History Repeats Itself

Long time readers of my blog might remember that Wilson had a best friend Chocolate Lab. They met when Wilson was just a pup and the Lab was just turned three, and the friendship lasted until Mousse (the lab) passed away of old age in 2015. Wilson logged many miles with Mousse. Just as I love Cardigan Corgis, Mousse's ma Lynn loves Labs. After a full year of doglessness, she found a new Lab, Tank, to share her heart with. With Wilson now the old man and not up for long walks, Jimmy's walking buddy is....you guessed it....Lynn's new Chocolate Lab! At ten years old and sporting short  corgi legs, Jimmy is no match for a one year old Lab, but he gives it his best! Tank is a retrieving master, but surrenders to the pressure of a bossy herding dog!

True Love

I thought I'd tell a tale of canine friendship for my Valentine's post.....

When Wilson was just a pup, say maybe about 7 months old, we were out for a walk. On that day, we each made a new and lasting friendship. A rambunctious chocolate lab came bounding over to greet us, shortly followed by his owner. We exchanged a few pleasantries, talked about our dogs, where we lived, etc. and then went our separate ways. This was just before Christmas, and our paths didn't cross again until maybe February. After that, we started planning our Saturday morning walks together. The dogs had company, the people had company, and friendships were built. We even progressed to dog-sitting for each other during vacations. Since Wilson (at the time) and the lab, Mousse, were both only-dogs (like an only child....), they really enjoyed their time together.  For several years, we continued our regular walks together. At one point, Mousse tore his ACL and wasn't able to take long walks for nearly a year. Wilson happily went along on the swimming re-hab appointments. And then, of course, Jimmy came along, which changed routines as well. A young pup can't do the long distances. Wilson would still get to visit with his best bud, just not as often. He was always very thrilled to see Mousse.  You could not mistake his joy! Jimmy may have become his little brother, but Mousse remains his soul-mate. Mousse has just turned 12, and there is no doubt he is slowing down. He's got some knee or hip issues that are starting to bother him and long walks are mostly a thing of the past. Wilson and he don't see each other too often any more. But when they do, it's like one of those sappy romantic scenes, long lost loves running towards one another with open arms. They had one of these chance encounters on their morning walks recently. Wilson has the cutest little dance he does as he sidles up to say hello. He grins ear to ear and his eyes fill with love. I had my camera with me that day, but wasn't really able to capture it. It all happened so quickly and I fumbled for the camera that was tucked in my coat. But, here, albeit a bit blurry, is what canine love looks like ......

 

I wish you all time well spent with your soul-mate today!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Saturdays Steps

The past couple of days have been gorgeous, warm, late fall days. We took the boys out to a winery for a picnic yesterday, that's how nice it's been. The place had lots of tables overlooking what just a couple of weeks ago must have been a fabulous leafy and colorful view. The trees are empty now, but the location is still lovely. There were some railroad tie steps leading down to the table and with the sun just right, it made a good photo-op. I post this picture in honor of George the Lad's upcoming birthday (Happy B-day to a fellow Welshie!). If you follow the link, you can see that Jimmy and Wilson made the trip across the pond to help him celebrate.

The boys were quite focused on all of our snacks.........



We want NOMS!



We finished the day with a walk through the woods, burning off some of the holiday surplus of calories.

There was a huge rock wall near the end of the trail. The boys are posed by the small end, it kept getting bigger/taller as we walked along. The chocolate Lab is their best buddy, Mousse.

Now the focus of my weekend needs to turn to acquiring/packing up a Cardi-Claus packet! The deadline is looming :-)