Asher

Brothers

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Abel, Arrow & Ash

You already know about my little brother Zag. He was born a year after me. In my litter there were a bunch of other pups. I was the only blue dog, and like I’ve said before, I was born with the fading gene which makes me imperfect in the eyes of the AKC.

Who cares about the AKC? Mom says there’s no better dog in this world than me. Anyway, two of my brothers were adopted by mom’s good friend. That’s why I get to see them once in a while.

Here’s a picture of me with my two brothers Abel and Arrow. It was taken when we were almost a year old. Since Abel and Arrow were raised together and always had each other to play with, they’re not real interested in playing with me. They can’t jump and fly like I do, so they pretty much ignore me. But you can’t choose your family and I’m okay with having Arrow and Abel as my sibs.

Abel and Arrow are coming to visit me on the 4th of July. They’re scared of fireworks and want to hang out in the country to get away from the noise. Tess is scared of fireworks too, so they can all be scared together.

I’m hoping mom will get  some fun pictures of my brothers. They want me to post a bark or two about them and I need some new pics. Jack’s not gonna be happy when he sees them. He prefers girl dogs. But he’ll get over it. I think it’s good for Jack to meet my family. Wish I knew where his family is. Tess too.

See that’s the sad part of being a rescue dog. Nobody knows anything about your family. So I told Jack he could be an honorary Australian Shepherd and we’d be cousins. He’s not too sure he likes the idea, but at least he knows I’m thinking about him. Anyway, gotta run.

Asher, Codie

Family History

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Codie

Last night it rained real hard and there were flashes of lightning. I sleep on the floor next to mom, so I knew she was awake a lot. She was thinking about Codie.

I don’t know all the details but our family history goes back to 1978 when she got Jesse, a black and white Australian Shepherd. He was a reject like me. His father and grandfather were the same dog, so he was like some kind of accident.

Mom raised Jess by herself and they had this incredible bond. Jesse passed in 1993. I heard mom cried a bucket of tears. Then a lady from a rescue group called and said she had an Aussie puppy that needed a home.

Mom said it was too soon, but she went to see the pup anyway. That pup was Codie. Mom always said Codie came to mend a broken heart. It’s hard to be sad with one of us little mutts chewing on your nose.

There’s so much to tell about Codie, but right now I’m trying to explain how everybody fits in the family. Codie needed a home and mom needed Codie, so Codie joined our family. Everybody loved Codie. She was a princess.

When Codie got up in years, mom asked her if she would help raise a puppy. Codie reluctantly agreed. Codie was thirteen when I joined the family in 2006. She was not at all pleased to see me. The first thing she did was nip me to put me in my place.

But true to her word, Codie did help raise me and I owe what few manners I have to her instruction. You probably guessed already that we don’t have Codie anymore. That’s why mom was thinking about her last night and woke up sad. I was there the night that Codie left us. It’s something you never get over.

Codie told me lots of things while she was still here. She said it’s up to me to speak for her and pass on her last thoughts. I promised Codie I would do that after she had been gone a year. That time is approaching. I will keep my word. I will tell more of Codie soon. But for now, I gotta run.

Asher

Nap Time

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The Ball

Our friends came over for a visit. They really like me. Especially my pal Art. He usually plays ball with me and gives me treats.

But it was a rainy day, there was food and wine and the next thing I know Art wants to take a nap in the chair. The picture isn’t real clear, but if you look closely you will see his eyes are closed.

So how does that work? We’re supposed to be playing ball and he’s got his eyes closed? Not for long! I quietly dropped the ball between his legs. I heard people giggle. Art seemed to know everyone was staring at him. Without opening his eyes he reached down and tossed me the ball.

He shouldn’t have done that if he wanted to nap. Now I knew exactly where to put the ball. Oh, I had to be patient. Sometimes I think he really did fall asleep for a few moments. If I had to wait too long, I nudged the ball higher in the chair. Sure enough, he’d reach down and toss it to me. That got everyone to laughing and finally Art gave up on his nap.

This whole nap thing was a good lesson. If you’re patient and keep trying, you can usually get people to do what you want. I learned that as a pup. Just keep putting the ball in front of your pitcher and eventually the ball will fly. Think about it. Gotta run.