Happy tails (Or, we meet again)

Scientists have discovered that it takes about thirty days to build up a habit. Thirty days is about a month, and we took care of and loved six tiny beagle babies for two months. With the information given above, it should come as no surprise to you, gentle reader, that it was hard, very hard, to watch our little troublemakers (for there is no use denying that they were troublemakers) leave for their new homes.
Viola was easiest, as her family lived only a few streets away, with a large yard near a park. Sebastian's new home remained in town, though a bit farther away. Orlando went to a town about twenty minutes drive away, making him the farthest out of the pack (aside from Miranda, a border hopper, and soon Grover will head up north to join Reganite :'(  but I digress). As loving puppy parents, we hoped to see them again soon, or perhaps receive updates over the e-mail account we had set up for them, but the inbox has remained empty.
In July, Big Dude went into the vet for his yearly check up. Everything was fine, the vet informed me, except that he was beginning to 'square out' a polite term for 'getting fat'. Apparently our casual strolls about the block weren't keeping off the chub, and we were advised that daily exercise would do him a lot of good. At first I started taking him out every morning for a run beside me on my bike, but when an incident occurred involving high speeds and a stinky post that he just HAD to stop and sniff, we found ourselves grounded. So we began long, speedy walks done to the nearby park, passing en route a certain large backyard with a small beagle inside.
Yes, nearly a week after beginning these walks we saw little Viola, or Maggie, as she was now called. I allowed Big Dude to stop beside her fence. She saw him, and her tail went up as she let out a classic beagle bay. He saw her, and slowly, then faster, his tail began to wag and he let out a tiny whimper of recognition. It took a few days before she would come up to the fence and say hi to us, but soon she ran up as soon as she spotted us walking by. Once her little girls were out playing with her and recognized Big Dude, saying hi and proudly telling us that she had graduated her puppy class.
In August we took Puck and Grover in to the vet to get their first heart worm medication and flea and tick goo. A few seconds after walking in the door I noticed a young boy sitting on the waiting bench. He looked familiar, but I shrugged him off as a Church acquaintance perhaps, and focused on getting the puppies weighed. While Puck was on the scale, I heard what I thought was Grover barking in one of the examination rooms. Surprised, I checked Grover's position and found I was wrong. Oh well. We sat down to wait for the vet techs to get our meds, and after a minute a woman walked out of the back rooms and smiled at us.
"Hi, I think we bought a puppy from you?"
In a flash it came back to me. The little boy was the same one who had been given Orlando as a birthday present! "Yes!" I said, "How is he?"
"He's great," she assured me, and from the back room I heard his excited baying. We didn't actually get to see him, but that brief encounter left me very relieved. Orlando, now called Jack, was in the hands of vets we knew and trusted, sure to return to the neighborhood and perhaps to be seen again soon.
Early in September I took Puck in for his puppy shots and while there asked the vet if she had seen the others. She replied that she'd seen Jack (which I knew) and Maggie (which I didn't know) but as yet, no sign of Sebastian. I wasn't worried, there was more than one vet office in town, but I couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed.
The nineteenth and twentieth of September marked the six month birthdays of our little pack of pups. To celebrate, Bird and I walked Grover and Puck down to a park in a gully. It was very beautiful, and the long walk did a marvelous job of tiring out their boundless energy (Grover, though biggest at birth, has not developed his brother's barrel chest, and begged to be carried up the last hill to the car). On the second day we repeated the walk. Just before the point where we had pre-decided to turn around and head back, we noticed a man walking a dog towards of us. I noticed it was a beagle, and for a second a little flame of hope flickered inside me. Sebastian? But no, from a distance I could see that he was young, but big, too big.
"Is it?" asked Bird as the puppies began their usual round of barks at the newcomer.
"No," I whispered in reply as we drew closer.
Suddenly the young beagle bayed, jumping up on his hind legs and thrashing his tail wildly. The man paused, and our respective puppies began barking at each other and sniffing noses.
"I think we sold you this puppy!" gasped Bird, looking into the deep, soulful, unmistakably Sebastian eyes.
"Yes, I think so," came the reply.
"Roger?" Bird asked, remembering Sebastian's new name.
"Yes!"
So it was confirmed. He had defiantly recognized us, although the brothers seemed to have forgotten him, or perhaps they were confused by his new scent. We nearly squealed with joy, we were so happy to know that all our little chillins were safe and happy. Hopefully we will see them all again soon!

"Dear Reader,"

(Confession)

" I am going to ask you to lay aside for a few minutes the busy cares of life and come and have a talk with me about spiritual and heavenly things. Now, if you feel that you scarcely have the time, and can not fully dismiss the temporal concerns of life from your mind, then I will excuse you. I do not care to speak with you unless you can give me your undivided attention. I desire to help you if you need help. I want to talk to you about your every-day life, and I do want your calm, serious attention. Surely by God's help we can spend a few minutes to some profit. "
Read more:                       click this link: C. E. Orr  in  How to Live a Holy Life  

"My How You've Grown" Part 2

     Just a quick post to show you some cute things.  Am I right? Aren't they cute?  Can you guess which one is the Angel Momma? Did you guess where they got their tall genes?
     We took the entire pack out for a walk to the park on Labor Day.  It was a hot day and the little ones needed to be carried for part of it.  We couldn't carry enough water to keep them happy so we stopped at the water fountain at the park and let them have their fill from a plastic cup.  On the walk we saw, from a distance, Little Sugar Lips (formerly Viola now "Maggie") She was at her house and was intimidated by Angel Momma and I  approaching her fence. She ran up to the patio door and paddled fiercely at it, so we left.  She is adorable! She looks like Angel Momma.  It's nice seeing her in that big friendly yard with all the toys and play equipment and the pretty flower pots all around. The rest of the day they spent sleeping and when Miranda and Grover drove home in the car they slept all the way with the exception of one outing as a potty break at a truck stop.   While they were out they charmed the socks off a trucker even though they mostly just bayed at him.   By the time he left they wanted to follow him.

Miranda, Grover and Puck

Puck had to wear his Mom's leash because he lost his. (!?!)

Have a great day, remember us in your prayers!   Love, T.K.

Grover wants a walk

Puppy update or "My, how you've grown!"

Center: Miranda today
#1 Miranda
#2 Napping in the schoolroom
#3 A firm Grip on her kitty
#4 Hunting of all sorts goes on
#5 When a big brother (Grover) comes to visit
#6 Baby and Momma are almost the same size!

It has been awhile and much water has been going under the bridge so to speak since my last post but I realized I have offered no puppy updates.  So, even though there is not much to say, there is very much more to show. Right now I can only show you Angel Momma and Miranda, but I should have more pictures soon. The puppies are getting HUGE!  Angel Momma is visiting for a while and she only has about an inch of height on her 5 month old daughter.  They are manic out in the backyard taking turns being the antagonist, getting themselves trapped under the deck (De-constructing the deck a bit made rescue possible), teasing the Beagle next door and the squirrels.    And in the school room? They mostly nap, or peek out the windows when they hear chipmunks scolding.  We have joined a church,  locked horns with the DOT (4 times) and complied to the best of our understanding with the state homeschool laws.  The school year has begun in earnest.  We will all be together for the Holiday weekend so I am hoping to get some pictures of the puppies all together. ( I think Angel Momma is getting homesick.) Then you will KNOW which dog handed off his height genes!  Keep in touch, comment when you can, we enjoy them. God bless you! Have a safe weekend!
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Adventures in the Life of a Piano Teacher

I gave piano lessons this morning to two of my students who are sisters, the older sister Giselle, has been my student for some years, but the younger, Wendy-Darling, has just started this summer.  Wendy-Darling and I are presently working on learning the names of the Treble clef line and space notes, but today a manifest injustice disrupted our work.  On the worksheet Wendy-Darling was using for the Treble clef lines, the acronym used was Every Good Bird Does Fly.  Wendy-Darling raised her earnest, troubled eyes to my face and asked, "But what if there was a good penguin?"

I think from now on, I'll just stick to Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge.  You can't argue with that!

God Bless,

Bird

I have a dream! I have a dream!

Who feels like dancing? For some reason I always feel so energized after watching people (even animated ones!) whirling around and singing spontaneously.

I read some where that one of the requirements of being a Disney heroine is the ability to burst randomly into song, quite often with accompaniment from their companion animals. Well, I have my companion animal, lets roll! Last night, while listening to Bonnie Tyler singing "Holding out for a Hero" I swooped up Angel Mama and started dancing around with her in my arms. The puppies (Grover and Puck) were thrilled that their mom had taken flight, dancing around my ankles and doing their best to trip me, Angel just put on her suffering saint face and waited for me to put her down.

Oh well, at least Puck seems to like it. Watch out Disney, here we come!

The Final Accounting of the Puppy Tails

Here is my sweetie, Benedick, now named Grover,(after the President) He was adopted by a family member (a history/government teacher) who is moving into his apartment soon so Grover will be moving to a neighboring state shortly, when a new place is found.   In the mean time, we get to have him a little longer for cuddling and playing.  He traveled with me to see his new home and visit his new owner/daddy. It is uncanny how much they are alike! Bunny noticed it first but now we can all say it is undeniable.  They are both the oldest boys in their family... can birth order really be that strong? Anyway, He travels very well and brought happiness to whomsoever he met.
My favorite part... we'll get to see him again often!

 This adorable boy is Sebastian who just minutes ago went to live with a nearby family.  He was the last to be chosen. (Secretly I had hoped he would not be claimed, I wanted this one for myself.) He's has such an adorable hound dog look, with real strong scent hound instincts.   He doesn't closely resemble either of his parents so it must be some combination of his Grandparents showing through.  He has a problem that will require he be neutered to avoid future problems, so those adorable sad eyed genes will have to carry on through someone else.  I am going to be looking for him at soccer games and at the dog park.

Here is Orlando (AKA Hollywood) He is so picturesque! The poster child for Beagle perfection. Form, symmetry, and a melodious "on the scent" cry that should be in the movies. Today he is going to be a little boy's birthday surprise! I hope he gets to pop out of a box! I know from experience that he will give endless puppy kisses to whomever is holding him when the box opens. The same day Viola was adopted, the mother and children of the family came up to look at the puppies and said they had to talk to Dad first.  The next day Dad showed up with Grandpa and Grandma to see the favored pup and put down a deposit on him. They suggested that the little boy wanted to call him "Cherry" so Bunny, during training time, has been trying to get him to recognize that name. Today they will pick him up.  A story book ending for his kennel days.  ...and they lived happily ever after!

I have already told you about Viola, The runt of the litter who found a home with a family that has 2 little girls and a little boy. She was the first to go, aside from our own Miranda.  Being the littlest she was sometimes the toughest and she kept up with the pack no matter what, but get her one on one and she became the tenderest little sweet pea. We used to call her sugar lips not only because she was so free with her kisses but because she had that little powder puff of white all around her lips.  I miss her... she is making someone very happy right now, I am sure.

 Here we add a small memorial to the two that got away, slipped from our grasp so to speak. We like to think that there is a place in heaven for dogs and that the two of our children already there, now each have their own puppy.  Algernon (Male) and Hero (Female) both were born with their umbilical cords already detached and may be the reason Angel baby went into delivery a week early. They died almost two days later.

This is our sweet little Miranda, we have already written about her homecoming.   I could write a book about her.  She is full of energy and is very courageous, when it comes to charging her mother but the littlest noise outside or alarm bark from her mom sends her skittering inside and down the hall under the bed or a table.  Friendly to a fault, her genuine enthusiasm when Daddy comes home has him wrapped around her little paw.  Most of his conversation with her though has to do with her indiscriminate potty habits lately.  She has more than enough affection for all of us, so she has trouble believing we might really be unhappy with something she has done.  Too much to tell, I have to stop here.

Last but not least is the youngest, Puck. he and Miranda were born after Midnight so have a different birthday than the rest of the pack. He was chosen first of all out of the pack to be the puppy to be kept by the breeder. She hopes to train him to be an agility dog. Bunny (a funny name for a beagle breeder) is the proud owner of the papa and was given her choice of the litter in return.  She has probably spent the most time with each of them, in care and training.  Being the eighth puppy, he was the "surprise package" because they only expected seven.  What a gift he has turned out to be! (He Loves his Bunny!!) Puck learned early how to scale the walls of the pen and set himself free.  When we saw him start to climb we'd say "Pucker-up" so the nearest person could catch him and put him back. He is another we will get to see often and he still gets to live with his parents! (Good or bad? It depends on your point of view)

This has been such an adventure! I hope all the puppies thrive in their new homes and make their families proud and happy. I also hope we will see the others around sometimes.  If we do, maybe we'll take pictures and Blog about them!

Happy tails!

P.S. Angel Mommy has been enjoying some time off and is recovering well from her part in this effort.  This morning she jumped up on my lap and just a little of the old "rhumba pants" flesh is visible on her. (She seemed so skinny for awhile I wondered if she had any more to give!)

 Unfortunately, I think the Big Dude will be required to keep the gray he has gained.  You know they carry their gray with pride like a hard earned badge anyway! The best dads always do!

Viola found a family

Viola, our little runt of the litter, has found a home with a little family that has 2 grade school girls and a preschool boy! Their beagle had died just 2 months ago and that beagle was the runt of the litter too.  They felt an immediate bond. A match made in heaven! Adopted: June 26, 2012, we are delighted! Happy trails, Sugar Lips!

Welcome Home, Miranda!

Miranda has moved in with us! She and her Mommy are staying with us, Miranda, because it is her new home, and the Angel baby because nature is taking it's course again and no one, she least of all, is ready for another set of little lovies.

They are enjoying their time together but Angel baby or should I say Angel Momma has all the instincts to correct 6 puppies and using it all on poor little Miranda chile'.

Angel Momma is having a couple weeks of spa time with the girls before going back to the guys.  Our yard has been over run with bunnies all spring but now, just one week and one happy bunny hunter later, they are all keeping their distance.

Happily Miranda took the long drive here like a Rip Van Winkle trooper and slept most of the way.  It may have helped that the ones she loves the most were visible the whole way (Angel Momma and Bonny.)

Thanks for all the time and work you put into the breeding and care of our baby.  She makes us so happy!