Happy 4th of July!
We’ve had a good weekend here so far! Went to the local farmer’s market yesterday and finally got to talk to a wonderful local source of beef and chicken. We’ve been trying to eat “more local”, and while we thankfully have an Earth Fare market here now that carries “local” chicken (by local they seem to mean a 3 state area), I’d rather support truly local small farmers. So we have a 1/8 of a side of beef headed our way this fall, yay! Guess I’d better clean out the outside freezer LOL. I also bought some truly delicious cinnamon raisin bread, homemade pickles, heirloom tomatoes & potatoes, and summer squash. Yum! Still waiting for peaches to come into season here, that’s my favorite!
Also had some wonderful news from puppy owners…June was in MS with her owner Leslie, and was BOS 3 days in a row to pick up 3 more points! That puts her at 12 with her majors, and Leslie is under strict orders not to finish her before the Western Reserve specialty in August. 
Also, sister Echo hit the show rings for the very first time with her co-owner Emily Fish…and was WB both days she showed, picking up 2 single points! That makes the FIFTH puppy to be pointed from the litter. EDIT: I also saw that Vegas was in the ring this weekend too and picked up another point, putting him at 7!
Speaking of puppies, Miss Lizzie is in season now, and we have pretty much finalized our plans to breed her again. She will be bred on her NEXT season, which should be in December or early January. You can see more details on our Puppy Page if you’re interested.
There they grow again
Today I needed to bathe all three dogs and blow out an INCREDIBLE amount of hair from two in particular (I’m looking at you, boys!). I decided to save my back for once and wash them on the table in the backyard…hallelujah. I got soaked from head to toe but it was so much easier! Especially doing all of them. As usual on bath day, I felt inspired to break out the camera. I didn’t get any good side shots of Nash as he was being a TURD on the table (umm, guess we’d better start working on that again, eh?), but did get this cute face picture of the boy:
Nash at one year - isn't he handsome?
And would you believe this, but in two days is BRADY’S 12th BIRTHDAY! I can hardly believe that he’s that old. I was thinking about it the other day…that means Carolyn and Mandy have been putting up with me for nearly that long, too, since I got Molly from them when Brady was less than a year old. Brady was bought as and has always been a pet in the best sense of the word, but this boy has taught me so much. Sometimes the things he has taught me are what NOT to do, or what I DON’T enjoy doing, but that’s valuable too. 
I joke that Brady is “Dave’s dog”, because they have always shared a special bond that he and I just don’t have. Despite that, Brady is a clever, outgoing, opinionated, full of life pain-in-the-butt that has always kept our house interesting. Even at 12, he pretty regularly fraps with Nash…he has always loved playing with dogs, as long as they understand that He Owns All The Toys. He is not a big dog (hovering +/- 30 pounds) and is structurally fairly average and light-boned, but Brady has always been a Good Dog who’s distinct personality shines through in everything he does.
So, this dog has been OBSESSED with bunnies ever since we lived in Denver where they abounded in our yard. He (and Zach) caught a baby one back then, but didn’t injure it…just slobbered all over it until I noticed something afoot in the backyard and yelled out “drop it!” at which point Brady opened his mouth and the bunny bolted. So he has spent the past probably 9-10 years of his life hoping and trying to catch another one, and in fact we can’t even say the word bunny or Brady will go nuts whining and running around looking for it. I think a squirrel would suffice too, but they are too smart. SO…Last night when I let the dogs out, I heard a ruckus so went out to see what was going on, and what do I find?? A very proud Brady, carrying a (sadly broken-necked) bunny in his mouth. I told Dave about the incident, who is out of town, and he said “That’s it…his life is complete. He finally caught and killed a damned bunny.”
It's amazing how fast they can go from looking "not that old" to "old".
Do I get cheese for this? (please ignore his old-man long nails)
I think she’s getting along OK there…
June & Leslie
Happy Birthday, Charm babies!!!
Today the Charm babies turn 1! I can hardly believe it’s been a year since they arrived…it’s been interesting! A huge learning experience for me in many ways, and a lot of fun too. I love hearing reports on each of the kids from time to time and watching them grow up.
Speaking of my own charming Plizzard kid, Nash is such a silly and goofy guy. He finally grew out of most of the “baddog” phase and is just a lot of fun! He is, in many ways, exactly what I was hoping to get out of this litter….fun-loving, sweet, gets along with everyone, pretty, structurally nice, and brindle! He’s easy to train and very agile, so after we’re done with the Ch thing I have high hopes for him in agility. Oh speaking of conformation, I’m quite proud of the other show pups from the litter….4 of them are now major pointed! June leads the way with 9 points and both majors, Vegas and Lucy both have 6 points and a major, and Nash has a 4 point major. Not bad for a group of puppies that, overall, are taking their sweet time growing up. LOL!
So happy birthday, babies! I couldn’t be prouder of all of you.
Echo
It’s been a while since I’ve updated about Echo! Dixie decided that Echo needed to get away from her sister for a while and see the world, so she went to live with Emily Fish for a bit. Now that Emily has puppies coming out of her ears, Echo is with Mandy! She’s a very sweet girl who bonded closely with Emily’s young son Evan…news that doesn’t surprise me in the least. But while she’s on vacation with gramma Mandy, they snapped a few pictures of her this weekend while at the puppy party.
Echo always has been, and will continue to be for a while, one that needs to grow up. I’m quite pleased with how she’s looking right now though…not quite as gangly, and reports are that her movement is coming together very nicely. It may take her a while to get there, but I think when she is mature that she’s going to be one striking Cardi girl.
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June goes home
After a long week or so with talking with various people who were interested in June, many of which would have made GREAT places for her to go…. she’s going to be staying very close to home. My good friend Leslie Reed of Keel Mtn corgis dabbled in Cardigans a few years ago with her happy red girl “Candy” from Kathy Davis. Unfortunately, Candy didn’t turn out to be a show superstar, so eventually she found a great pet home and retired. Ever since then, Leslie has really NEEDED a tail in her life. Remarkably, she managed to resist getting a puppy when they were born, despite helping me whelp the litter and coming over several times to snuggle puppies LOL. But June coming back home proved to be too much for her to resist.
For myself, I’m thrilled about this because she gets to stay so close! Leslie lives about 15 minutes from me and I know will take wonderful care of Miss June. And hopefully, she’ll get to have some fun in the show rings with her too. I meant to take a picture today before they left, but I forgot! Hopefully Leslie will post some soon on HER blog, http://keelmtn.com.
Nash misses her already!
A little bittersweet
In talking with Kate in the month since the Nationals, she has decided to focus more on her blue puppies and therefore, the pretty Miss June will not be going back. I guess we can’t convert everyone over to poop-colored dog love. This is a mutual decision on the part of Kate and I, and is no knock on Kate OR June. There’s nothing wrong with either of them, but sometimes things don’t work out how you plan.
No, I’m not keeping her, although she can stay here as long as she needs to. I’d love to find another show home who would like to finish her and potentially use her in a breeding program…I think she’s beautiful and sound, and would make a nice addition. But if that doesn’t happen, I will keep her here long enough to finish her and then find a forever pet home for her.
June is sweet, loving, mellow, and happy. She’s not a “superstar” in the show ring, she takes after her mother too much there, but she has been consistent for me even if she’s not super showy. At home she romps with Nash a LOT, but is equally happy to flop on the couch and pant in my face for a while. She plays with everyone, actually, dogs and kidlets alike. She can be a bit pushy physically sometimes with Nash only (because he doesn’t care), but is quick to give me a sheepish wag when I tell her to knock it off. She can be a bit food possessive but not overly so. She’s not barky, and she doesn’t mind being crated (although she will avoid me if she knows she’s going to be LOL). In the past she has sometimes been wary of men but I haven’t seen much of that since she’s been with me…she loves Dave and has been sweet when meeting strangers. I feel that June needs someone she can bond with…she’s a better dog here than she was at Kate’s, honestly, and I think it’s because our personalities mesh better than she and Kate did. She’s not overly biddable…I wouldn’t place her with someone who really wanted to do performance, because she’s not very driven to learn new things.
So if you’re interested in Junie B, drop me a line at jerilamy@gmail.com. Hopefully we can find the perfect place for this sweet girl.
June at 11 months
Dog show report
I just got back from shows in Gray, TN, which by the way is no where near Nashville. Just in case you were going to take the word of Heidi when entering shows. As a matter of fact, it’s very close to the Virginia border, which made it pretty much a 5 hour drive for me instead of a 1.5 – 2 hour drive, and necessitated an overnight stay or two. Ah well, the entry was worth the extra distance, as we had a good judging panel and cardigans pulled the 2nd largest entry of the SHOW. Actually I think that today (Sun) it was the largest. We had 23ish cardis entered, which is amazing for a little teeny show in NE Tennessee. There wasn’t quite a major in dogs, but there was in bitches both days, and several specials.
I took the brainless idiot err, Nash, and the lovely Junie B who is staying with me. She has trimmed down quite a bit, could still probably use 1-2 pounds off but is looking more the right size for her frame. Nash won his bred-by class each day, but Miss June stole the show by winning a 3 and a 4 point major! Her win on Sunday was Best of Opposite Sex, over at least 2 bitch specials, which is what bumped it up to 4 points. !!!!! I sound very relaxed but the truth is that I’m THRILLED that she did so well and was shaking with nerves/excitement in the ring . Especially nice was that today’s judge was a breeder-judge. Yay Junie!
Nationals Pictures
Kate was kind enough to sludge through the roughly, what, 1500 pictures taken during Nationals week and send me a lot of the ones I cared about. The lighting conditions weren’t great without a Very Nice Lens, but should still give you an idea!
Lizzie peeking at me around the grooming apron, getting poofed (as much as we, ahem, could) for the Megan.
Lizard on the table
Jennifer going over her and thinking to herself, "Wow, she looks better with hair."
Nash in Sweeps.
Yes, he's still a bit high in the butt.
Take a moment to pose during Brood Bitch
Our matching outfits. I swear when I asked Garrett to help I did NOT tell him he had to coordinate.