Today, I almost ate a rock. It looked like all of all the other Christmas treats everyone else has been eating. It's torture to watch everyone eat such yummy smelling goodies. All's I get to eat is dogfood mush. I hope SantaPaws brings me something tasty.

Happiness is KIDS!

Check out my life.  I was so lucky this week; my family stayed home with me EVERYDAY, ALL DAY!!  We cuddled and stayed in our pajamas (they stayed in pajamas - I participated in my head).  I was maybe luckier than they were; they were all home sick.   They said something about some kind of pig flu.  Come to think of it, I was sick a couple of those days.  Maybe it was the dog flu, or sheep flu, or most likely it's from those pesky squirrels in our backyard. 

I TOTALLY love this.  I could lay like this all day.

THIS is heaven for a guy like me.

Man, am I tired. My family put me to work last weekend. I went to Running Mountain Ranch, where I was born, and with my sister Sage and my brother Maverick, I bossed some sheep around. What is wierd is that as I was trying to do my job, Tish would bang a scary rake on the ground. That was scary. I overheard them saying that I needed to have manners, and the better my manners, the closer I could go to the sheep. Maverick is my brother. He looks different because he periodically climbs into the stockwater tub. I don't think he likes baths, but he does like laying in water.

Beach fun

We went to Short Sands beach, although I'm not sure why it's called Short Sands. The sand went on, and on, and on forever. I got to run on, and on, and on forever. We went with one of my favorite dog friends. He is an Irish Red Setter and loves to run like me. His name is Brownie Bear and he's one of the nicest dogs I've ever met, plus he likes to run like me. I like him to run and then I try to herd him. He usually cooperates and runs the other way, so they I get to run some more and herd him back the other way. The humans all liked to watch us do it, so we kept doing it. Brownie Bear sure can run. I thought I liked to run, but he really can run fast and forever.

Laura said I was a really good dog (wag, wag) and I listened so well. I even listened when I was playing with some of my new dog friends. Of course after I listened, I was rewarded by letting me RUN and play with my new dog friends.


When my family went into the ocean, I got very nervous. I followed them as far as I could, and then I waited and watched them until they came back.

Here I was keeping my eye on the rest of the family.

Ball? Ball? Did you say ball?

These pictures were taken earlier this summer, when the grass was still green!

I love this picture because my frisbee and my ball are in it with me.

Aren't I hansome?

So, I realize it has been a long time since my last post. I hope you all haven't given up on me. We've been kind of busy around here. Laura takes me for long walks everyday and I also get to play with my kids in the backyard or at a really big field. Laura says I'm the most amazing dog they've ever had. (I could've told her that long ago!) Here's a story about crows that I heard her telling Mat (I'll tell it like Laura's talking and remember I was only 9 months old when this happened). Norman and I were walking by Reed College, which has a huge field, when Norman spotted a flock of crows. He really, really wanted to chase the crows. I had him sit and then unhooked his leash. He just sat there watching the crows and I asked him if he wanted to get the crows, he still sat and looked at me. He didn't go until I said, "go get'em." He ran over to the crows, banked around them and came right back to me and waited. I then asked him if he wanted to go again, but he didn't leave until I told him to go get'em. This time, he didn't automatically come back, but did so as soon as I called him. After he was able to play with the crows, he very nicely continued on our walk.

Can anyone identify this scary object?

So, I was out walking the other day with Laura, when we came upon this scary creature. Do you know what it is? It was kind of quivering and it's color was so bright, it couldn't possibly be from around here. Being the smart boy beardie that I am, I approached rather cautiously (after all it could be dangerous) although I kept a safe distance. It shook it's yellow tops at me and I let out a small warning bark. The bark seemed to warn it properly since it stopped shaking at me. I thought I might give it a little playbow and see how it reacted....nothing, so I barked again. Laura thought this was pretty amusing, so she went over the to creature and TOUCHED it! I still wasn't sure it was safe, so we walked on our way. I'll let you know if it's still there today.

I'm a herding dog.....well, maybe someday.

We went to visit Tish's ranch. Betsy and I had lots of fun and got really dirty. I don't think I've ever been that dirty before; it was fun!


This is Kiwi trying to show me what to do with the ducks. I was distracted; there are so many good smells!



Maybe I can do this, maybe not.




Playing with Sage and Maverick is so much more fun!




Ducks are just plain scary!

Grooming day

So, Mat and Laura have been doing this thing where they put me on this tall table, touch me all over the place and actually comb my fur! I don't like it so much, except for the yummy treats they give me, and how cute they think I am afterwards. I've watched Betsy, and she doesn't seem to mind so much; maybe it's not so bad.

Betsy's Birthday

Betsy turned 12 on January 6th. Laura made me a special pumpkin pie sans sugar and spice. It was possibly the best thing I've ever tasted. (Well, maybe she made it for Betsy.)

My new favorite thing...

ICE CUBES!!