Normandy Turns Five

Normandy woke up this morning to Dad singing him Happy Barkday.  It is hard to believe Normandy is five years old.  That during that time we were up to our knees with Covid.

Normandy & Gemini Waiting at the Gate

We got plenty of Dog treats, a long walk and of course Angel Paws.  Norm got a ball.  He has one he got from our pal Ruby a couple weeks ago.  He likes this ball and will carry it around.

Norm's Green Ball

Later in the day it was time for Angel Paws.  We were supposed to get rain, but we think Essex, Deacon and Sherman all put in good words to the Great Dane to hold off on the rain.  The pups enjoyed the park.  Below are pawtographs of our pals.  

Daisy & Ruby

Sophie

Lucas & Sophie

More Lucas & Sophie

Gemini Takes a Water Break

Dog Speed,

Gemini & Normandy

2024 in Review

 2024 had the collies watching three herricanes closely.  Our pal Chucho moved to a new place and we have some new friends at Angel Paws.  Neither of us enjoyed the fireworks that went off the last two nights.  

Gemini & Normandy

- - - - - - - - -

5 January - Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 door plug blows out.

2 February - Carl Weathers crosses the rainbow bridge.  Dad enjoyed Carl Weathers acting in the Rocky movies, Predator and Happy Gilmore.

 

5 February - Toby Keith crosses the rainbow bridge.

14 February - Kansas City Super Bowl Parade shooting.

26 March - Francis Scott Key Bridge collapses after being struck by the container ship Dali.

8 April - Total Solar Eclipse

Total Eclipse Pawtragraph - Cleaveland Ohio

10 April - O.J. Simpson crosses the rainbow bridge.  Dad was a big Buffalo Bills fan growing up.  He remembers OJ's Buffalo Bills days well. 

20 May - Gemini tears some skin in her mouth.

27 May - Bill Walton crosses the rainbow bridge.

2 June - Oregon man accidently drives off road crashing into ravine.  His dog, Blue, saves him by running four miles to find help.

18 June - Willie Mays crosses the rainbow bridge.

20 June - Donald Sutherland crosses the rainbow bridge.  Dad remembers him from Mash, Dirty Dozen and Hunger Games.  

7 July - Shelley Duvall crosses the rainbow bridge.

12 July - Dr Ruth crosses the rainbow bridge.

13 July - Shannen Doherty crosses the rainbow bridge.  Starred in Beverly Hills, 90210, Charmed, and the movie Heathers. 

             - Richard Simmons crosses the rainbow bridge.  Remembered for being a fitness instructor.  Sweaten' to the Oldies.

 

18 July - Bob Newhart crosses the rainbow bridge. A classic comedian. 

30 July - Four collies, Ferguson and Rigsbee say hello to us.  Dad though he was seeing double. 

Seeing Double - Four Collies

4 August - Herricane Debby

18 August - Phil Donahue crosses the rainbow bridge.  Talk show host that Dad watched quite a bit when he lived in Ohio.

28 August - Our Moon Dance Huskies, cyber paw pal, crosses the rainbow bridge.

Lilly

28 August - Decoy Ohtani, Shohei Ohtani dog, throws out first pitch at Dodger Stadium.

4 September - Our pal Chucho leaves Key West.  Makes special cookies fur us.

9 September - James Earl Jones crosses the rainbow bridge.  A pawtastic actor.  Starred in Dr. Strangelove, Field of Dreams, Hunt for Red October, Conan the Barbarian and of course the voice of Darth Vader.

15 September - Trump assassination attempt in Pennsylvania.

25-27 September - Hurricane Helene passes west of Key West.  Our pal Chucho and his Dog Mom survive as their camper was swept up.  

Chucho In His New Camper

27 September - Maggie Smith (Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter movies) crosses the rainbow bridge.

28 September - Kris Kristofferson, actor and singer, crosses the rainbow bridge.

30 September - Pete Rose, Charlie Hustle, baseball player for the Reds and Phillies, crosses the rainbow bridge.

Pete Rose

30 September - Dikembe Mutombo, famous basketball player, crosses the rainbow bridge.

9-10 October - Hurricane Milton passes north of Key West, Port of Key West closed.

22 October - Fernando Valenzuela crosses the rainbow bridge.

29 October - Teri Garr - Young Frankenstein, Tootsie and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

6 November - Trump Wins Election

7 November - College Game Day Golden Retriever, Ben Herbstreit crosses rainbow bridge.

26 November - Norm gets in a scuffle with another pup at Angel Paws.  Gimpy fur two days.

27 November - Albert Wayne Prince crosses rainbow bridge.  Wayne was a very good friend of Dads.  They first met when Dad worked in the oil patch in Oklahoma.  We heard Wayne talk with Dad on the phone at times.

Dad's Oklahoma Pal Wayne 

8 December - Damascus falls and President Bashar al-Assad flees Syria.

20-29 December - Copper stays with us while his hoomans are out of town.

Cooper

27 December - Greg Gumbel crosses rainbow bridge.  Famous sports caster. 

29 December - Jimmy Carter crosses rainbow bridge.

  

31 December - Puerto Rico power outage.  Most of Puerto Rico power grid goes down on Christmas Eve.

= = = = = = = =

Quite a bit happened in 2024.  Now we are starting the year of the Dragon.  Hopefully everypaw will have a pawtastic year.

Dog Speed,

Gemini & Normandy

Remember New Years Eve 2003

31 December always brings back memories fur Dad.  21 years ago Dad traveled up north near Ft. Lauderdale and his first Holmhaven Collie, Essex, came to live with him.  Essex took care of Dad, and he loves telling us about her.

Essex 

He remembers Essex on the ride back to Key West.  Her whispering during crate training.  Dad was a proud pawther.  

We are chatting with some pups in a chat room right now.  Sure, enjoy catching up with the other pups.  

Dog Speed,

Gemini & Normandy

  

30 December 2024

Bowsers, it is almost a new year.  Thanksgiving had a little bit of excitement.  Normandy and another pup had a quick scuffle.  Normandy gimped for a day as he sprained one of his back legs.  By Saturday he was back to his normal self.  The entire pack was thankful about that.  Below are a couple of pawtographs of us at Angel Paws.

Our Dad's friend's dog Copper stayed with us from 20-29 December.  Copper is still convinced Dad is the God of Thunder, so he is scared of Dad and won't come out of his kennel.  So, Copper spent a lot of time outside in the patio.  He isn't as nervous around Dad as before, but he is still afraid of the Thunder God.

Copper

Dog Speed,

Gemini & Normandy

A Busy Herricane Season

We have finally got on Dad's case and wanted to talk about the 2024 Herricane season.  It felt pretty busy to us.  Fortunately, three Herricanes only bushed by the Keys.  We had some wind and some light rain.  We were very happy the three bushed us.  Early August Herricane Debby passed to the west of us.  Next was Herricane Helene which passed to the west in late September.  Helene only gave us some windy weather and a little rain.  We found out later that our good pal Chucho and his hoomans had a big adventure.  They were in North Carolina.  well, the rains came down.  Chucho and his dog Mom were in the camper when the river went over its banks and the camper was floating in the water.  The Great Dane must have been watching over them because both of them managed to get back to land.  The camper they were living in was a lost cause.  A person they met helped them out.  We are happy to report Chucho's pack has a new camper to live.

Chucho chilling out in the new camper

Herricane Milton was the last one for 2024.  In early October, Herricane Milton passed to the north of us.  We are glad herricane season is over.  Most of all we are happy Chucho and his pack made it through Helene and are doing okay.

Dog Speed,

Gemini and Normandy

Merry Essexmas

Merry Essexmas to everypaw.

Bowser, we took a look and noted we haven't posted in quite a while.  

Our Essexmas went well, and hope it was the same for all of you.  

We will have Dad post some next week, as he is on vacation next week.  The three Herricanes we kind to us.  Norm had an incident at Angel Paws on Thanksgiving Day.  

Dad is trying to get organized around the house but is more interested in sleeping than cleaning.  We promise to post this weekend.  

Dog Speed,

Gemini, Normandy and Dog Dad

Gemini - Nine Year Barkaversay

 Just like Dad say, today was my special day.  It was my nine year barlaversary.  Nine years ago, Dad and Uncle Sherman picked me up and brought me to Key West.   Dad sang Happy Barkaversary to me and we got extra treats in the morning and fur supper.  We both had to lick Dad's face. 

Dad talked about picking me up from Holmhaven, the drive to our home in Key West and how much Uncle Sherman loved me.  I thought of those early days as Dad gave me a hug.  Uncle Sherman taught me so much.  He kept a watchful eye on me.  It is pawtastic to live in a home where you are loved.

Sherman & Gemini at Holmhaven on her Gotcha Day

In the Collie-mobile Heading to Key West

Gemini's First Meal at Home

 Dog Speed,

Gemini