National Puppy Day!

It just came to my attention that there is such a thing as National Puppy Day...and I might have missed this fact but saw it on the sidebar in LinkedIn. Of all the things in the world that have brought me great joy, a puppy is at the top of the list! And, of course, Luther was one of the cutest puppies in the world! (Sorry--just a little biased.) Luther was home last weekend for his Birthday Weekend (he was 2 last Friday) and we had a delightful time. As you can see, wearing a party hat was not on his list of favorite things.

I left Saturday to go babysit my grandchildren and didn't come back until midday Sunday and you'd have thought when I'd walked in the door I'd been gone a year. What a huge welcome from Luther! It does the heart good to be loved that much.

So if you've got a puppy, give it a hug and love it special today--National Puppy Day!

My Buddy Luther

This was a fun project. Rather than traditional pencils and pens, I used my Bamboo Tablet and stylus and drew freehand this picture of Luther from a photo I took on my birthday, almost a month ago. Then I saved it as a .png and placed the drawing on the layout. Here's what the journaling says...

"OK, it took me long enough! I’ve been wanting to draw
or paint Luther since I first held him in Montana.
He just captured my heart! I have a huge emotional
attachment to this dog and I’d like to think he shares
some of that bonding. I’ve been fortunate to have had
some exceptional animals--dogs, cats, horses--that
God has put into my care, and Luther is the icing
on the cake." I love you, Luth!

Winter Water

Jim Elam let me run Luther in the field Friday. Luther did great...I got the lesson! In the winter, most water work stops. Friday was an exception. It was in the mid-40's and no wind. Jim Elam set up a couple retrieves in the training pond and all the dogs really loved it. Brad Slaybaugh was visiting and let his lab run the water test, too. The chamois got a good workout drying all the dogs down afterwards. I was manually focusing my camera and missed the really great shot of Luther jumping off the shore and as a last resort I used it in the background of the layout.

I hadn't seen Luther for about 3 weeks--since he left our house from his Christmas visit. Luther knew when we'd arrived--the sound of my car engine, smell, voices. He was so happy his tail sounded like a loud machine gun hitting the walls of his box on Jim's new dog truck. We are fortunate that our presence does not affect his performance. He's dead serious when there's a retrieve to be fetched. It's like he flips a switch and says, "I've got more important things to do now!" All focused!

DinnerTime

Luther is a Chow Hound! I guess most labs are. He has a 6th sense about what time it is and he lets me know when it is time to eat. I'll talk to Luther and tell him he has to wait another 10 or 20 minutes and he'll give me those melting eyes--so pitiful. Jimmy has a rule about Luther's food...Luther doesn't eat our food and we don't eat his!

The Christmas Visitor

Last week Luther came home for Christmas. Talk about a model citizen, he's been so calm and reserved. His manners are impeccable. The only area needing improvement--front door manners--have been tempered. Luther thinks anyone at the front door has come to see HIM! But now he will sit and wait for the door to be opened and the person to come to him. Yesterday we went to the ballpark and Luther excelled at several long retrieves and 2 very long blinds almost perfectly. Jimmy had to handle him once after he gave Luther the wrong line to the last blind and then Luther took the line and topo perfectly. What a joy it's been for Luther to be home. As you can see by the photo, Luther's been catching up on his affection! He's so-o-o-o deprived!

Merry Christmas!

When Luther was home for Thanksgiving, I took this photo of him as I came up the stairs to the porch. We had just finished doing a Wagon Wheel drill in the back yard and he was happy-go-lucky! I couldn't resist the temptation to jazz it up a little with some digital elements for the annual Christmas Card.

My grandchildren, Reagan and Barton, and I picked up Luther at Lake Country Retrievers on Tuesday for his Christmas visit here at home. Last night we went to Carey's house for our annual Christmas Dinner and gift exchange. What fun and Luther was the model guest. He laid at our feet the whole evening. Luther got a present--a new portable water bowl! Lewis came to see Luther this morning and remarked how calm he is. Right now, Luther's visiting Billy Wells with Jimmy. Luther has just a little time here to go visit all his friends. It's amazing what a different laid back dog he is here but when he's on the line to retrieve, he's a laser beam rocket! That's my boy. Merry Christmas everyone!

Advanced Retriever Workshop

Last week Jimmy and I were fortunate to have attended a 4 day workshop featuring 4 of the top national retriever trainers - Andy Attar, Pat Burns, Ray Voigt and a special presentation about the latest in Puppy Training by Pat Nolan. Luther's trainer, Jim Elam, attended along with Chuck Mezura in our Tidewater Retriever's Club. I was a proverbial sponge. There was so much GOOD information! Thank goodness I took copious notes because that will help me retain at least the part I recorded!!! The above cartoon once again hit my funny bone. If only Luther could read my notes.