Happy Thanksgiving from the Wells Family

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone from the Wells household! Left to right are Leonard (father-in-law), Mike (husband), Shirley (mother-in-law) and Ed (brother-in-law) just before gobbling up the turkey.

Boston's First First

Here is me and Boston along with our very nice judge Cheryl Shea on the occasion of Boston's first time winning a first place in Rally which she did last week in the Excellent B class. I am so proud of my best friend! Can you tell from the grin on my face?

Fat Cat

I wonder why Wrangler likes sleeping on top of the refrigerator so much? Perhaps because it is close to the food?

Maybe it is just because it is the best view in the house! Or because people are within swatting distance.

Excellent Rally Day

Boston and I showed in the Excellent B rally class today at the trial. It was our first time out in the Excellent ring which is the highest level of Rally and I wasn't sure Boston was ready. A few of the exercises are pretty challenging especially the Back Three Steps where you have to heel backwards with the dog walking backwards beside you, and the Honor exercises where you have to stand in the ring with your dog sitting quietly while another dog works the course.... easy for many but hard for a Samoyed who loves to talk and wants nothing more than to GO! But Boston was brilliant today and aced the course ending up in 1st place! I was so proud of her. It was especially fun today because so many friends were there to watch and cheer us on and later we got to cheer on some of the students that train with us. Everyone who trains with us did very well too, so it was a good day for all. We were also told that the representative from AKC who was observing said that Boston and I were a true team and exactly what Rally was designed to showcase. That made my day. Thank you Boston for being such a wonderful partner!

The Painted Warrior

The Painted Warrior is our fierce little Tattoo. Tattoo is adorable and looks like a stuffed animal, but he also has an attitude to be reckoned with. Puppies in our house learn early on that it is best to simply fall over when Tattoo walks through the room. Yup fall over on your side and hope he doesn't notice you! The girls all love him, but the boys know that the wrath of the painted warrior is something you really don't want to tangle with.

However lately our little Tattoo hasn't been feeling too well. He has battled some UITs lately and on Friday we discovered that he had bladder stones which were too large to pass. It was supposed to be Dr. Moore's day off, but instead he spent the afternoon doing surgery on Tattoo. And then after surgery Tattoo began to have trouble breathing. Dr. Moore shot an x-ray and discovered an enlarged heart. He warned us that Tattoo might not pull through this. We are lucky to have a vet who is not only skilled but also dedicated. He spent the afternoon and evening checking on Tattoo and helping him to battle the stress of the surgery. On Saturday morning Dr. Moore again went in to the vet clinic to check on our little guy and he decided he was well enough to come home.

I brought Tattoo home and put him in the living room where he could have peace and quiet. Well after a short nap, Tattoo woke up and told me in no uncertain terms that he had dogs to put in their place and bitches to visit. So I let him into the kitchen and he quickly announced to the pack that their fearless painted warrior was back and that they had all better fall in line!

It is now 48 hours since his surgery and he seems completely himself. We have never had a dog come back to normal so quickly after any surgery. Go figure! Tattoo will need extra meds from now on, but we hope he can lead a pretty normal life.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween to everyone from Kodiak. Here is Boston's father Kodiak getting ready to greet the Trick Or Treaters. Looks like a friendly ghost to me. Thank you to his mom Christie Henriksen for sharing.