Lots of stuff

W. York-Patten

It has been a while since I wrote anything, for various reasons. For one I have been busy with the pups. Ginger is now six months old and Zoe is two. Ginger is in the terrible twos. Zoe is very busy. They adore each other, and Nugget tries his best to keep them out of too much trouble. The only negative I have found, so far, with Zoe is the whining. She talks constantly. In a whine. I don't do whine. I hope she figures it out someday.

We also have snow. As predicted, the area was dumped on by mother nature. The dogs love it, and I have no need to venture off the property so have been spending a lot of time out with them. The little blue dog disappears in the snow. She absolutely LOVES it. I have to time our outages much as I had to time them when my human kids were little. They seem to have very little sense of being cold. Add the fact that little bare corgi tummies are sitting on the snow. We go out for twenty minutes and come in for an hour or so. It is pretty, the pups love it. All is good.

Kate is in standing heat now so I having to watch her like a hawk. Nugget is being good, but she is beginning to taunt him. Not this time, Kate. Sorry. I suspect Ginger will come in when Kate goes out. I also suspect that Nugget will be respectful of her as well. That does not mean he, or she, can be trusted. It takes a bit of energy to be on constant watch, but it is only for another week. So it goes.

As Nugget's babies grow I get more requests for "using" him. It is interesting. He is so very special to me, and while I want to let others enjoy that special, I really don't want to have massive numbers of Nugglets out there. I want each to have a forever home where it is loved for the wonderful dog that it is. Yeah, I know, in an ideal world, eh? So I continue to correspond with those who inquire, and I quietly retire to my cave to ponder the possibilities. I am honored. There are some fantastic lines, and beautiful dogs that I am just beginning to study. Just how far I want to go with all of this is in the forefront of my thoughts. Inbreeding, outcrossing, linebreeding, genetic testing. Trying to produce better than what I have. Trying to help others do the same. It is beyond mind boggling.

Nori

Sunny

Roxie. ( M.Thorson photo)

Grout

Zoe

Ginger

I have several that have taken on roles as mentors for me. I am very grateful for them. I have friends that have become family. People I can trust with my deepest concerns and thoughts.They are even more important. It is so easy to forget that we are talking about living, breathing, loving creatures. They are not just commodities to be mass produced to me. Titles are nice, but not the end all. Titles can be on the front of the name, or the end of the name. There is still the dog in the middle of it all. THAT is who I do this for. THAT is what keeps me up at night, and keeps my brain going so fast I cannot sleep.

W.York-Patten

That is who I am.