On a very nice Saturday afternoon in August, Val and Susan organized a Vizsla gathering at Canine Country in St. Charles County. Val and Diane arrived in their no room to spare expertly organized kennel van with their beautiful Vizslas, Tempo, Chile, Ready, and Spirit, as well as their two little guys that keep the Vizslas in line,
Susan arrived, too, with her faithful old girl, Zeta. Her boys, Zolt and Dash, were on a hunting expedition in Jerome, MO with Paul.
And we arrived with our two eagerly cautious girls, Zuzu and Tootie. It was a reunion of sorts as well. After being bought from the puppy mill auction last November, Zuzu spent her first months of freedom with Val and Diane and their canine gang, and Paul and Susan welcomed Tootie into their home. The girls were very happy to see Val and the gang again.
A couple with their dogs were at the water's edge exercising their three or four (I lost count) Vizslas, a short haired pointer, and a very happy Vizsla puppy, Swagger. It was amazing to see their canine gang dive into the water to retrieve the retrieving dummy.
But they didn't stay away too long. Tootie really wanted to join in the fun around the water. Zuzu was intrigued by the puppy, Swagger. Maybe she was wondering if it was one of hers.
Tootie finally got in the water. It was a warm afternoon, but not too hot. The water was refreshing, though. She really loves to swim!
Zuzu preferred the safety of dry land. She's not a natural swimmer as we found out when we went to Marvin Key, the sandbar/mangrove island chain in the backcountry off Sugarloaf Key, for the first time. She's all front paws thrashing about in the water before settling down and finding her stride. Tootie, however, is a natural swimmer.
Tootie enjoyed swimming in the lake with the other dogs. She didn't go after the retrieving dummy, but did manage swim around a bit in between retrievals. Below, Tootie and the other two dogs are not in the process of retrieving as they are headed in three different directions.
After spending some time at the lake, our gang took a walk around the lake. We stopped off at the dock, which is used for retrieving. You can train your dog to run off the dock and dive into the water. Our girls simply explored the dock. It must have reminded them of home. Chile, Ready, and Spirit followed them out to the edge. Spirit was ready to get into the water. She loved swimming over to the small island in the middle of the lake to hunt critters. Ready, however, was not into swimming. And Chile, the wise old guy, would stand in the water barking at the other dogs telling them what to do or how it's done.
We continued our walk around the other side of the lake. Zuzu and Tootie decided to run back to the dock to find the wonderful smell Zeta found to roll in. Our girls were a bit surprised to see us across the lake. Tootie, without hesitation, decided to swim across to rejoin us.
Zuzu, though, was not as eager to swim across to us. She was on the dock pawing at the water while eyeing us, worriedly, across the lake. Tootie was giving her words of encouragement and, after a minute or two, Zuzu decided to take the plunge and swim across to us.
Once she relaxed, lifted her back, and found her stride, she swam with confidence towards us.
Halfway around the lake, we lost track of Tempo. Val and Diane thought she went up to the barn to see the sheep, but when Wayne didn't see her up that way, Val was confident that she headed back to the van to rest. Sure enough, Tempo was in her kennel and came back down to the lake once we made it around.
After our walk, Tootie was full of energy and tried to engage Zuzu in play. The result was Tootie throwing her weight into Zuzu knocking her down.
We went back to the beach to cool and wash off. Tootie had a nice mud smear on her face from rolling in the wonderful smelly mud Zeta had found near the dock.
Ready was all kisses and love. Tootie wanted in on the affection, too!
Zeta had a great time relaxing in the water and sticking close to Susan. She's a sweet girl.
It was time to gather our canine companions and head back to the city. Zuzu and Tootie had a great time. They loved seeing their foster brothers and sisters, and really loved seeing their foster moms! Tootie is showing her affection trying to give Val a kiss...
You know the outing was a success for the dogs when the sleep soundly all the way home. Tootie was snoring before we reached the highway...
and Zuzu was comfortably curled up in the seat sound asleep.
Thank you Val, Diane, and Susan for a great afternoon. We are looking forward to the next time!
No comments:
Post a Comment