Holy...Wall...Of...Pics!
Roll call pics, LOTS of roll call pics...all taken 29 Jan 2014 (except for memorial pics at the end). There sure have been some changes in the last few months, as time marches relentlessly on.
Mr. Maheono (Ono) is still hanging in there! Hey buddy!
He's starting to show his age--he will be 14 on April 2--but he still has some zoom left!
Ono has stopped hanging with the boys (my other F1 males) and is settling down quietly with a girlfriend, Mika. Leading a pack is just too much stress for the old guy, these days.
Ono with Mika
Mika is a friend's wolfer, who's been staying here; she seems to be enjoying her time with Ono, and really coming into her own now. Mika is a lower-mid mal cross, 2nd generation. (believe it or not ;-)
My 50/50 Lutro is becoming even more of a house woofer, since he lost his buddy Avatar, and a very insecure Ono has been hazing him.
SO over this crap.
He still helps with everything...making the rounds, waters, going to the store, managing the household. ;-) He takes his title of 'Best Dog Ever' very seriously.
I could clean up this "Blue Room Specials" cat food for you...
Will you let me out, if I Sit?
Look at me, Mom...sitting so pretty...
Not super impressed with new foster dog Everest, though.
Meet EVEREST!
Everest was too nice a dog to see put to sleep, when he was dumped in a shelter. :-/ He's a HUGE (about 34") mid-content shepherd cross, who's waiting here for his new home.
I give hugs...
Big boy.
"Sprite" is also a foster woofer. She's being kept right up at the house, while she nurses her two tiny babies. Yep, Sprite showed up with totally unexpected infant pups in tow! Thankfully, she is a good mommy.
The tiny rug rats...both boys, DOB probably 1/28/14.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, is our ancient woofer Sierra. Sierra is 17, and though she's getting pretty senile, she still looks and feels remarkably good for her age! (I like to joke that Sierra is so absent-minded, that she's forgotten to die. And good on her! I would gladly keep her 10 more years...she is such a fun, sweet, and sassy little lady. :-)
"Huh? Wha? What are we doing out in the snow?"
Supervising her dinner preparation. No more boring, plain raw meat for Sierra--her meals are to be cooked and seasoned, thankyewverymuch.
Sweet old Orion is turning into quite the nice little house dog. ;-) He sleeps through the night in his crate, and when it's time to go out...
NO.
Come on, Ri-Ri. Let's go out.
Enough yucky cold. Can we go back in now?
Woo agrees...
Let's visit with the girlies! It is Valentine's *first snow*--and it's a hit! :-)
Too slow, speedbump! Outta my way!
Little Bug (Firefly) likes it too.
However, she does NOT like her mom.
YOU are not the boss of me!
She's not too crazy about Ono, either. Singers can be awfully weird about dogs they don't know. (They can work things out, with some dogs, but they often bumble rudely through introductions!)
Want to eat him.
Totally gonna eat him.
Mom, can I eat him??
Hold still and look at the camera for just one second, you two spazzy little monkeys!
Hello, Pepe! Are you ready to take us on the tour of the property? (Yep...you haven't even left "up at the house" yet.)
Adoptables Jupiter and Journey are still here...
Hi Jupie! I'm coming, I'm coming...
Like most wolfers, they enjoy a good snow. Jupie gets the zoomies!
I see you too, Journey. Yes I do.
Ok, fine. Take your picture and get it over with.
"Right this way!" says Tour Guide Pepe. ;-)
Firefly's parents are so sweet. :)
(Don't you want to take these great New Guinea Singing dogs home with you? *g* They are still looking for their Forever Home...together, of course.)
YAY! It's the Dingoes!
Bear is so excited about the snow. :-)
WOOHOO!! SNOW!!
Aww...Bear.
Melbourne wants to play too...
Smooooooooches!!
SMOOCHES.
How does that whole thing even fit in her head??
More snow fun.
And just so you know how many dud photos I *didn't* upload...this is what most of them looked like! ;)
Hi, Miss Matsi!
Matsi is Mika's sister. She's still trying to adjust to the loss of Uncle Timber...and demolishing fences acordingly. :-/ She wants your attention...until she gets it, of course.
Wait...no...I didn't mean for you to come in here..."
WOOWOOWOOOWOOOWOOOOO! Go 'Way!
Mama Sprite came in with three of her friends...here are Angel and Bay.
They are just visiting here, and have a great home they'll be going to soon. :-) Bay is so sweet.
Angel is still shy...and hopes you can't see her behind that tree.
Come back! Pet me more!
What on earth is Bay barking about...?
Oh.
CAT! CAT! CAT! CAT! CAT! CAT!
Beautiful Ryder was also part of that rescue. She's a lovely old girl who is working on adapting to new people, so she can one day find *her* Forever Home, too.
Wow, did you make it through the whole tour? :-D
If you want to end on a happy note, stop here. The section below is dedicated to the ones we've lost this year...and losing friends is always hard.
Back to The Wolfdog Project?
~~~~~~IN MEMORIAM~~~~~~~
It's been a rough several months here. We've had to say 'goodbye' to THREE of our senior wolfdogs since the last Roll Call. None of them were really unexpected, as they only live just so long....but it's been sad nonetheless, and life here sure seems different without them.
Solowolf, the patriarch of the whole Solowolf Pack and the one who started it all, passed away on January 23. He was so tired...it was time.
This is Solo in happier days, when he was young and strong, athletic and adventurous--and toured the country with me on so many exiting getaways. We really had a great run together; he will be sorely missed.
The great Avatar D decided to leave us, in December. His passing was about as swift and peaceful as any of us could hope for. He spent his last night beside my bed, just like old times
...but I'll always remember him as the cheerful goofball who loved his walkies, playing in the river, and giving great hugs. Ahhh...getting old sucks. Here's the gangly goober back in '02.
And, our overly affectionate Sissy, the arctic girl we adopted a few years back from a rescue who couldn't keep her anymore, crossed the Bridge on New Year's day. Stubborn to the end, Sissy started feeling rough on New Year's Eve...but darned if she didn't hang on until 15 solid minutes into 2014. We watched her cross to the sound of distant fireworks. It seemed a fitting salute and Welcome Home, from whoever's getting her spirit next.
Many of Sissy's friends came to see her during her decline, and I'm sure she knew she was so loved.
Sissy made a big impression on everyone she met. She lived large, and made sure you knew it! I like to think of her in our earlier days...she was such an exuberant and happy girl.
Lastly, although he was never an official resident of the Solowolf Pack...I'd like to say goodbye to King, as well.
This beautiful, unbelievably gentle old man was part of a rescue we were helping with, this winter...the same one that Sprite, Ryder, Bay, and Angel came from. (You can read more about it HERE, if that interests you.)
King and I had a very hard decision to make together, this week...and I hope we made the right one. I do believe that what we decided, was the way he wanted it to be. I guess that will have to be enough.
King, I'm sorry you were so terrified. I'm sorry you didn't have better opportunities available to you. Most of all, I'm sorry that we live in a world where all I can be, is sorry. I hope you know that your human daddy loved you a lot, and those of us who met you after he was gone loved you, too. You were a good boy, King.
*If you made it this far, thanks for caring about these guys. I like to think that their lives mattered, in the grand scheme of things, somehow. They sure did matter to me.