Weekend fun

Last weekend, the Boss Lady packed us up again and took us to Sugar Bush Farm. This time it was a bit different because I barely got to see the Boss Lady after we got there. Dublin, Limerick and I got to spend the weekend hanging out and playing with all our canine pals while the Boss Lady and a few of her friends manned a NEBCR booth at the NYS Sheep and Wool festival. Us dogs got to stay behind with some of the other NEBCR volunteers and play.

We normally stay in a soft-sided people crate (which the humans call a tent) when we visit the farm. This time we got to stay in a hard-sided people crate - I think the humans called it a "pop-up camper". At first I thought it was pretty neat - it had two big people beds and plenty of room for us dogs. We even had a friend and her dog "Didge" staying with us. I love Didge - he lets me follow him around all day. I want to be like him when I grow up.

The first night, the Boss Lady even let me sleep up on the bed with her. I snuggled under the covers (it was cold!) and went right to sleep. That's when I discovered that the people crate had a terrible secret! It ate dogs! I was sleeping peacefully and slid over to the side of the bed and was leaning up against the canvas siding when I started to slip through. I was scared and immediately bopped the Boss Lady in the face to let her know I was being eaten. The Boss Lady wasn't very happy to be woken up in that way, but desperate times called for desperate measures! Once the Boss Lady figured out why I was freaking out, she pulled me back into the camper and said I could have the inside part of the bed for the rest of the night. I didn't want to take any chances though, and I slept on the floor for the rest of the night.

The next night, I decided to chance the bed on the other side of the camper, though I stayed on the inside of the bed, just in case. Things were going well and I was sleeping soundly next to Didge and his human when suddenly Didge was eaten! It was horrible - one second Didge was right next to me and the next second he was gone! I ran over to the Boss Lady and woke her up again to tell her what had happened but Didge's human was already on the case. She ran outside and evidently fought off the evil camper and came back inside with a sleepy and slightly confused Didge. I took no more chances and spent the rest of the night on the floor. The Boss Lady might prefer the camper, but I think I like the soft-sided people crate much better -it never swallows dogs.


~Finnegan

Turns out, I'm a Sheep Dog!

So, last weekend the Boss Lady packed up all three of us dogs and headed out to that wonderful canine paradise known as Sugar Bush Farm.

We got to run and play all weekend and even got to sleep in the people crate (though humans call it a tent). It was a bit chilly and the Boss Lady was worried about me because I am what they call a "smooth-coated" border collie, so I don't have a lot of long fur like my foster brothers. The Boss Lady was nice enough to give up one of her blankets so I would have something to snuggle into. At first I wasn't going to use it and pushed it away, but by the middle of the night, I was happy the Boss Lady had given it to me.

But the most exciting part of the weekend was when I got to see sheep! I didn't want to go into the sheep pen at first - the other dogs were running around playing tag and I wanted to join them. I had no idea why the Boss Lady wanted me to go with her to see the silly sheep. But I finally gave in and walked up to see the sheep with her. I was prepared to humor her for a little bit in the hopes that she would let me go out and play again.

But then...the sheep moved and I was hooked! It was like all of my ancestors were yelling at me at once to go and do something!! The sheep were scattering and for some reason, I suddenly knew that was not supposed to happen...I took off after them and started circling them to bring them back to order. I got a little bit too energetic though and I accidentally scattered them again. (Those sheep sure are FAST!! and FLIGHTY!)

I worked in the sheep pen for about 10 minutes before the Boss Lady called a halt and brought me back out. I didn't want to leave...who wants to play tag with other dogs when there are sheep around...?

Finnegan, the Sheep Dog

Finnegan, Begin Again

So the Boss Lady told me that I went up on the NEBCR website as officially available for adoption. I was very excited about the possibility of finally getting my Forever Family. I asked the Boss Lady what I was supposed to do and she said the I only had to sit back and wait for the applications to come pouring in...then she paused for a moment and said "well, working on your manners wouldn't hurt either".

So, since I've already mastered the biggies like house-training, crate-training, leash walking and sit, we are working on "stay". That's a hard one for a border collie - there is so much to do and see! Dublin has it mastered, but Limerick seems to have as much trouble as I do, so I don't feel too bad that I haven't gotten the hang of it yet either.

In other news, Dublin finally played tug with me!! I like playing tug with both dogs and people, but I can't ever play tug with Limerick. (Limerick likes to play tug, but seems to forget that we are playing and it isn't pretty. He doesn't seem to have a problem playing tug with Dublin, but then Dublin can keep him in line.)

This time, Limerick had been given a "time out" by the Boss Lady and Dublin must have been bored, because he came over to me and shoved a tug toy at me. I was so surprised, I almost forgot to respond. We tugged, and tugged, and tugged, and tugged some more...finally the Boss Lady said we had to stop because it was obvious we weren't going to end it on our own.

I don't know if Dublin was taking it easy on me or not, but I was very proud that I was able to keep up with him. Tugging is quite the workout!

~Finnegan

Finnegan's Debut

Hi all! I'm Finnegan - and I am the Boss Lady's newest foster dog. I have been with the Boss Lady a few weeks now and I am finally getting the hang of things.


I get along great with the cats - I like cats. Unfortunately these cats don't seem to like to play, so I leave them alone and they don't make the evil hissing noises anymore. Limerick (one of my foster brother's) hasn't seemed to figure out how to live peacefully with the cats yet - he still follows them around even though they are pretty clear they don't like such shenanigans. So I'm pretty proud of the fact that I figured out how to live with the cats within a day of arriving (Limerick's lived with them for almost a year and a half and he still hasn't gotten the hang of it!)

I also get along pretty well with my foster brothers. I have one foster brother named Dublin and he is the head honcho after the Boss Lady (well, and the cats - Dublin never crosses the cats). Dublin is pretty cool and has stopped grumbling at me for my "stupid puppy behavior" as he calls it. Evidently, dogs didn't like it when I ran after them and nipped them in the butt when they were playing fetch. Dublin had to explain this to me a few times, but I finally got the hang of it. Now I just run along side of them and everyone seems much happier with that.

I like making people happy.

Limerick was a harder shell to crack. He acted all big and tough when I first arrived and was very grumpy and stand-offish for the first few weeks. Dublin said not to take it personally; that Limerick always takes a few weeks to warm up to a new foster. I was about to get my feelings hurt when Dublin was proved right and Limerick started asking me to play! We're the best of buds now, running and wrestling all the time. It's nice to have a buddy the same age as me. Dublin will play a little bit, but he is too dignified to play a lot of the silly games we play. He stands by to referee though, if he thinks we're getting out of hand or too rough.





~Finnegan

It's Official!

Well, last Thursday, the Boss Lady took me back to Doggie Paradise, aka Sugar Bush Farm. I got to run and play with all my dog pals - I even got to see my old crush, Didge. I have a new crush now - his name is Connor and he was a former foster dog of the Boss Lady's. He was visiting this week while his new people were traveling. He is pretty cool and lets me herd him while he plays fetch. We all had a blast and were pretty tuckered out by the end of the night. Then all four dogs (Connor, Dublin, Limerick and me) piled into the people crate with the Boss Lady. It was a bit of a tight squeeze, but the Boss Lady didn't mind sharing her bed. She's a good egg.

Anyway, on Friday I got to meet my new person!! She's pretty cool and is even going to keep feeding me raw. But the best part? No Limerick to steal my food! I will have tons of new dog pals to play with and go on hikes with - but at the end of the day, I get my new human all to myself. How great is that? The Boss Lady sure knows how to pick 'em!

I've had a lot of fun so far, running and playing with my new person. Pssst...don't tell the Boss Lady, but I even play fetch with my new person and bring the toy right back to her! With no Limerick around, there was no one else to bring the ball back - so I had to compromise my principles. I don't mind though - as soon as I bring it back, she throws it again so it's a pretty good system. I guess the Boss Lady knew what she was talking about, after all, when she said fetch was fun.

So, thanks to all my fans who were rooting for me to find a great forever home. I certainly struck gold with my new human.

Take care,
Anya

I love a good party....

I almost forgot to tell you...a few weeks ago, the Boss Lady threw a huge party, just for me! Wasn't that nice of her? She called it "the Town's Independence Day Celebration". I don't know what that means, but it was still a nice party. There seemed to be a lot of people in our neighborhood that day, so I knew something was up. And then the Boss Lady put my fancy Easy Walk Harness on me and took me to that big open field a few blocks from our house. She calls it a "park".

When we got to the park there were hundreds, maybe even a thousand people, all there to see me! I was so surprised! There were people of all sizes there, even some little humans in their own little chairs on wheel (strollers I think the Boss Lady called them). I didn't know humans came so tiny. They were fun to look at for a while, but they didn't throw any toys or do anything too exciting, so I soon lost interest. I had my best "hostess hat" on though, so I smiled politely at the little humans and made all the appropriate comments to the little humans' parents (I was a mother myself, you know, so I know how important that is).

I walked among the crowd, meeting and greeting everyone I could. I particularly liked the mid-sized humans as they loved to give pets and toss toys for me. And the adult humans were pretty nice too! They were thrilled to see me (as would be expected, I guess, as I was the guest of honor.)

We stayed for about an hour or so and then the Boss Lady took me back to the house so I could have a nap. Being a hostess is really hard work, I discovered.

I hope my guests didn't mind that I retired early, but a girl needs her beauty sleep...


~Anya

You make one tiny mistake...

For all you dogs out there who have the misfortune of living with cats that are...um..shall we say, "less than tolerant" of dogs, have you ever wondered how those cats get so deadly accurate with their claws?

Well, my friends, the mystery has been solved! Evidently cats start their training at a young age by attending fighting camps!

What were you doing as a young pup? Bet you weren't doing anything more challenging than chasing your tail, were you? Now, don't be embarrassed - I wasn't doing anything more challenging either.

No wonder we are at such a disadvantage when it comes to avoiding those left hooks! They may look cute and fluffy but they are trained feline weapon machines!

Hmmm...if they are running boxing camps, maybe we should start our own "bob and weave" camps so we'd have a fighting chance....


~Anya
The good dog...with a slightly sore nose because she didn't see the cat when she poked her nose under the couch...