Doggie's Anniversary, part III

Today we have the final part of Doggie's story with a few more photos. Continuing from 2006...

"The following spring she helped me hatch out chickens in the house.

That fall she became an official sheep dog - we got our first sheep.

In 2008 her life went to a hellion....Katie came to us in June. Doggie now had a 10 week old OES-Rottie mix pup to train.

Things were good and steady the next 2 years - protecting chickens, letting us know when lambs were being born.

Last June (she must hate June by now!) she once again took on mentoring puppies....9 of them. I think she breathed a sigh of relief every time one left for it's new home. To her dismay though, 3 remained with us and she has to deal with them to this day.

My dear old friend that I never wanted, is slowing down. Her black face is now white with just a few black hairs remaining. She has difficulties getting into the car and cannot make it onto the bed. Some days the stairs are hard for her and she sleeps down stairs. Walking around the block has become a bit much for her - so we stick with 2 mile walks instead of 4 - though it may go back up as fall comes. This was the first year I ever seen the heat bother her. She still gets all silly when I get my bike out and wants to go for a bike run in the worst way. I still do this with her and remember the days when I could not keep up with my old friend. Now I coast most of the time and ride in the lowest gear just because Doggie still wants to run with the bike.

How did this little stray dig such a deep hole into my heart?"

The answer is simple, she's a Boxer.

In 2008 Doggie welcomed a new pack member - Katie 1/2 OES/1/2Rottie.

She took her in and showed her the ropes.

Doggie is getting old. She is semi retired from training pups and most of that work is walking down the road on a leash - she sets the example of how they should behave and is very good at giving Eric the confidence he needs.