Silver Lining

We hope every-paw and hooman stay safe from Herricane Ike. We are really worried what is happening in Texas.

We evacuated to Orlando, FL on Sunday and stayed at hotel with a wonderful walking area. There was a pet friendly park in barking distance. We walked on our leash there and found interesting things to sniff.

Deacon at the Hotel
Essex at rest

Tuesday Dad drove to St. Augustine for our surprises. First we stopped by the home of Oreo & Snoopy. Those two were Essex’s favorite Angel Paws Park paw-pals as a pupster. They left in December 2005 and it has been almost three years since she had seen them. Essex uncharacteristically wagged her tail and jumped on their Dog Mom. We went for a long walk and visit.

Oreo is happy to see us.
Snoopy sez Howl-low Essex

Next Dog Dad drove fifteen miles north. Deacon smelled familiar scents and his tail wagged. Something was familiar but he couldn’t place it. Then Dog Dad turned into a strangely familiar yard. Deacon’s jaw dropped when his saw Carol, his previous Dog Mom; her mother; sister Cici and their friend Nancy. Deacon calmly received big hugs and loved the comments about what a big handsome lad he is now. Deacon was in heaven from all that attention. Essex noted Deacon’s behavior and uncharacteristically relaxed, which amazed Dog Dad.

Deacon was well behaved and went around sniffing his favorite spaces in his old home. He charmed them with his calm loving demeanor. They said Deacon was on the way to being a juvenile pup-linquent. As a puppy, Deacon would jump on people, nip and mouth hard enough to bruise the skin. He went through the screen door once and pulled really hard during walks. Once Carol’s Mom scolded Deacon, then the phone rang and when she started talking on the phone, Deacon just started barking back at her! That pup-linquent behavior led to his return to Holmhaven. It was a hard decision and Carol cried all the way to and from Holmhaven. She was upset about leaving her little boy and what would happen to him. When she told Dad that seeing Deacon again brought a sense of closure, Dad thought of his five-cent dog, Pudgy.

Deacon sits pretty for Carol

Dog Dad was proud when they exclaimed what a wonderful Collie Deacon had become. Under the calm assertive leadership of Auntie Essex and Dog Dad, Deacon fell right in line. We met Annie too. Annie is a wonderful older rescue Collie. She plays very rarely but was a pawtastic Collie. Dad was sad when it was time to leave.

Annie posses with her favorite tuggee toy

Annie liked Dog Dad

We could tell on the way back that Dad was thinking of Pudgy and he was glad he took Deacon to visit his former home. When we stopped for gas on the way back to the Orlando, we got a special hug. Life is good, we love our Dog Dad and he loves us.

Essex & Deacon