally from Oz and has a special way of writing. They used to have a sock monster, but we haven’t read about him in quite some time.

Collies and Life: Stars Duffy and his pawrents that live in the Great White North (Canada). It is more a hooman blog than a collie blog, but Dad loves reading their blog. It reminds him of a simpler, no frills time. You can find an occasional pearl of wisdom when reading Collies and Life.

Sheltie Times: Stars Bailey and Katie live up in New England. Bailey just turned nine on 10 March. They have a friendly feel to their blog. Given the BoSox blanket sightings, we believe their Dad is a big time BoSox fan.

Charlene and Storm: Stars Storm the Border Collie and his Dog Mom Charlene. They live across the pond in the United Kingdom. We just started reading them a couple months ago, and they have a lots of pictures. They even get to be around sheep (we are jealous, because we want to herd sheep).

Dad has lots of work to do, so the other very special award we received, will be addressed later this week.

Essex & Sherman.

PAW ESSS: The plant in our last post was pineapple.

Yawn - Daylight Savings Time

2012-03-11T10:05:00.002-04:00

Yawn, we have done the great leap forward and Dog Dad looks tired. Come sleep with us Dad, you have willing chums. We have been busy the last several weeks.

Sherman, decided to lick himself after Dad took off the cone. No infection but Sherman had a red belly. The result two more days of being a cone-head. He did beat the heck out of the e-collar. Dog Dad had to do emergency duct tape repair.

Another Use for Duct Tape

After two more days of the cone, I finally got rid of it for good. It was time to roam Angel Paws as a free dog. Every thinks grew more, but Dog Dad says it is an optical illusion. My shaved belly makes my legs look longer.

My Shaved Belly Makes My Legs Look Longer

Sherman & Essex

We even met a new friend. A Blue Merle Sheltie named Bandit. He was a visiting Key West from up north. He sure is a swell looking Sheltie, even if he is older than Essex.

Bandit the Sheltie

Bandit a Great Looking Blue Merle

There is a plant growing in our yard. We wonder if any of our readers can tell Sherman what type of plant is growing?

The Strange Plant

In our next post, we will have a couple of awards that we need to post about. We haven't forgot about them, we are just slow.

Dog Speed,

Essex & Sherman

Return to Angel Paws

2012-02-24T19:46:00.001-05:00

After a week of away from my beloved Angel Paws Dog Park, I have returned. I loved being back. I saw a lot of my friends, except for my best buddy Leo. Leo and I play really ruff and that worries both of our parents. So if we see him or a couple of other dogs I play ruff with or wrestle with, we will head home. Sigh.

Sorry, no pawtographs. Dog Dad forgot the camera.

Sherman

Mercury and Friendship

2012-02-20T15:55:00.002-05:00

Today we took a journey in the WABAC machine. We went back fifty years to 20 February 1962. It was a time of great adventure and promise. A time of "Friendship 7" and a man named John Glenn. Dad is only four years old and living in northern Ohio. He is sitting watching the black and white TV. At 9:47:39 a.m. EST the Atlas Rocket roared into outer space. The nation held its breath as an astronaut named John Glenn circles the earth three times. As the capsule reenters the atmosphere there is a problem. Walter Cronkite talks to the nation as events unfold. After 4 hours, 55 minutes and 30 seconds the capsule lands in the Atlantic Ocean just north of the Dominican Republic. John Glenn has become the first American to circle the Earth.

John Glenn Enters Friendship 7

Friendship 7 Lift Off

The risks were real. The pride of being an American was there as well. It was a time of great challenges. It was a time when heroes were not athletes, they were men that were called astronauts, men that wore cumbersome shiny suits.

Mercury Stamp

As we journey back to our own time, we can see a look in Dad's eyes. A reminder of a time when we tried to do things together. A simpler time of three TV stations and shiny heroes. A time we strove to do great things together.

Sherman's Cone Reminds Dad of Astronauts

Houston can you hear me

Essex & Sherman

Sherman Doing Well

2012-02-19T20:24:00.001-05:00

Dear Cyber-Paw Pals, I am doing well. Though I wish Dog Dad would take me to Angel Paws. He is telling me Friday. Dr. Waddell said 4-5 days, so Dog Dad makes it a week. Sigh.

The pictures were taken Friday, when I returned home. In the first picture you can see that I am out of it. Doc gave me some good drugs. You can see where they cut my handsome fur, so they could stick the IV in my leg. Sigh.

The last shot is of my shaved belly. I was lucky only one incision was necessary.

Back home, you can see my shaved front leg

The IV was attached here

Shaved belly

Tomorrow, I'll let Dad take a picture of me in my e-collar. We will be using the WABAC machine to go back in time. Do you know when in time we will be going? Dad promised that we'll have a blast.

Dog Speed,

Sherman

Good News From the Vet

2012-02-17T13:46:00.003-05:00

We got a call from our vet's office at 12:54 PM, Sherman had a successful operation. Only one incision had to be made to find his hidden dog-hood, not two. After Dog Dad put down the put down the phone, he shouted out the good news and startled me. Dad will go to pick up Sherman at 4 PM. For the next several days Sherman will be a "Cone Head."

Dad getting a bit worried. He had dropped Sherman off at 8:30 AM. I came along to give my Great Nephew moral support. We thought Sherman was the only surgery today, so Dad was starting to worry when the call hadn't come. Actually, there was another operation in front of Sherman. That he is okay, makes the Key West Collie pack , our friends at Angel Paws and cyber-paw pals all very happy.

We appreciated everypaws comments. Your support eased Dog Dad's mind. We will be sure to have pictures of Sherman in his "Cone-Head" costume.

Here are some pictures of Sherman playing with Tonks yesterday.

Dog Speed,

Essex

Sherman & Tonks at Play

Sherman and Tonks see something

Sherman this Morning

Sherman To Get Fixed

2012-02-15T21:48:00.000-05:00

Sherman talks to Dad

I am going to get fixed Friday. Dad had a talk with me about it, because he is a little worried. You see I have something called cryptorchidism. That means my testicles haven't dropped. Dad has been hoping they would descend, but no such luck.
Dad read up on it and dogs with crytorchidism that aren't fixed run a high risk getting cancer. Then again because this isn't normal, Dad worry. I licked his face and told him all will be okay. I am a brave collie boy. I will not like having to stay away from Angel Paws while I heal. It is my favorite place. Sigh, there will be no playing with Leo for awhile after tomorrow.

Dad always does what he thinks is best, even if it doesn't make him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. This is one of those times.  Think of me, tell Dad not to worry and that I'll be okay.

Dog Speed

Sherman

Red has a Hero Cousin

2012-02-12T20:24:00.000-05:00

Red's Dad, Joel, bred Labrador Retrievers for a long time. Every once in awhile he gets some good news. Recently he has been thumping his chest like a proud Dog Dad. A family in Kentucky sent him a e-mail. It turns out that Molly, their yellow Labrador Retriever was awarded the Kentucky pet hero of the year in February 2011. Molly, woke up her family and the escaped a house fire.
Here are a couple links if you want to find out more.
Newspaper Article about Molly
TV story about fire
TV story about award

Yes, we know this is a year later, but all of us just found out. We know Joel was proud that a dog he bred received such an outstanding award.

As for us, all is going well. During our walk this morning, Dad noticed that Sherman lifting his leg. It sure is silly that hoomans feel something like that is so important.

Essex & Sherman

Busy Days

2012-01-30T20:27:00.000-05:00

We are still alive and doing well. We have just been busy.
We miss having Dad's brudder around. We enjoyed having him visit us during the Essexmas Holiday Season. It meant more treat, more walks, more attention, did we say more treats. Sherman was looking for him after he left.

Sherman and Brudder Steve

Dad was busy weeding the yard and spraying for ticks. We are definitely finding less of them. Dad knows it will be an ongoing war against the evil ticks.

Ollie, Leo and Sherman tugging on a stick

Bodie

Sherman was attacked twice by a yellow Labrador Retriever named Major at the dog park. No serious injuries, just worried dog parents. The second time, Sherman was trying to stay away and hiding under the park bench. It might be because Sherman hasn't been fixed yet. Major has definitely taken a dislike to him though. Most of the other pups just love him. We just practice avoidance.

Sherman resting

Sherman has returned to puppy prison. He decided to not bother to hold his poop. Dad figured one time he ran lots late, but several times made him decide Sherman didn't care. So Sherman is now kennelled during the day. When Dad comes home, he lets us outside before we go to the park. If he sees Sherman go, both of us get a reward. Dad hopes this sinks into Sherman's head to hold on till Dad gets home.

Cheddar Collies in the Oven

Cheddar Collies & Peanut Butter Labs

We will try to post again soon.

Essex & Sherman

2011 Review

2012-01-01T14:02:00.000-05:00

We wish all our cyber-paw pals a barky New Year. We hope 2012, the Year of the Dragon is kind to every paw. For us 2011 was a difficult year, colored by the premature passing of Deacon. On the bright side Sherman was introduced to our pack. Good friends like Sasha, Max, Duke and Gino have left Key West. New friends like Tonks, Kiana, Raman and Gibbs are new regulars at Angel Paws now. Now for the Key West Collies 2011 recap.
= = = = = = = = = = =

18 January – Silly hooomans incident at Angel Paws

09 February– Our Collie Chum Hattie Crosses the Rainbow Bridge

Our Chum Hattie

22 February – Christchurch, New Zealand is struck by a 6.3 earthquake. We read about it in the Bark-a-lot Lodge Shelties blog which includes a pawsome video clip.

27 February – The Collie next door Kylie leaves to live with her Grand-Maw

04 March – Deacon gets tagged on the snout at Angel Paws over dog treats

09 March – Sasha, the Rat Terrorist. leaves Key West for North Florida

Sasha

11 March –

Japan

is struck by a 9.0 earthquake and struck by a tidal wave. Fukushima nuclear power plant is damaged. The confirmed death toll reaches 15,844 with 3,451 missing.

26 April - Gracie Lou joins our collie chum Cassie’s pack in Ohio.

Gracie Lou

22 May – Joplin, Missouri is devastated by a tornado.

27 May – Great sadness descends on our pack as Essex’s nephew Deacon crosses the bridge in a freak tragic accident at our home.

Deacon

05 June – Essex’s great nephew, Sherman is born.

13 June – Christchurch, New Zealand is struck by a 6.4 Earthquake.

24 June – Essex’s great nephew Shiloh signs our guest book. Sherman brother Dakota later goes to live with Shiloh

Shiloh

04 July – Sir Oliver e-barks us from Maine and we post about him four days later.

Sir Oliver

05 July– Dog Dad’s sisters dog Raffie Crosses the Rainbow Bridge.

Raffie

09 July – Shiloh starts his own blog.

18 July – Last Space Shuttle launch into outer space.

22 July – Great Uncle Bobby’s Mom visits Essex & Dog Dad

Great Uncle Bobby's Dog Mom & Essex

03 August – Lucy the Smooth Collie Crosses the Bridge

Lucy

06 August – Sherman comes to Key West to join our pack. One brudder Dakota joined Shiloh’s pack in central Florida, while his sable Brudder Duke went to live in North Carolina.

Essex, Sherman & Dog Dad

21 – 28 August – Hurricane Irene slams the east coast of the United States.

25 September – Sherman’sFirst visit to Angel Paws Dog Park.

04 October – Cousin Toby at Holmhaven Collies crosses the Rainbow Bridge

Toby

17-19 October – Heavy Rains hit Key West. Lots of street flooding occurs.

21 October – Claudette, the Dog Mom of the Hudson Furkids crosses the Rainbow Bridge due to cancer. She is greatly missed by many DWBers.

27 October – 17 November – Lady I and her Dog Mom visit us in Key West.

Lady I

29 October – Snow and Ice storm hit the east coast. Our pal Skye is without power for 4.5 days

05 December – Essex catches giardia, we get medicine from our Vet.

19 December – The beginning of the “Tick Wars.”

= = = = = = = =

We didn't realize so much happened in 2011 until we sat down and did this post. May the lord protect and watch over all of you.

Dog Speed,

Essex, Sherman and Dog Dad

Essex's Eight Year Barkaversary

2011-12-31T10:07:00.001-05:00

Me and Dog Dad are sitting looking at each other. Eight years ago Dog Dad got in his Ford Explorer and drove to the Fort Lauderdale area to bring me into his life. We are reminiscing me crawling up his arm as he left Holmhaven. I was scared to leave Holmhaven. I have to admit that I made a good choice in my Dog Dad. We have been through many things over those eight years.

We have seen many dogs and people come and leave Angel Paws Dog Park and Key West. I was there to comfort during several Rainbow Bridge crossings. Grand-Maw in 2008, Grand-Paw in 2010 and the crossing of my nephew Deacon in 2011. I helped him keep it together during the aftermath of Hurricane Wilma, which flooded most of Key West. We had happy visits to Ohio together and shared the immense joy of having Sherman come into our lives. Dad tells me I did an amazing job training Sherman the way of the Collie.

Essex's Holmhaven Puppy Picture - 2003

Checking Out the Neighbors Yard - January 2004

Hopefully, the three of us will have many more years together.

Dog Speed,

Essex

Essexmas 2011

2011-12-25T23:38:00.095-05:00

We hope all of you had a pawsome Essexmas. We received plenty of stuff and enjoyed ourselves. Dog Dad got a painting of Deacon on slate, that caused him to get a little misty eyed, he still misses his Collie Ambassador when he thinks about it. He does love Sherman too. So here are some pictures of our Essexmas presents for our pack.

Dog Speed,

Essex, Sherman & Dog Dad

A Blanket from Dog Dad

A Toy From Stevie-Grrr-Wonder

A Present from Dog Dad Sister Marge

A Sqeaky Toy, Pawsome

A Cookie Jar and Treats From Santy Paws

Collar, a leash and a Throw for our Couch

Presents from Marge & Becky

A Treat Jar

Rawhides from Bev in Virginia

A Pawtographed Copy of Joel Walton's Book

Essex Opens Marges Rawhide Treats

We Got Dad a Tote Bag for the Park

Brudder Steve's Present to Dad

Some Cards from our Cyber Pals

Essexmas Eve

2011-12-24T20:55:00.004-05:00

Sherman is so excited. Essexmas is almost here. Sherman can't wait to see Santy Paws. We have been extra good. Essex has trained her great nephew the way of the collie. We put up with silly red hats. Santy Paws, please be good to us.

Dog Speed and Merry Essexmas to all,

Essex & Sherman

Ticks

2011-12-19T22:19:00.001-05:00

Dad is not a happy camper right now. He found a tick on Essex and then found over twenty on Sherman. Dad is guessing Sherman is picking them up at the dog park. In the eight years Essex has been with Dad, if he picked off two from her or Deacon in year, that was a lot. He has went several months at a time without finding a single tick. This @#&*#) twenty, that is a lot and it going to make him extra vigilant. .

Now, we were due to get our medication on the 24th, but it will be a bit early this month. Essex will get hers tonight and Sherman will get his tomorrow. Dad needs to get him weighed at the vets office first. He doesn't want to put to much on Sherman because he is afraid he'll get sick.

As for the @#&*#) ticks. After removing them, Dad boils them in water. Kill the little @#&*#) is what Dog Dad says.

Essex & Sherman