Belfair The Swashbuckler

It's official! Flynn is AKC registered as of last night. I stayed up way too late last night filling out and double-checking entry forms for the Pacific Northwest specialties and workshop and the Whidbey Island Kennel Club show. And then I stayed awake in bed way too late with my brain running a bazillion miles a minute until it finally wore itself out and let me sleep. Today, after standing in line for more than 20 minutes at one of the only post offices open on Saturday, all three forms went out into the great unknown (a.k.a. USPS vortex of doom). Hopefully, all three envelopes will arrive in their appropriate locations before the due date.

It's hard to believe my fluffy baby has turned into a big, bad, beautiful teenager!

Rickreall, Here We Come!

The DNA tests results have arrived! My wild, furry baby is soon to be Belfair the Swashbuckler (Belfair Chief of State x Belfair My Blue Heaven).

Merriam-Webster online gives this definition for "swashbuckler" - "a swaggering or daring soldier or adventurer." Wikipedia, ever the reliable and scholarly source, says the term "generally describes a fearless romantic archetype, a fictional, adventurous, sword-wielding, male character who seeks to win the heart of a beautiful lady while rescuing society from the clutches of a dastardly villain." I don't know that Flynn qualifies as a romantic archetype, and we've yet to see him save society from a dastardly villain - unless you count fending off the raccoons in the yard. Apart from that, he is quite suited to the name picked out for him years before he was whelped. He especially qualifies for swaggering. As Mom put it today at the Marymoor dog park, "He walks like he owns the place."

With the return of the DNA results comes the almost-certainty that we'll make it in time for the Pacific Northwest Collie Club specialties in a few weeks. I cannot even say how excited I am! I'm sending in registration for the awesome pre-show workshop in the next day or two - I'm so looking forward to Flynn and I having the opportunity to work with Nancy McDonald of Barksdale, whose dogs I've admired since I was a little girl.

Now that it's a reality, I've really got to step up my handling skills!

Photos from our trip to the park, complete with Flynn "owning the place."

My Dog is Crazy

Well, I knew I had a picky eater when I brought home an eight-week-old puppy that wandered away from his food dish 49 times each meal and flatly refused to eat a midday meal. It's taken me five months to realize what the problem is (to be confirmed upon further experimentation). I've added canned food, yogurt, a few treats, and salmon oil and always added warm water to it. He's out there in his little ex-pen right now with his usual food, this time with salmon oil on it right next to a dish of plain kibble. He is scarfing the plain kibble. What kind of dog prefers plain kibble over tasty things? I mean, it's good kibble, but surely not that good.

So, turns out . . .

 . . . I'm dreadful at blogging. At least, I'm dreadful at blogging about therapy work. Making a blog post interesting while at the same time protecting patients' privacy is ever so tricky. So we're switching to something that might be doable: the show dog. Or, rather, the potential show dog. And potential obedience and agility and who-knows-what-else dog.

He's not yet officially The Swashbuckler - we're still waiting on the DNA test to come back for the dual-sired breeding. I called up AKC DNA Operations this morning and spoke with a remarkably un-cheerful individual who told me that, yes, they had received Flynn's sample, and, no, the results hadn't been sent back, yet, but maybe they'd be mailed by the end of the week. Here's hoping.

Theoretically, the bit that comes after the receipt of DNA will be quick - which is good, since we'd like to get him down to Oregon for the regional specialty. We even have a suite booked; Flynn and I plan to take full advantage of the 32" LCD, the fridge, and the microwave. Oh, and the king-sized bed. Flynn never gets to sleep in the bed, but I think we'll make an exception this time around.

Here's one of the rooms, but I don't think mine will have a hot tub - though I certainly wouldn't complain if there were one:

 

I think if I were a room designer, I would choose some other color scheme. Oh, wait, no. I know if I were a room designer I would choose other colors.