Jenny, Skip, and Tim On a Thursday Morning Walk

We were in the mood to head out to the Snoqulamie Valley trail just outside of Duvall. We had been running some errands and only had three dogs with us, Jenny, Skip, and Tim. It was such a beautiful day and we needed to stretch our legs and the dogs were ready to get their wiggles out. When we pulled into the parking lot to one of the entrances to the trail we were pleasantly surprised to see there were no other cars parked, hunting season was done for a bit and so we had the chance to go off the main trail with the dogs and wouldn't have to worry about our safety. Luckily it wasn't too awfully muddy and the birds were chirping and grasses blowing. It was a glorious day for a walk before heading home and getting to work.

This is a really cool bridge. Months ago we had done this same walk and Tim would not go over the bridge, he did not like the slotted floor and who could blame him?

This time however Tim didn't seem phased by it, he is walking across like a champ just in front of Jenny on the right.

Midway Tim decided to see if Dave had any treats, and Skip thought that sounded like a good idea too.

Over the bridge and onto more exploring.

Jenny and Tim looking back to see why I am lagging....

Bald Eagle

This was a new beaver dam since the last time we were here. Someone has been busy!

A pair of geese getting ready to start nesting I presume. We will have to come back in a couple of months to see the new goslings.

Sweet Jenny, she is almost 15 years old from our estimations and she never misses a step on our walks. She loves to get out and about and seems to never tire.

Tim enjoying all the smells of the new place.

Come on mom, we are waiting for you...

I had brought one odor hide and so we practiced some nosework with the boys. I hid the odor in one of the many tufts of grass, after some quick deductions Skip was able to find it easily. He is a nosework rockstar!

Here Skip is being rewarding for finding the odor.

Follow the leader....

And back on the main trail Tim scouts up ahead. As you can see no one in sight, we had to whole place to our selves. What a fun little jaunt for all of us.

Sunspotting Troubles for Tim?

The other day I was in the kitchen when I noticed my sweet Timken standing on the arm of my chair looking sort of perplexed. I noticed there was a nice sun stream coming through the window so I figured he was soaking up the warmth, but why not just get in my chair on the soft blanket and get comfortable?

This doesn't look comfortable for the long haul...

I came around to see if I could entice him onto the chair but then I saw what was going on...

Miss Liza was snuggling there already and Tim decided no way did he want to disrupt one of the Queens of the house...smart boy!

Mom could you pleeeeeeeze maybe move Liza so I could get off this chair arm and relax?

Mom, why aren't you doing anything?

Liza holding her ground...eh hem...spot in the sun...

Sometimes we don't always get our way. Poor Tim, he is looking forward to more sun spots in the future and next time I bet HE gets the coveted spot and then Liza will have to stand on the arm of the chair. :)

January Morning Photo Shoot

So far January 2015 has been a wonderful month for long walks with the dogs. Mild temps and not too much rain has had us out pretty much 7 days a week. Last week I tried to get a good shot of all 5 dogs together but only managed to get a few smaller group shots.

Birdie and Skip contemplating together.

Now Liza wonders what is so interesting.

Skip and Liza and a perfectly still pond! Almost doesn't look real.

Birdie, Jenny, Skip, and Tim, but no Liza!

 Maybe one of these days I can get all 5 to be in one place at the same time I have the camera out and ready. :)

Celebrating Our 2014 Adopted Foster Dogs!

Our household fostered four foster dogs to adoption in 2014!!!

First was Sybil. Miss Sybil hit a speed bump in her first adoption with New Rattitude, but she is not worried now! Sybil (Kiki) has a wonderful family who absolutely adore her. She is never alone as her dad is retired and has a shop at home. She also gets to go on walks with her mom all the time and she goes everywhere with her people and that is what Sybil prefers!

Sybil (Kiki) Happy Tails to you, so happy to have been able to help you to your forever home.

Second adopted was Neon (now Rowan), this little gal was sure a hoot and I think I ended up with more photos of Neon in the short amount of time she was with us than any other foster dog. She was constantly doing something adorable. She also got a lot of attention and we are so happy that she was adopted into a forever home with another New Rattitude alumni, Sydney (now Aela). Rowan and Aela have settled in wonderfully and are sisters in everything they do. Their mom and dad got married over the summer and the girls even got to be part of the wedding! We love when our foster dogs become part of a family, so cherished and loved.

Neon the bouncy puppy!

What a cutie!

CongRats to Rowan and Aela's mom and dad!

Rowan celebrating her 1 year birthday and look at how big she is!

Silly girl. Look how confident and regal she has become.

Our next foster kid adopted in 2014 has a very very special place in our hearts. All our foster dogs are dear to us, but there was one we just knew we could never get enough of and this special boy became our very own furbaby. Timken was with us for 8 months before we adopted him. He is a special boy with some special needs and we made the decision we couldn't part with him. It was a good choice for us and for Tim! Tim continues to make baby steps in his confidence and in a little over a year he has really bonded to us and I believe he has learned to trust us. One thing he loves to do is K9 Nosework and it proficient in all 3 odors now. He also loves to go on his off leash trail walks every day, rain or shine, and when he is on "his" trails he is able to let loose and be a silly, confident rattie.

In the beginning Tim had to work up the courage to be close to me

Tim used to be very afraid of new places or people. He is still uncertain but with us as his home base he is able to work through it.

The first time Tim snuggled with Dave.... it took a few months for him to feel ok to snuggle, he snuggles with one of us every day now :)

Tim loves to fetch egg babies and is really good at it! Look at that much more confident boy!

I just love this photo of Skip and Tim a couple of months ago. Tim has come out of his shell and can be a silly rattie now. We are very happy he is forever a part of our family.

And the last foster furkid to be adopted from our home in 2014 was Annie! Annie had been adopted through New Rattitude before but her dad got very ill and could not keep her. Once a New Rattitude dog always a New Rattitude dog! We had a spot for her and she wasn't with us long. Annie is such a people loving dog and let me tell you, her retired dad spends every waking and non waking moment with Annie. He has fibromyalgia and has to sleep in his easy chair due to pain but Annie gently snuggles with him and comforts him. Annie's mom is a big walker and they live right by a large walking trail system. Annie and mom go walking up and down all the hills and then Annie gets to sleep part of the night in bed with mom, until it is time to comfort dad. Annie is everything to her mom and dad AND all the neighbors come to visit too! Turns out everyone loves Annie! We couldn't be happier for her and her people.

Annie loves to go for walks.

Here is a photo I got of Miss Annie with her dad. She is looking so good! They have continued with her weightloss plan and she is looking fabulous.

Coming up will be some more Nosework posts as Birdie, Liza, and even Jenny are going to be playing catch up to their brother's Skip and Tim in Nosework skills. We start in January and it is going to be a blast.

Our Northwest Region had 55 adoptions in 2014, please see the wonderful video card celebrating each one. http://tinyurl.com/l88qgz5  

Happy New Year everyone. May 2015 be prosperous, healthy, and peaceful. Make a resolution to walk those furkids!

What Do Eyes, Ears, Cuddling, High Fives, and Hot Dogs Have In Common? Pupdate...

I will admit when we dropped this little gal off at her new home over a year ago I actually wailed in the car on the way home. Don't get me wrong, I was extremely happy for her to have her forever home and I was 100% sure her mom and dad were "the ones" for her and she for them,  but I had gotten attached to the little bugger.

We are so happy we get updates with photos from her mom a couple of times a year and this last update came with a surprise. Headshots of a little girl who had always been very camera shy!

I bet most of you know who I have been talking about....yup SIERRA! Look at this girl now! Yes I had been sad to say goodbye but I am not sad now. I am full of joy for this sweet rattastic girl and her mom and dad, she is the apple of their eyes, and she deserves no less.

Sierra's mom wrote, "Sierra is so much fun these days...it's funny, I keep thinking "Oh, she's really come out of her shell since we got her," but it turns out there's always more personality to reveal. She's hilarious. Such a goof, especially when she's in play mode. Also, she's the cuddliest dog I've ever known. No dog wants to snuggle as much as she does, and I love it!" (her mom calls this photo, "those eyes and ears")

 

Sierra doing her "high five".

Sierra in her adorable hot dog Halloween costume.

Sierra cuddling with mom...and smiling :)

Sierra with one of her signature "toofie grins". When I think of Sierra this is the look that always comes to my mind.

So now you know what eyes, ears, cuddling, high fives, and hotdogs all have in common! Sweet Sierra.