Trail

It has been just over two weeks now since Trail has joined our home.  It is so much fun to watch him learn about us and our routines.  What is he like? Well, first and foremost, he is a sweet boy!  He has very typical Australian Cattle Dog traits such as being a velcro dog - wants to be with me all the time and also has the typical ACD stubborn attitude and a good sense of humor.

I found Trail on the Petfinder.com website. He was listed by an Australian Cattle Dog rescue in Indiana as a former stray who was deaf.  Indiana is a long way away from us here on Canada's east coast but I am one of those people who think that if you don't ask, you'll never know, so I sent an e-mail.  Many e-mails and a few phone calls were exchanged and next thing we knew, someone had offered to drive him to Maine, via New York. I was so excited that this was going to work out!

The rescue was a little concerned that we couldn't all meet prior to adoption but was confident that with the ACD experience I have that things would be okay. Also, being able to exchange e-mails and learn more about Trail and his personality was a big help.  

So, after a lonely solo night camping, I met Trail and his transport crew and we headed home.

arrival on the island!

Trail is quite a bit bigger than Brook, about twice the size of her actually. She is small enough (or he is big enough) that she can duck her head and walk under his belly. They love to play together and initially he was a bit rough (as I had been warned of) but quickly caught on that he was not allowed to step on her or try and squash her.

Brook is very small for an adult Cattle Dog, more the size of 4-5 month old but she is a very rough and tumble girl who is enjoying a playmate again.

Trail has won over Hiker and the two of them play and act silly.

Bill tends to keep a close eye on the rowdy ones but is easily redirected and leaves them to their fun.  

Callie and Trail have had a few "words" but Trail, being the smart boy he is, quickly learned to leave her alone, so no pictures of the two of them together. 

For now, Trail is still wearing a collar all the time for a little control if needed. There were only a couple of times that I used it to get him off of Brook during some rough play. He does well with hand signals - when he wants to.  He has tried to get away with not "listening" but that doesn't work with me. Consistency is important, deaf or not.

Trail is being introduced to island life and we are looking forward to sharing his adventures with all of you.

A camping trip.

It has been a while, so a couple of weeks ago I packed up the car for a camping trip to Maine. 

The view from the campsite was nice.

The scenery was beautiful.

  

It was a nice and relaxing couple of days away.

What??  As an observant reader, you have noticed something missing from all the above photos?  Yes, you are correct. There are no dogs and no mention of dogs. 

I went camping alone. 

All by myself. 

For the first time in a long, long time. There has always been one or two or three (or seven!) along for the fun. Not this time.

Why?  Well, because of this handsome fella...

The whole purpose of the trip to Maine was to pick up this guy who was being transported from a rescue in Indiana.

I have named him Trail.  We are so happy to have him become a part of our family.  More about him and his introduction to our home to come!

How we spent our spring

Since summer is officially only a few days away, I thought I would give you a brief (happy) update on how we spent our spring.

As the snow melted, we ventured out back into the fields and forest on our land.

We expanded the fenced area

and as always, enjoyed the sunshine as the grass got greener.

Inside, the snuggling continues.

Wordless Wednesday

acd6pack update

Hello and thanks for stopping by again.  Its been a while and I think that I might be ready to update this blog and maybe even come back to blogging. (I've missed all of you!)

I plan to keep this brief due to the difficult subject matter.

As you know, we lost our sweet girl Azule. The horror of her death was made worse (if that is possible) by the fact that it was two of the pack that were the attackers. To this day, I do not know what prompted the attack. We were all outside (except Callie), all was fine and literally,within two seconds, they were attacking her.  Yes, I know, there is always a reason. Believe me, I have relived the incident many, many times and have no answer.

After many,many tearful conversations with our veterinarian and with input from experts on dog behaviour that our vet consulted, the decision was made to euthanize Breeze and Forest.  

All the experts agreed that they would likely pick a new target and that it could be another pack member, an animal or even a person. Our veterinarian was very concerned that the pack could turn on me. Of course, my first thought was, "no, they would never do that" but then I never thought they would attack and kill Azule.

We will never know why. Was the penetrating injury to Breeze's left eye (prior to adoption) deep enough to cause brain damage as the specialist suggested?  Was Forest's lack of socialization and neglect as young puppy (prior to adoption) a contributing factor?  The questions could go on and on with no certain answers.

Breeze  2012 - 2014

Forest  2011 - 2014

Goodbye

This post is to say good bye.

After our recent tragic loss of Azule, I have some very difficult decisions to make. Decisions that will change how and where our future will be.  Making life altering decisions in the wake of such a devastating loss is not something that I want to do but know I must.

For now at least, there will be no updates on this blog.  I have enjoyed the time spent with it and thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to share our adventures. By giving you a glimpse into the lives of some special needs dogs, hopefully we have shown you just how normal they are.

If time and internet connection permits we’ll try to stop by your blogs and say hi. Maybe in the future we’ll get back to blogging and perhaps explain things better, but no promises, okay? 

acd6pack

Azule 2011 - 2014

Our wonderful, fun-loving girl Azule has died.  She was attacked and killed. 

 I am devastated and trying to cope with her loss.  

Azule
2011 - 2014