Picture of Sophie

Sophie with her brother! She looks so content and her coat is looking so much better!

Off topic: They tore up paradise

Summer Solstice. Bittersweet because now the daylight hours start getting shorter, but I don't dwell on it. It's summer! My favorite season. 

But this is about Webber Pool. I'm trying really hard not to feel depressed about this. I'm also vindictively hoping for failure in this plan for Webber Park. Really, I am. I don't even feel guilty about it. They could have built up the park and kept the pool for the same price. Built in 1910!

 
Webber Pool, year unknown. From the time it was built in 1910 until 1927, water was diverted form Shingle Creek to fill the pool. Beginning in 1927 the pool used filtered and chlorinated city water. In the early years, boys and girls used the pool at different times. One reason for the high wall around the pool was to prevent boys and girls from watching each other swim. In the 1930s, more than 1,500 children under the age of 14 used the pool every summer day. (City of Parks, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board)



From 1996 through 2010, this pool was my 'summer at the beach'. I bought my first house a half block away because it was close to this pool. Someone asked me, 'you bought a house because it was close to a pool'? HELL YES! Six lanes of twenty-five meters on the one end, I swam laps daily for the 2 1/2 months it was open. I often had the place to myself during morning laps. Lazy Sundays were so peaceful. They opened at 11:00, but NOBODY showed up until 1.



There is nothing like diving in and laying at the bottom reveling in the prisms of all that sparkling water. 

It was a safe haven for kids in a not so safe neighborhood.

I know nothing stays the same, but this should have been listed on the historical register. Just my opinion, I know. Stupid Jon Olson, who ran a crooked campaign to win as park rep for the area. This new plan is his plan. He has been pushing this for many years. I will not ever go to his Dairy Queen and again, I hope his plan is an epic failure.

KJ went there Monday with his friend showing her the old neighborhood. Funny how he left when he was in 1st grade, but he still has ties to the area through the summers since spent at the pool.

He took this picture. Makes me so sad.

Updated with Sophie

Pictures of fosters with general dates I had them.
#16 Sophie (June 2012)

#15 Bunker (May 2012)

#14 Jinny (April 2012)

#13 Rocket (February 2012)

#12 Bruno (December 2011) now Woodson and adopted by me!

 #11 Desi (November 2011)

#10 Mac (August 2011)

#9 Prairie (May 2011)

#8 Diamond (September 2010)

#7 Swiper (July 2010)

#6 Becca (May 2010)

#5 Fergus (March 2010)

#4 Cody (December 2009)

#3 Dolly (October 2009)

#2 Baron (August 2009)

#1 Janis (June 2009)

Bunker and Sophie updates

W.  reports that Bunker is doing great, and asked if he ever brought a toy to his food dish. Ahh, nope. This is a new thing, or old thing he did before he got to my house. He's dropping the toy in his dish, then eats around the toy. Pretty funny! 

He's playing with his canine sister and meeting canine cousins, along with lots of new people, getting along with all. 

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When I dropped Sophie off on Sunday, I forgot to bring her box of toys, so I brought them with me to work yesterday, and took them over there after work.

She was in the basement and when she was called up to see me, she really didn't want to come upstairs. She knows where it's cooler, and while she came to me she was rather, eh, no big deal. She looks so comfortable and happy there, looking like she was born there!

Sophie's going home today/yesterday's frolic

Whew, what a day of fun and friendship.

Where do I start?

Sophie's reading with animal communicator, Ilga Cimbulis

Sophie has done some bouncing around, more so recently, from Eileen picking her up from her house and keeping her for a few days, to getting to my house in Minneapolis from southwest Minnesota. She feels that her time at my house has been like summer camp, full of playing and going places. My schedule isn't as consistent as she would like it to be, but she will get that with her new home. Her eyes don't bother her and she feels they are quite humorous, actually. And she doesn't get sand or dust in them. She is healthy and happy. At her old house, she wasn't abused or treated badly, they really only had her because she was pretty. They spent time arguing about who was going to let her outside.

Ilga can see that her new family will be the perfect family for Sophie. They will work with her in the training she needs, and will do a lot of activities with her, including walking, which she loves. They will be committed to her, making her comfortable. That while they have a varied schedule it isn't as crazy as mine and Sophie will like their routine better than mine!

Friday

Sophie met both S and L on Friday. S took the day off so she could meet her and not have to wait. Their younger son was there, too, he starts college in the fall. We spent about an hour, talking, petting Sophie and went for a quick walk. Their yard is foliage, so Sophie will have to adjust to that as she's used to grass, but the yard is amazing. So green and almost like a rain forest.  Sophie even gave them kisses, something she hasn't done here. I'm taking her back today (Sunday) to drop her off.

Back to Saturday's frolic

It was very well attended and the dogs got along so well. No fights, which there have been in the past, so much barking. Shea came with Bella and her mother-in-law. Bella looks different every time I see her. Her coat is really maturing, longer and darker. So many  beautiful collies, and a few collie wannabe's. While Woodson did not win the longest schnozz contest, Woodson and KJ did win the peanut butter licking contest. Human contestants get peanut butter on their noses or cheeks and their dog has to lick it off. 

Brett's reading

At first we were thinking we really didn't want to know what was going on inside Brett's crazy brain, but then I figured, why not. The worst he could tell Ilga was that we yell at him. A lot. Because we do. Brett is stubborn and crazy!

The first thing Ilga said, was that we have an athlete. A strong athlete who could run a marathon. Who needs to expend his energy. He has so much energy and can go round after round, which is what gives us the impression that he has ADD. He told Ilga that he is very popular at the dog park. He is extremely clever and smart. His destruction problem when left alone, loose, is from boredom. She told us that we need to work more with him on his listening skills for his own safety. He is healthy, but could use a little extra protein in his diet. His thinness isn't an issue, he's just naturally thin. 

KJ said, on the way home, Ilga was spot on with all she said!

So Brett has a new nickname: The athlete.

I will be posting pictures from the frolic as they come in, but here are three I took with my cell phone. They were taken late, actually, while we were cleaning up, so the dogs are all tuckered out. Cindy and Sophie found each other as great playmates.

Sophie (top) and Lilo. I had to keep looking for Lilo's bandana to make sure she wan't Sophie.

 Woodson, Sophie, Cindy, Lilo (l to r)

Brett and Woodson waiting to leave

From one rescue to another

Milan came into Red Lake Rosie's Rescue and they gave him to MWCR. Here's his story:

http://redlakerosie.blogspot.com/2012/06/milan-another-red-lake-collie.html

Sophie's weekend/Animal communication with Ilga Cimbulis

Big weekend coming up.

Sophie is meeting with a possible adopter Friday evening. She'll meet part of the family, as one member is out of town, so if they like her we'll wait until the following weekend to meet again.

Saturday is the frolic at Stone Mountain Pet Lodge in Blaine. An animal communicator will be there and I want her to do a reading on Sophie to see if she can tell me anything about her vision, plus will be a fun thing to pass on to any adopter. My co-worker just asked me if I believed in that. Yes, I do! Ilga sold me a few years ago when I had her do a reading on Thor at the Pet Expo. This was about seven or eight months after we first started fostering so we had had three fosters by then, and had just gotten Rune, the bunny.

What Ilga does is sits quietly with the dog and then speaks to us humans telling us that:

Thor wants you to know he thinks you should practice a little population control. Funny! Thor was the kind of dog that wanted to control all the activity, the collie cop.

She asked us if we used to do a lot of running with him because he was showing her how he loved to run and that he missed it, so could we please start doing that again. KJ spoke up and said he used to take Thor on a leash while he rode his bike. 

Then the clincher.

Ilga said that Thor wanted to let us know that the cat has peed on the couch.

Without knowing anything about this (Ilga), we knew that Speedo had started revenge peeing on the couch every time we got a new foster. We had a leather couch, so it was usually just a puddle that was easily cleaned up, but apparently we had missed a spot!

A year ago, we had her do a reading on Prairie, who was being treated for Lyme's Disease. Prairie was doing a lot of moaning and I wanted to know if he was in pain. Ilga told us that his moaning was leftover as a habit of telling his former owner that he sympathized with her about her medical issues and that Prairie himself wasn't in any pain.

Saturday evening we're doing a home visit for an applicant who wants to adopt another dog on the website. I'll bring Sophie, as they like us to bring a dog when we do these.

Here's hoping we can all chill on Sunday.

Dog park pictures of Sophie and a MWCR collie

The way I look at it when taking pictures, especially with my cell phone, is take many, keep few.

So here's Sophie at the dog park. She LUVS butt scratches.

 The last picture of the sable is Scotch. He came in shortly after we did. He was adopted from MWCR four years ago, before I was involved. Cool to see. He's a big beautiful boy.

Update on Bunker and Sophie's webpage

Got an update on Bunker He's been with his new family two weeks now and doing well. It really does take two weeks and longer for a dog to feel comfortable to where you'll see the true personality.

Hello!  Wanted to update you on Bunker's progress.  He is doing great!!  He and Jenna now run and play in the yard.  He really isn't shy about much of anything.  He has decided his cousins next door are just fine too.  He isn't going there for play time yet as he is still adjusting but hopefully soon he can go over for a little time when we are at work.

He is eating well, putting on some weight, and learning all about toys.  Our house is a disaster because we have a dog toy box we keep stocked with a variety.  It is now empty with the toys out all over the floor.  He follows me around when I clean them up and within minutes they are all back out again with him in the middle

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And Sophie's officially available!

http://www.mwcr.org/2012/sophie-marie.htm

Time to get the doggies outside before it storms!

Sophie in the very popular bedroom chair

You know, I really don't let the dogs on the furniture. Really, I don't. KJ does. It's funny, when I'm home alone they are not on the furniture. When he's here, they just hop right up. I often come home to a mussed up bed, especially since my bed is a great spot to sit on and people/squirrel/dog watch out the window.

The one exception is my bedroom chair. If I'm not in it, there is a dog in it. Woodson doesn't fit, but he makes the best of it. Sophie didn't use it until a few days ago.

Sophie's bio prep

A promise to get Sophie's bio prepared this weekend. She can go up as available after Sunday. I've been behind in getting this done. I got a great picture of her on the chair in my room. I'll post it as soon as I get it off the camera. It's funny that she's been vying for a spot on that chair. Usually it's Brett and Woodson competing for it. The competition is so hot that I can't even get up to brush my teeth without one of them hopping up. I thank them for keeping it warm and motion them off. It's leather so the hair doesn't stick. I think most collie owners prefer leather furniture!

Two days ago, Sophie started making her claim on the chair.

This morning KJ told me to make sure I add burping to Sophie's bio. Yes, she is a burper. It feels like she does it on purpose, similar to being a human who can make himself burp.

Sophie now poops on the leash FINALLY! It still takes her awhile, she has to trot in circles. Brett does that. I can get dizzy waiting for them to find the right spot. Sophie definitely bugs me when she wants to go outside. If I ignore her she will paw my leg, so then I know she means business and doesn't just want attention.

She tends to lay in the worst places, mostly just because she wants to be in the room with you, so will need more training on that. The worst place is along the cupboard in the kitchen. My kitchen is really tiny, so any dog on the floor in there is not good. Still, she's not a velcro dog. I think when I don't know where she is, she's hanging out in the basement because it's cooler. She definitely wears her own permanent blanket.

MWCR June newsletter

Good stuff on what we can grow in our gardens that are also good for dogs! And much more, including an article on Striker (who was my foster dog, Swiper). Thanks to the producers of this great newsletter!

http://www.mwcr.org/Newsletters/newsletter.pdf

Sophie update

I haven't been online a lot lately. Sophie is doing well. We've been taking her with us to the dog park and each time she seems to enjoy it more. Brookdale Park dog park isn't big compared to other parks I've heard about. It's the only one I've been to. I've heard the Elm Creek one is huge, wooded and has a small lake, but I've also heard that the water there is stagnant. Brookdale is wide open with a big hill. Woodson loves to run up and back down kind of in his own world. Sophie is starting to join him. I need to get a picture of her when she comes racing back to me, full white ruff waving up and down as she runs. 

Sophie will probably need a fenced yard. She doesn't like being tied out and will only pee on the leash. I walk and walk up and down the park waiting for her to poop and I know she has to go, she even looks like she's looking for her spot, but she never does. She's been holding out for when we go to the dog park, which can be two days sometimes, before we get back there. 

Sophie is a strong nudger. Insistent. She's not a velcro dog, but does like to be near you. Her and Woodson play, a lot. She's barky and yippy at times. Barks at outside noises, but it's not a lot. I think she's hungry! At her old house they kept a bowl of dogfood down all the time, so she's used to eating whenever. Here she gets two scoops in the morning and that's it. 

I haven't brushed her yet, but plan to later today. Can hopefully get a few pictures. My real camera has dead batteries. That camera drains batteries!