A Kansas E-Bark

Dog Dad and I got an e-bark with paw-tographs from Great Uncle Bobby's Mom in Kansas.  She told us that she really enjoyed visiting and spending time with us.  We barked out loud when she told us that Kansas was hotter than Key West.  It was 111 Fahrenheit in Kansas yesterday, while we were only around 91 Fahrenheit.  She and her husband had a splendid time visiting Lil and the Holmhaven Collies.  They especially enjoyed getting to meet Sherman and his litter mates.  She gave Sherman hugs and kisses and he enjoyed it.  They told him that he was going to a pawsome home with a good Dog Dad and pawsome Great Auntie.  I liked her even better when she e-barked Dog Dad to "Give Essex a piece of cheese for me!"   Not isn't that pawsome.  

Sherman looks swell and we see his sister's nose



Sherman sure is cute

We are looking forward to picking up Sherman in a couple weeks.  The house will once again have two Collies and I will have to teach Sherman the way of the Collie.  That will fill a great void and bring joy to our pack.  We hope to see Great Uncle Bobby's Pawrents sometime soon again. 

Dog Speed

Essex

Vistor From Kansas

Dog Dad and I had a visitor from Kansas on Friday.  It was Great Uncle Bobby's Dog Mom.  You may remember that Great Uncle Bobby used to send us letters before he crossed the bridge in 2008.  The visit lasted for three whole hours.  We talked about Collies and I got a good ear rubbing.  Dad said I warmed up quicker than usual.  We met her at the Days Inn, then she came over to our house to talk with us.  Dog Dad took her to his favorite Cuban Restaurant, then it was off to my favorite place, Angel Paws Dog Park.  I took off time from fence patrol to pose for this picture with her.

Great Uncle Bobby's Mom & Essex

February 2008 Great Uncle Bobby & Dog Mom

They talked about her four Collies Sam, Honey, Mac and of course Bobby. They talked about me, Deacon and Sherman. I got a ton of attention, which I tolerated. We wish Great Uncle Bobby's Dog Dad had come to, but he was bitten by the diving bug and was busy under the Sea. Since you can't dive very often in Kansas, I was okay with it. They are going up to Holmhaven and will meet Sherman, Duke and Dakota. We told her to give Sherman a big hug from us. Duke is the other sable male and he will be going to live in North Carolina. Dakota is a tri-color bother that is going to live with Shiloh and create puppy mayhem in Central Florida. We hope Bobby's Pawrents get to visit us again soon. It is nice to have company that loves Collies. 

Dog Speed,

Essex

Introducing .......

I've been talking to Sherman and we decided today is the day.  Below is what Sherman asked me to bark to all of you. 
--Essex

Sherman Taking It Easy

Hello everydog, I decided to end the suspense today.  My name is Sherman and I've decided to come live with Essex and Dog Dad.  I am not and never will be Deacon, I will try to fill those large paw prints.  I will be my own dog and I will bring a smile to Dog Dad's face in my own way.  This is very easy to do when you are a puppy. 

I am sure there will be plenty of adventures and stories to tell.  Great Auntie Essex will teach me the way of the Collie.  My brudder will be going to live in North Carolina at a really great home.  We both feel very lucky and happy. 

My Brudder is Going to North Carolina

I have heard much about Angel Paws Dog Park and visits to Ohio.  I think that I'll fit right in.  I will be coming to Key West on 6 August.  Dog Dad has told me that he will be taking vacation to be with me the first couple weeks.  That is typical of my Dog Dad, taking paw-ternity leave to spend time to help ease me into my new home. 

I look forward to meeting all of you in cyber-paw-space, others at the dog park, and more still on my adventures.

Dog Speed,

Sherman

Should Have Been Five

Dog Dad is taking control of today’s post.

Today would have been Deacon’s fifth barkday, a happy day. Instead I am missing my “silly boy.” I can not say  often enough, how much Essex and I appreciate things that people and cyber-paw pals have said and done. We received over 80 blog visitors sympathizing with us and ten cards. Dog Dad talked on the phone with Gomer’s Mom from cyber paw space, with Lil from Holmhaven, family, friends and dog park pals. All of have immensely helped ease our sadness.

Ashes, some fur, his collar and tags

Thanks for the cards

However, not enough time has passed for this wound to heal.  There is still sorrow from passage of my Great Collie Ambassador. Since Deacon crossed, there have been about a dozen bridge crossings by paw-pals we met during life’s journey or in cyber-paw space.  I was asked, why get another dog if it pains me to loose a one. I utter the refrain of dog lovers through the ages: “The only thing worse than losing a dog is to not have one in my life.” I feel Will Rogers was right when he said “If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went..”

Forgive me, but at this moment I miss my Deacon, even though Essex is comforting me and I am looking forward to the arrival of Sherman.   It doesn't seem right that all I have is some fur, a collar and his ashes.  I wish you were here Deacon, wish you were here.

Dog Dad

Forgot to add these two pawtographs to this post.  My sisters and brother got the stone and memorial picture frame for me. 

Picture Frame with Rainbow Bridge Poem

Memorial Stone for my Silly Boy

Pups and Plumbers

The really good news today is we got puppy pictures last night.  Both of the pups look pawsome.  Dad found out the other sable boy is going to North Carolina. Hope you enjoy the paw-to-graphs.

It has been a busy day today.  Ernie the plumber and his Dad came over and were working on our plumbing.  There is a leak in the hot water line.  I like both of them, so I wagged my tail and was on my good behavior.  They were busy putting in water pipes and cutting the wall.  You can see the results of their work below.

Sir Oliver

Hello, I'm Sir Oliver

We got a note from Sir Oliver, who lives up in Maine.  He wished me well, sympathised about Deacon, and is eager to have Sherman come live with us.  Sir Oliver is a Sable-Merle Collie, born on 6 April 2011 in Rumney, New Hampshire.  Sir Oliver is helping fill the huge hole left behind by Benjamin's Bridge Crossing.  You may remember us talking about the Great White Collie having crossed back in March.  Benjamin's Pawrents were still having a ruff time living without a Collie, so the Great Dane told Oliver to paw up and adopt them. 

Oliver having fun at home

His pawrents are having a great time with him.  They are taking teaching him how to go for walks, housebreaking and just loving him.  He is a smart little guy and keeps his hoomans on their toes.  We are so glad that he adopted his hoomans.  We are looking forward to his family coming down to the Keys next winter and visiting Sherman and me.  Below are some more pictures of young Oliver

Today was the last launch of the space shuttle.  The shuttle Atlantis is now up in outer space.  Dog Dad remembers watching the launch of the Shuttle Columbia in Toledo, Ohio back on 12 April 1981.  He recall the two tragedies that occurred as well.  The Shuttle did a lot of good things, so we are sad to see it go.  We salute the astronauts, they are brave hoomans that we often forget unless things go wrong.

Dog Speed,

Essex

Letter From Shiloh

Dear Essex,

I loved reading your post about me. My Hooman pawrents stumbled upon your blog a few months ago. As for me, I was hoping to meet both of you and was very saddened by the passing of Deacon. He sounded like such a fun uncle. I am so very happy to hear that another Holmhaven collie is going to help you take care of your Dog Dad.

 It is even better in that I am going to have a brudder from the same litter. My brudder, Dakota, is one of the tri-color pups, though I’m not telling my family which one. Hopefully our packs can exchange pictures, stories and even meet in the future.



Me and my boy

I have a pawsome family and I have what every dog dreams about, a little boy to be my friend. Children make great chums. You can see how much I love him in the one paw-to-graph. My Dog Mom has been around dogs much of her childhood, so I didn’t have to train her as much as you did your Dog Dad.



At Holmhaven, I have the white spot



Sniffs and Licks,

Shiloh

= = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Dear Shiloh,

We love getting e-barked and we consider your family part of our extended pack. We look forward to hearing from you and watching you and Dakota grow up.

I have been taking care of Dog Dad and we are looking forward to the new puppy. Dog Dad and I were talking about names. Our short list of names included Chaplain, Colden, Eugene, Gryphon, Jeep, Pep and Sherman. Both of us liked Sherman the best. Sherman is a good boy dog name. It has strong ties to Grand-Paw because he was in the Fifth Armored Division in WW II and the main American tank was the Sherman tank. Sherman will never replace Deacon, but he will fill the sudden void that occurred when Deacon’s crossed the bridge.



One of us is Sherman and only Essex knows



We look forward to meeting your pack one day. Talking about pack meetings, it looks like we will meet Great Uncle Bobby’s hooman pawrents. We met Great Uncle Bobby in 2007 and he used to write us letters before he crossed the bridge in 2008. Bobby was a Holmhaven Collie. Dog Dad has a lot in common with his pawrents.

Dog Speed,

Essex

Raffie Crosses Bridge

Raffie

Our cyber-paw pal, Raffie crossed the Rainbow Bridge at 11:45 PM on 5 July in Lost Wages, Nevada. He lived with Dog Dad's sister and her husband. He was an infrequent visitor to our blog, though we got quite a few e-barks from his Dog Mom over the years. Raffie was the seventh dog/person to sign our guess book and is mentioned a couple times in our blog. He loved his hoomans and they loved him. They are missing him. Dog Dad and I am sure Deacon greeted Raffie as he crossed the bridge.

Dog Speed,

Essex