Little Dogs Dream Big

Claude, MoriDog #163

A friend of Henley's human was dogsitting Claude, and they came to share a MoriWalk. It turned out to not be much of a walk, because the Mori Point trail was seriously overgrown, and Henley got a tick on his head before we even got to the first trashcan. So we stopped for a photo-op at the frogpond, brushed everybody off, and did a neighborhood walk instead. Remind me to send an email to GGNRA about this!

Claude is 15, and was named after his human's grandfather. Even at this advanced age, he still loves playing, walks on the beach, and the wind on his face. (particularly through the car window) He hates baths and stuff touching his ears. He thinks he is a Great Dane/Pit Bull mix. 

Another Yellow Labrador on the Block!

JuJu, MoriDog #162

Juju was a 70th birthday present to her human. They had been without a dog after the passing TimberWoof, who was MoriDog #112. As Henley's neighbor, Juju has been watching him from afar for a couple of months. She needed to wait for all her shots before she could finally play with the big dogs. Henley was extremely patient, and allowed all of the usual puppy antics without complaint. She doesn't have the huge puppy-feet that Labs sometime have, but her ears are already full-sized, and velvety soft they are!

 

Somebody's Got to Watch the Wild Things!

 Fior

MoriDog #161

Fior (Italian for "flower") is named for one of her human's favorite opera characters. A rescue of Chihuahua/Pomeranian type, her life's work is to watch for wildlife. In the mornings, as shown here, she prefers the wooden walkway on the Old Mori Road trail, where she observes rabbits. At home, Fior waits till dusk, and then takes up the surveillance at her dog door.

When one of her neighbors comes home from work each day, she gives Fior a treat. Though this generous neighbor lives some distance down the street, Fior has the ability to detect the opening of her garage door, so as to not miss a snack opportunity. She doesn't react to other garage doors. 

If Fior were an opera singer, she would be a Soprano.

It's All About the Ears

 Jesse
MoriDog #160

First of all, I must apologize for the lesser quality of the image. Rain was forecast the day Henley and I encountered Jesse, so I didn't bring my usual camera. My iPhone X just doesn't do the job you usually expect on this blog!

Jesse is a Chocolate Labrador with an unusual characteristic: His fur is THE softest I have every encountered beyond that of a tiny kitten. If you see Jesse, be sure to indulge your fingers in the velvety smoothness behind his ears. He likes to be the one who gives permission for this. He is not aggressive at all, but has a bit of "cat-like indifference." You can see it in his photo. As I stood chatting with his human, Jesse indicated that he would like to be recognized, and he appreciated the extra-long head scratching I gave him. An athletic dog, his human reports that he can catch a ball on the fly at 300 ft. Jesse dislikes puppies, but has excellent doggie manners. He and Henley had an appropriate greeting and butt-sniff.

Finally, the Individual Attention She Deserves

 Annie

MoriDog #159

Annie was recently rescued from a place with an unhealthy number of dogs. Fortunately, she had enough  previous contact with humans that she adjusted easily to her new home, and is enjoying more personal space.  So far, Annie's hobbies are chewing shoes and chasing birds. 

Zion National (Dog) Park

Zion

Moridog #158

 

The late afternoon lighting makes Zion looks so mature! But underneath that thoughtful face is a wiggly, adventurous 13-week old puppy! Zion was born in Fresno, to a Border Collie mom who had been dumped, and thankfully taken in by a rescue group. He may not be registered with the AKC, but he has his DNA results! Dad was mostly Husky, with some Malamute and Cattle Dog as well.
The rescuers named all of Zion's littermates after a National Park. 

Now THIS is more like what you'd expect from a puppy Zion's age! Caught in the act of digging!

Just for a Day...

Penny

MoriDog #157

Sometimes a dog finds her forever home right away. In Penny's case, it was a bit like the game of Telephone. There was a neighbor, who had a friend, who had a dog she couldn't keep... And the neighbor asked Penny's eventual human if she could look after her "just for a day" while they figured out how to rehome her. (How many of us have heard that "just for a day" story? It's like a temporary tax.)  In any case, Penny was sent next door with all of her things, and was waiting patiently for a late-night snack when, unprompted, she performed the neat little trick you see just above. It clinched the deal! But our soft-hearted foster dogmom had agreed with her boyfriend that dogs needed to be approved together. The next day, Boyfriend also agreed to "just the day." That was 5 years ago, and Penny is still melting hearts with her treat sit.  Her breed? Maybe Australian Kelpie with some Pharaoh Hound in the mix,