What’s New

I received several things today, Mother’s Day, which I’m sharing below.

I’ve been playing with slideshows this weekend. They would add a nice dimension to the blog, another dynamic piece. PhotoShop Elements makes it easy enough to create a slideshow; it’s file size, quality and length of load time that I’m experimenting with. Eventually I’ll get it all figured out, in the meantime come along on my learning curve! You’ll just have to be patient and allow the slideshows to go through that buffering process - whatever that is! - that computers do.

Damon’s slideshow.

Echo, Whisper and SiKu’s slideshow.

Ginny wrote…

Happy Mother’s Day !

I thought about it this morning and not only are you Nate’s Mother, but you have been “The Mother” of all those Lhasa Apso’s for these many years.

Here’s Kathy’s Pete (litterbrother to Ginny’s Moonie). I love how Kathy photographed Pete next to Lhasa Lore.

Because of your dreams,
I was born!
Thanks Mom!
Sweet Pete

And Alma sent this. Isn’t the photo great!

Yesterday Echo went to her new home. I met Rick and Sharlee years ago. Their poodle Amos was a client at The Plush Poodle in Aurora, which was owned by Mary and where I worked. Mary had Mop-C’s puppies with her one day, a day Rick and Sharlee brought Amos in for grooming. They came with one dog and went home with two! Fleetwood Max. Little Max is the white puppy with the young woman in these photos. In fact, Rick took those photos. After Little Max died, Jenny became part of their family for 17 years, until this past November when she was euthanized. Rick and Sharlee had a request when they purchased Jenny. They wanted me to be her groomer. For those 17 years we met at my grooming shop about every six weeks on Saturday, which is not a day I usually work. Jenny was the reason for Denver Dog Saturday.

Eventually Sarah’s Vivian (littermate to C’est La Vie, Camron, Tambo and Ian) became part of Denver Dog Saturday. Sarah and I have made various arrangements since last November, but I know she’s going to be glad to hear Denver Dog Saturday is back on the schedule.

When Rick and Sharlee were ready for another Apso, I presented them with several options. I was delighted their first choice was to consider a female Gompa puppy. We had a three-way phone call to discuss what that meant…having a litter for the Gompa Lhasa Apso Preservation Program. Yesterday, Echo went to her new home.

Here’s a photo, along with a comment from Echo.

The painting of Raji Susan mentioned in her comment yesterday… 

Katy sent this to me, along with the following note:

 A photo of Lily Joy taken a day after her birth…

Lily Joy’s birth was bittersweet, as her sibling didn’t live. Life, glorious, often big, is fragile…particularly the process of entering this world, whether you be goat or dog. Katy’s words:

A first. Today I’ve done something for the first time. Admitedly, once before I attempted a dual sired litter. But that was done by Dr. Hess, at her clinic…and were AIs, not natural breedings. Kham ma was ‘back-up’ because of Katu’s age and sperm production. Conception did happen, but the puppies were resorbed. Technically I’ve never produced a dual sired litter.

Chandra - Vajra and Arsha’s sister - lives with her dam Garma at my friend Bobbie’s house. Panchen is Chandra’s sire. Chandra is a beautiful Apso. I’ll get photos while she’s here. I had been going back and forth, back and forth about which dog would mate with her. You know the situation, compounded by the probability that this will be Chandra’s only litter. Do I use Keeper? Or do I use a Gompa male?

Initially, weighing all the factors, including past success - or lack thereof - I decided the sire would be Keeper. During the Chandra handoff, after explaining my decision, Bobbie pointed out the obvious. Try another dual sired litter. Last night Chandra mated with Keeper. This morning she mated with Kham ma. DNA profiling will sort out the puppies.

Bobbie did mention the word slut, with the dearest of meaning.

The pedigree/s.

What a great day it was! Kathy arrived first…in her front wheel drive car. Indeed, she deserves the title Trailblazing Kathy. It snowed twice the day before. Not a total of 8″ like Minnesota, but enough to pose a problem for the faint of heart…or those without four-wheel drive. Spring snows up here are deceiving, tricky, extremely slippery. Trailblazing Kathy didn’t let any of that keep her away. Promptly at 10AM, she was at the top of my driveway. Ginny and Rose arrived shortly thereafter.

After coffee, pastries and Snickerdoodles, we trekked out to the kennel, where I had lit lots and lots of incense.

After greeting the dogs and letting Tango have one last romp around his soon-to-be-former-stomping-grounds, back to the house we went.  Tango and Rose got acquainted.

And we celebrated with…what else…more food. And wine.  

Not just any ol’ wine. Big Ass Chard.

And Our Daily Red.

Katy called during the festivities. What a nice surprise!

Here’s a couple of photos, taken by Kathy, of the Gompa puppies..

This is a pinwheel Kathy gave me last year for St. Patrick’s Day. Don’t think she knows it spins and spins on an outside post in one of the dog yards. Since she stayed in the house, setting the table for lunch and doing some last minute preparations, I took this photo for her.

See more photos…

Susan sent this response to my post Springtime in the Rockies was, “Ha, you call that spring???” Here’s photos of what spring looks like in her world. Go on! Drool! I am! That’s Sammy Lyin in the Sun.

Lazy Bones
Lyin in the Sun
How you ’spect to get your
Day’s work done….

Lyin in the noon day sun
Never get your day’s work done…. 

See more photos 

Champ may not be able to “see” that fine sunny day, but he sure does
know how good it feels on his tiny body.  Actually not so long after I
took this he decided it was too hot, and moved up a step and into the
shade of the screened porch.

He’s lookin’ good, feelin’ good, being just contrary enough for me to
know he’s jes’ fine.

He’s still pretty solitary.  Every morning Sammy plants himself in front
of Champ in “let’s play”, and gets tweaked to the max that Champ
“ignores” him.   Duh…..  I obviously have more reading to do, because
I am wondering if they ever get it that he can’t see them????

It doesn’t matter so much.  I have come to a very satisfactory sense
that this dog belongs here even if he doesn’t mix it up so much.  He
seems to have no trouble getting himself to the front of the group when
it’s time to go back inside after a trip away.  There he is, nose
against the door, before I even get near it with my key.  I know, I
know, they’re supposed to let me in first, but….somehow I take great
pleasure in seeing him push his way to the front….and they don’t seem
to mind, so why should I????

I’m in love with Suzanne Clothier.  She is making our lives richer by
the day.  For 4 years now I’ve wondered why Rinchen won’t bring the ball
back to me when I throw it.  Duh…..he likes the game HIS
way….duh???!!!!   Small thing.  If we’re going to play, why not play
his way????   If he’s willing to sit and wait for food, I should be able
to chase him with the ball, right? 

‘Nuf said.
I’m so glad your Chris is home again.
Susan

Yippee!! Vickie wrapped it up perfectly:

While the humans fret about Champ’s encounter with the pit, Champ
himself has forgotten all about it.  He’s a happy little camper again. 
He looks a bit worse for wear, with all those bald spots, but he got up
this morning singing and dancing and wanting to eat, play, chew, nap.

I took him to my regular vet yesterday afternoon for a check-up on his
wounds, and because he was worrying a raw red area around the base of
his tail.  My “regular vet” is actually an office with three women
doctors, and the doctor who saw him yesterday had not seen him before. 
(When he first got here we saw one of them for his check up;  when he
got hurt we went to the emergency vet which is closer to my house.) 
Anyway, she declared his wounds to be healing well and gave us an extra
three days of Clavamox just to be sure.  For his irritated butt, she
checked his anal glands, and they were probably the cause of his
distress — one was full, one was impacted.  For the rashiness she
advised me to use some Gentacin that I had gotten previously for a hot
spot Raji had.  It’s already looking better this morning.

While she was checking him over, she asked me if he limped, and I told
her that I had not noticed, but that everything about him had been a bit
irregular over the past week, so it was hard to tell for sure.  She said
his left rear leg was definitely less developed than the right.  I
mentioned that this breed often presents with luxating patella, and she
checked his back knees.  Sure enough…..two luxating patellas, one of
which she said was “probably almost never in”, and probably the reason
that one of his legs was significantly more muscular than the other.

I’ve never noticed the hop-walk that I’ve seen in dogs who have been
pointed out to me as having luxating patella, so I guess he’s adjusted
or….okay, end of what I know about lp.  Apparently he’s got it.  I
know his son, Vajra walks the walk (looks like he’s skipping when he
walks), so it’s not surprising.

Anyway, Champ is doing is favorite thing:  napping on the couch on the
front porch.  Here are a few pix.

Susan