Stattie, Blue and Tank

Buddy

Maple, Sarah, Ellie and Parker

Maple and Kipper

Ollie and Stattie

Dolly and Maple

OMG, it's Rudi!

Way to go Parker.

Kipper's a bit tired after the walk.

Blue and Tank playing

A little bit of advertising

Kiji

Maple and Jasper

Bishop and Jasper

Blue

Kipper

New truck, and Charlie spends the weekend

It's been a big few days! First, Oliver and Spencer moved... I had been walking them starting the second month I was in business, way back in 2006. After seeing them 5 days a week for 3 1/2 years, it was very weird to not pick them up last Friday. I hope they find a good walker, and the pack (and I) will miss them.

Second, I got a new truck. Not because I wanted to, but because the old, stinky van was on it's last legs. It was at the point where I wasn't sure if it would survive week to week anymore. And the last thing I want to happen is to be stranded somewhere with a broken down van and a dozen dogs. The truck isn't in the budget, but it's a business necessity, so here we are.

Last, Charlie spent the weekend with me when his mom was out of town. I've never boarded any dogs before (my cats do not appreciate it), but all went well. Charlie lives with cats, so I was much more open to the idea. I took him up to the lake and we swam and generally had a good time.

That said, I guess I'm now in the business of dog boarding, too. As long as your dog is good with cats (preferably lives with one or more) and isn't too "barky", I have a spot for them should you ever need one. I charge significantly less than other boarding places, and the upside is the familiarity with me. Next time you're headed out of town, let me know!

Jak

Although I really like to keep this "blog" upbeat and fun for my clients, I think it's appropriate that I say a few words about Jak here.

Jak has been with me for just over a year. He came to me from my ex-partner's pack when she quit the business and moved on to other things. Right from the get-go, Jak was welcomed to my group, and everybody loved him.

A big, slow moving red Retriever, Jak was never in a hurry to go anywhere. Whenever I picked him up, he'd try to bring along a toy (an old sock, a shoe, a stuffed animal...) and would take his time walking to the van. He'd jump in, and make sure to sit right at the sliding door, blocking the whole thing, so the next dogs I picked up would have to jump over him to get in. They didn't mind, and Jak didn't care. For a 3 year old dog, he was the "old man" of my pack, and was quite content with it.

On Monday, during the heat wave, he collapsed when I brought him home. He went to the vet as soon as his "mom" could get him there, and nobody was particularly worried. We both thought that due to his size, and the heat/bad air quality, he was just having a difficult time regulating his temperature. It turns out he had a bacterial infection that had gone through his whole body. Jak was one of "those" dogs, who would investigate and eat just about anything. I once took him out for a walk around the block in the evening - on garbage night - and he proceeded to attempt to bring an entire garbage bag home with him. The vet seems to think that he ate something toxic over the weekend, and that is what did the damage (not the heat).

Jak did not recover, and was put down later the next day.

The pack will not be the same without him.