Java puppies at 8 weeks

My, how they've grown! After all the hemming and hawing over the theme, I've decided to use the "Coffee" theme again, since there are SO many great coffee names out there, and this is Java's last litter. The liver boy is "Folger" (what a GREAT face, huh??), the liver/white girl is "Kona" (and she is FULL of beans!!), the blue roan boy is "Starbuck", the b/w boy is "Maxwell", and the liver roan girl is "Rachel". I know, I know, that's NOT a coffee name, but her registered name is Ashbrook Central Perk, for the coffee house on "Friends". Soooo, since Rachel was the "Friend" that worked there, it fits.

Rachel and Kona will be staying here for now, and Starbuck will be going to live in Alaska! Maxwell is going to live in Maine, with Rookie's brother Teddy. Folger "may" be staying locally, the jury is still out on that one , while a husband decides if he can live with THREE English Cockers. I say, what's one more??

Debut of the "Queen" puppies

Well, Lacey & her sister Dina had a cool couple of weekends. One week ago, Dina (tri) became the 2nd youngest EC to earn a Rally Novice title at 6 months and 11 days old; she qualified all three days, winning 2nd place in a class of 20 with a perfect score of 100+ (there were 3 100's in the class; the placements are determined by speed in the event of a tie)! VERY cool for such a baby. We co-own her with her fabulous trainer, Laura Davidson. She's taught her all kinds of neat tricks, and she was doing a 25 foot retrieve in the water at 4 months old. We expect lots of great things from this team of over-achievers!

They both made their conformation debut in Springfield, MA this weekend, and Lacey (blue roan) won the puppy class and went Winners Bitch for her very first point! Yippee! Dina was a bad girl and gave her mom a hard time when gaiting. We're sure they'll be winning the points soon, too! We're off to the Mason/Dixon Specialty in VA this Friday...hopefully with more news to report!

Adam's a Dad...AGAIN!

Adam would like to welcome his newest kids, born yesterday (Columbus Day) in California. Proud mom is Libby, Ch. Indigo's Pride & Predjudice. She had 2 blue roan boys, 1 blue roan girl, 1 orange boy, 1 orange girl. We can't wait to see them grow! Congrats, Liz & Libby!

our cute little faces...

5 1/2 weeks old

Hi All,

sorry for the delay; everyone's been after me for more puppy pictures of Java's babies. We've had friends from Colorado visiting, so we've spent more time playing with puppies than the computer, as it should be!
Five weeks is when puppies seem to turn into "puppies". They wrestle with each other, run, jump and start to be a lot of fun (AND, a lot of WORK!).
They are just too cute, and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do...

Two years ago today...

I lost my very best friend. Some of you knew Tally, some of you didn't. She was my "Heart Dog"; a term reserved for a very few select dogs. If you are lucky, you will have one at some point in your life. If you don't know what a Heart Dog is, you haven't had one yet. It doesn't mean you love your current dog(s) any less - I love all my dogs to pieces, and will be devastated at the loss of any of them (yes, even you, Sophie! ;-)), however, the term refers to the equivilent of a human soul mate. Tally and I had a relationship that was rare - I swear she really was a person in a fur coat. She went everywhere with me, and I know sometimes she knew what I was thinking before I did.

I clearly remember the day (the minute, actually) that this extraordinary bond began. I'd been told about the death of a friend (not unexpected) earlier that day. I was perplexed by the fact that I didn't cry when I heard the news; not like me at all. Tally and I left for obedience class that night, and when I pulled into the parking lot of the training center, I turned off the car, sat there for a minute, and it finally hit me. Tally looked at me very worriedly, and came over and climbed in my lap. She was squinting at me the way ECs do sometimes, and she started to lap my tears. I started to really sob, and held onto her tightly, the whole time with her kissing my face. From then on, it was over. I don't know why, but we were only each other's "people" after that.

I've always been torn between worrying that I'd never feel that way about another dog again, and worrying that I would.

Till I see you at the Bridge, Tally...

Rosie's Reunion

Yesterday we had a few visitors stop by. Rosie's breeder, Lynn, came down from Plymouth, MA with Dustin, the puppy she kept from the litter. Also joining us was Lizzie with owners Heather & Holly from Keene, NH and Motley with owner Suzanne from Concord, MA. The littermates had a great time playing together in the backyard (too much of a blur to get photos!), and then settled down for a quick photo together. They are 15 weeks old, and are from Adam's latest litter. Top step, left to right - Rosie & Liz, bottom step Motley & Dustin. Thanks for coming, guys!