Commanding Presence

Hi Everett,

This is my favorite photo of The Commander, and the rodent. Not to be left out of ANY possible excitement, Paisle wormed her way into this shot--that's her butt and tail in the lower left corner.

So why do I keep referring to Larry as the Commander? Commander is his rank in the Navy. While working full time, Larry is also in the Naval Reserves, doing his weekend a month and two weeks per year service to this US of A. After 9/11, Larry was called to active duty, and returned to reserve duty after completing his obligation. Now he has his sights on achieving the rank of Captain. Safe trip home, Commander!

Happy Tails

Dear Everett,

Three doggy butts with tails wagging in unison--if only the shooter was skilled enough to obtain all three doggy bodies, including heads, in the shot!

We have passed a major milestone today. Recorded for the first time, Gopher is taller than Ansel. The butts above, from L to R, are Ansel, Paisle, and Gopher. From this angle, it is really hard to see the size difference between this motley crew.

This angle isn't much better, but at least you can see their heads...

And here are the two boys, minus the buffer of the petite Paisle:

Just a note about the A dog's helmet--that is E-collar #3 that he's on, while his ear heals from hematoma surgery on July 23rd. The first one he crumpled after repeatedly bashing into walls, doorframes, me, etc. The second one was replaced after Paisle occupied her time in jail last weekend with the A dog, by chewing on his helmet. I'll post those pics when I do the blog about Ansel sometime soon. This third, and last, helmet should come off for good this coming holiday weekend (Sept. 1st). His stitches were removed this past Friday--same day he received the new helmet. The vet wanted to give the sewing stitch holes a few days protection from his nails before removing the helmet for good.

So yes, now we know...Gopher will be larger than Ansel. His shoulder is higher and his back is higher also. I tried measuring all three dogs at the shoulder, but it's hard to be even close to accurate without the pooches wiggling away, so I opted not to record the numbers. If I have the opportunity to photograph the two boys standing next to each other at such an angle that shows G is taller than A, I will. Who knew I'd spend so many words, not to mention photos, trying to document such a silly detail.... :-)
(P.S. G went to the vet on Saturday and weighed in at 56.5 lbs, so now he is also only 3.5 lbs lighter than A.)

Are you Ready For Some Football?

Hi Eve!

Okay, so you had to go to jail with Ansel, while the Commander and I went to Charlotte to watch the Steelers play Carolina, and again when I went to Miami to attend the Patriots/Dophins game after Hurricane Katrina...and again for the Superbowls in both Jacksonville and Detroit, but not the Superbowl in Atlanta since we lived there at the time. With all this jail time, I can understand why you'd prefer soccer (or at least soccer balls) to football (and footballs).

Hard to see the Commander in the bottom of this photo, proudly wearing his Steelers jersey.
Not sure if I have to obtain permission from the teams or the NFL to post the game shots I took while inside, so I'll forgo posting them...boy was it a fun event! Too bad the Vikings lead the entire game except the last four seconds! The only score that matters is the final score, and the Vikings lost 12-10 to the Steelers.

Should we do this again in the home town, we'll have to better plan the night out as we were scrambling for a place to go, for post-game activities.

The Commander in the House

Dear Everett,
Do you remember Larry? We met him years ago when we were still renting in GA. We've never lived in the same state, but we've remained friends after we met through work. Since he lives in FL now, we've met more in FL than anywhere else. As in the past, Larry came to town for a football game--the Steelers play the Purple this weekend!
Here Dad is explaining the construction of Fred's fence, to Larry.
At the family dinner, with nieces Sydney and Avery--Syd has just finished opening her birthday presents.

The kids playing fetch using apples instead of tennis balls with Paisle...the pup was not fooled for long! Sure she ran after them, but she would not pick up the funny tasting apples....
The girls, triumphant in beating Auntie (yours truly) in a foot race, officiated by the Commander. I am so excited for the football game tomorrow! Okay, so football was never really your thing--you were much more interested in soccer. Well, we all have our quirks.... ;-)


Speaking of quirks, this was Paisle's first time meeting Jerome (Nina and Jerome shown here).
For the first time I've experienced, Paisle was afraid of someone. She would not go near Jerome, not even for treats. This is cause for concern, as we are going to be at the very crowded State Fair in just a few days! Hopefully she was just over-tired, or over-stressed from being left at the house while I went to the airport to pick up the Commander. The kids said when they let Paisle out after I'd left, she tried to run down the street in the direction I'd driven...not good.

Multimedia Paisle & Gopher

Hi Eve,

I have fallen out of writing every day. I still think about you daily, and I have the wonderful book Mike made for me of all your photos over the years--sometimes I flip through it before I shut off the light to sleep. You are still part of each day, though I know as time goes by your daily influence will become less and less. That is no reflection on you; it's just the reality of time passing.

There are a number of blogs that I have in my head, but have not yet committed to writing. One is about Ansel, and why he did not make either trip to the lake with the gang. Another is more thoughts on Daring to Be Different, like the number of successful marketing campaigns that have irrelevant spokespeople (or animals). For example, what does a Chihuahua have to do with Taco Bell? A duck, with insurance? A ghekko, with other insurance? The Budweiser Frogs? And so on....

Paisle and G had an interesting afternoon today. We had the opportunity to bring the foster dogs to an outreach program of sorts, where young girls with infants or toddlers handle the dogs and learn basic obedience with them. Because so many dogs have been adopted recently, I thought G might be the only dog there, so I brought Paisle along. She was a hit! And there was a camera there, taping. I have no idea of the purpose of the taping, but since Paisle was such a hit, I was asked to explain how I've worked with her, what we've learned, why I like pit bulls, etc. Too bad the lady taping got me started!! I really got off on a roll, explaining why I don't correct her when she jumps up on me (if she's to be a disc dog, jumping up has to be a good thing), what growth plates are and why I have to be careful not to overwork her at a young age, how easy she has been to train, how the terrier line of dogs are known for their intelligence, blah blah blah.

I think her crowning achievement was the young lady who spent most of the brief time we were there, with Paisle. She's afraid of dogs, and pit bulls in particular, because of family history with the group known as pit bulls. After a short time, I was called away on the phone (work) and when I returned, this young lady had Paisle's leash. Hoping to break the ice, I demonstrated Paisle's ability to respond to hand signals. It worked! Paisle and her new friend were off and doing commands with precision. She even had the Bean do a few recalls. She said over and over again, that she loved this dog. It was really fun.

Gopher did really well with another girl not so hot on dogs. It took a few tries, but she had G doing sits, downs, sits, downs...one of the instructors called it doggie push ups. What a hoot! Because he opens his big maw and engulfs entire hands, most of the girls were afraid of giving him treats. One realized she could drop them for him on the ground--good problem solving!

When I learn more about the video and where we might see it, I will post. The person taping asked if I minded--I said the more positive media we can have on the breed, the better!

Missed Our Casting Call

Hi Everett,
I made a serious tactical error last night. Paisle's Obedience school, TCOTC, had an open call for dog models. Come to the school, bring your pooch, learn a tiny bit about dogs in advertising, and have your pets photo taken for free. We went.

There were 54 dogs total, though some folks had multiple dogs, so less than 54 people. The wait was long--a few hours--but time passed rather quickly as humans kept their pooches happy with toys, tricks, and general drill practice. Paisle was SO WELL BEHAVED! It was a good test of how she'll be when we're at the State Fair on the 26th. We practiced our sits, downs, verbal and visual signals, stays, waits, and watch me. But here's the error--I DIDN'T BRING ANY TOYS.

The photographer came out of the photo room after a while, and gave us a run down on her clients, and what they seek in doggy shoots. Many times a casting call goes out for specific things, like a dog that can "scratch on command." Black dogs are almost never selected, as they're so hard to photograph. Many breeds are not selected, such as Rotties, German Shepherds, Am Staffs, and Dobermans, as advertising is not willing to take on any possible negative connotation.

Many of the earlier dogs had left by the time this was announced, but at that point Paisle was the only Am Staff, mix or otherwise, present. In fact, other than a beautiful Mastiff mix puppy, I don't recall representatives of any of the other "Devil Dog" breeds.

Paisle's shoot went terribly. As soon as she walked into the photo room, she didn't like it. It was completely dark, except the set which was simply white paper on the floor with a white backdrop. She didn't like the paper. She didn't want to stay in position. I tried a few sit stays, with treats, to increase her confidence. That worked briefly, but in order to actually shoot her I had to move out of the frame...bad move. Her ears went down, shoulders hunched, and she looked like any typical cowering pooch in a scary situation. I asked if I could do a down/stay, Paisle's strong point, and the lady graciously said yes. Her comment? "Pit bulls are never selected anyway."

I really feel like I not only let Paisle down, but the bully breeds in general. Paisle is cute, spunky, smart, and a great ambassador for her mixes. I wanted to say to the photographer, "Dare to be Different," but I said nothing. I walked out of the shoot, turned in her paperwork, wished the remaining pets/humans well, and left.

I would like to find an advertising or marketing group who will DARE TO BE DIFFERENT! There is a whole section of society with lots of intelligence, integrity, respect, and MONEY that champions these underdogs! I bet if a marketing company has the desire to be cutting edge and willing to take the risk of promoting their clients' products with these fun, energetic breeds, that we could make a difference for that product/concept/image/brand! Isn't that what advertising is all about? Take a risk beyond the norm--try a new angle or cross a line to set the product/concept/image/brand apart from the masses?? Start a trend! Dare to be different!

More Water...the Deep Kind

Dear Everett,

This past weekend, Paisle and Gopher went up north for the second time. Two weekends in a row, frolicking with Trooper and Gus! Jenner was amazed to learn that yes, the Old Man Trooper was playing a game of Catch Me, onshore, with the young pups.

Jenner and I accompanied her aunt, Renie, and her friend Karen up to the lake. Four ladies, four dogs! We had great meals, great conversation, and of course great weather. And I do mean great--thankfully it FINALLY rained though the heavy stuff held off until Sunday afternoon.

But I digress. What I really came to tell you today, was what fun we had in the water. Two weekends in a row, playing on, off, under, and around the dock and boat.

Here are the ladies, Renie and Karen, after proudly paddling themselves around the small bay.

Here are Paisle and Gopher, with me on the same paddle boat (Paisle up in front with me, Gopher in the kiddie seat behind me)

We only went on a short paddle. There were other things to do! Like learn from the master, Trooper, on retrieving balls in the water. Note the students are on the dock, while Trooper is in the water. Then there is the Orka Blue Thing, which does float, but is harder to grab than a ball...
Paisle showing off her retrieving skills which really are very good for an 8 month old, unless the object lands in Deep Water (she still doesn't know how to swim). In this photo, she is looking at Trooper, who is swimming under them at the end of the dock.

Here is Trooper, in the water. It is hard to tell, but he is standing on the bottom with his back feet, and treading water with his front feet, while he waits for the ball to be thrown. Isn't he just amazing!!

And is it just too cute that she seemed to prefer the pink ball? Of course, its attraction was probably the super short nap, which made it harder to peel off--one of her favorite occupations is stripping tennis balls then demolishing the ball itself.

Can you see Paisle here, jumping onto the dock with Trooper? For a while, she went toe to toe with him, chasing balls and retrieving together. Though light in frame he is a tall boy, much bigger than the Bean. Gus, the other crazy fetch dog, is on the dock.
And I don't have a single good shot of all four pups from this weekend, so I will close with my favorite shot from the previous weekend. This is almost the last photo I took as we packed up the dogs and left for home July 27. Left to right they are Gus, Paisle, Gopher, and Trooper.
And then there was the drive home...this is a girl after Jerome's heart...