Another Abby pupdate...sad news

You may have noticed that we haven't been updating the blog much in the past week or so.  I had shared the news on this post about my Abby.  The laser therapy and acupuncture were working, along with a variety of medications.  They gave my sweet girl a few good weeks, but this past week they have stopped helping.  We are working with her veterinarians, trying to find something to help her, but at 12 years old there isn't much left to try.  So please just keep our girl in your thoughts and prayers, and hug your seniors close.

Zignature canned dog food review

This month our good friends at Chewy.com sent us something that had the collies drooling!  They sent us Zignature Lamb Limited Ingredient canned dog food!  The collies always enjoy doing product reviews for Chewy.com, but the way to their hearts is definitely canned food, so they are very excited!  I love that we get to try new products, and get to share info about those products with our readers, they love that they get yummy canned food to try!

Zignature Limited ingredient canned food is a great option for many dogs with food allergies, as it is grain free, contains limited ingredients, and contains no chicken, corn, potatoes or soy.   Zignature just provides healthy food, which helps your dogs thrive.  It gives them the nutrition they need for hiking and playing, or competing at their favorite dog sport!

check out the Key Benefits:

• This grain-free, limited ingredient formula is made with one protein source and only a handful of other ingredients, creating a clean recipe with ingredients you can count on.
• Made with Lamb from the farmlands of New Zealand.
• A staple source of complete protein, Lamb provides Vitamin B6, Pantothenic Acid, Phosphorus and Manganese, and is rich in Vitamin A and B12, Riboflavin, Niacin, Iron, Zinc, Copper, and Selenium.
• Free of the most common potential canine allergens: corn, wheat, soy, dairy, and chicken, making this recipe ideal for pups with sensitivities and picky eaters.
• Wholesome peas and chickpeas round out the recipe with powerful antioxidants and fiber-rich, low-glycemic carbohydrates.

I was pretty happy when I read the ingredient list too!

Ingredients:
Lamb, Lamb Broth, Lamb Liver, Peas, Carrots, Chickpeas, Lamb Meal, Calcium Carbonate, Agar-Agar, Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Salt, Suncured Alfalfa Meal, Potassium Chloride, Dicalcium Phosphate, Cranberries, Blueberries, Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate), Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Niacin Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid).

Lamb is actually the main protein in our kibble, so I knew this wasn't going to upset their stomachs.  But Zignature has other varieties, if your dog cannot tolerate lamb.  They also offer their limited ingredient canned food in turkey, kangaroo, duck, pork, venison, salmon, goat, guinea fowl, and many others!  You can find all their varieties right on Chewy.com by clicking here!

I also love how adding Zignature canned dog food to the collies' dinners gives them some extra flavor to their food.  The collies always enjoy finding something new in their bowls!

The collies and I all agree, this is a great food, and it's a great way to treat your best friend to a tasty dinner!  And looking at their sweet faces, and all the love and joy they bring into my life, I think they are worth it!

Chewy.com sent us this canned food in exchange for our honest review.  We were not paid for this or any review featured here on the collie blog.

Weekends go by so fast!

We had another beautiful, busy, fun weekend!  On Saturday and Sunday we took two of our girls to the dog show.  And our pretty little Winter won both days!  She is turning out to be such a beautiful little collie.  We had to rush home both days, because my daughter was dog sitting, so we didn't get any show pictures.  But I wanted something to celebrate her wins, so I took her for a hike at a local lake, and caught this perfect picture...

On Friday evening, to get ready for the show, my daughter and I took our two girls who were entered, for baths.  And then on top of going to a dog show on both Saturday and Sunday, we squeezed in a hike, dinner with my mom, and a Therapy Dog visit.  I also took one of the other girls for a hike, and then a bath as she got a bit muddy.

3 baths, 2 hikes, 2 dog shows, 1 Therapy Dog visit....no wonder I was exhausted this morning!    But it was all worth it, we had a wonderful weekend!

We also met this sweet little family during our hike.

It was a dark, cold night...

The night wind was blustery and cold, and the sky was dark and full of clouds.  I walked down the road, the wind pushing at my back, hurrying me along.  It was getting late, and I had considered asking for a ride, but only had a mile to walk until I reached my home.  The Halloween party had been fun, and it had been a while since I had seen my friends, so I lingered longer than I had planned.  Shivering from the chill in the air, I considered taking a short cut across the cemetery, but hesitated.  "Isn't this the perfect scene for a horror movie?" I asked myself.  Glancing to my right, I studied the gravestones, looking for any sign of movement.  There was nothing there to disturb the silence, only an empty stillness.


I quickly made a decision, hoping over the knee-high fence, I jogged across the cemetery.  While I did not believe in ghosts or monsters, I did have an active imagination, so I moved as quickly as I dared in the low light.  I was about half way across the grounds when I heard a low, pain filled howl.  Pausing, I turned to stare into the shadows, looking for the source of the sound.  Was it just the wind, flowing through the trees that created the mournful sound?  Or was I not as alone as I originally believed?

I took a step, to continue my progress across the graveyard, when I heard it again.  This time it was louder, a wailing lament full of loneliness.  A shiver of fear ran down my spine, while tears filled my eyes at the sadness in the ghostly sound.  No one should be so sorrowful, I knew I couldn't ignore a cry that was so full of despair.  Telling myself I was crazy for lingering in a cemetery late at night, I pulled my cellphone out of my pocket and turned on the flashlight.

Hearing the low moaning again, I made my decision.  Slowly, with equal parts dread and determination, I made my way towards the sounds.  The wind continued to blow, tossing my long, brown hair into my eyes, making it difficult to see.  Passing through the rows of gravesites, I stared into the darkness, looking for the source of the heartbroken cries.  Suddenly, off to the left, I could swear I saw a shadow moving, low to the ground.  I headed in that direction, unsure of what I was about to find.


Passing through another row of graves, I finally discovered who was mourning in a cemetery alone at night!  Gasping, I fell to my knees!


Not sure I could believe what I was seeing, I was frozen in shock.  Lying there on the cold ground, his eyes full of pain and grief, was a rough collie.  He was a beautiful creature, and he looked so out of place curled up next to the old, grey headstone.  As I stared at him, he softly whined, begging for help, for someone to care.  I slowly reached out to him, and ran my fingers through his long fur.

"Are you okay?  Are you lost?" I softly asked him.  He whined in response and stared at me, with a tilt to his head and a gentle acceptance in his eyes.  I glanced around us, and seeing no one, I turned back to the collie.  "I can't leave you here alone, do you want to come home with me?"  He slowly stood up and walked towards me.  Placing my hand on his furry mane, I encouraged him to follow along at my side.

We soon reached my home, and the collie walked inside, as if he had always lived with me.  I brought him into the kitchen and grabbing a bowl from the cupboard, I poured him some water.  He quickly drank his fill, while I searched for something to feed him.  "You must be hungry, let's see what you can have to eat." He just sat down and waited patiently, as if he understood my words.  Looking in the fridge I spotted left over chicken.  Grabbing it, I cut it into small bites and fed them to him.  He took each piece so gently, I could tell he was well trained.

Basic needs met, I decided it was time for bed for both of us.  "Come on big guy, you'll sleep in my room.  I can't have you wandering around my house unsupervised.  In the morning we will try to find your family."  He once again followed me, and watched as I made him a bed of blankets on the floor of my bedroom.  "You can sleep here, you sure are a good dog," I told him as I stroked his beautiful fur.  With uncanny intelligence, he laid down on the blankets with a sigh.  He looked happy and grateful to have a soft, warm place to sleep, and his little pink tongue gave my hand a kiss of thanks.  "Good night handsome collie."  I got ready for bed, and fell asleep listening to the quiet sounds of the his breathing.

When I woke up the next morning, it took only a moment to remember my guest.  Looking over to the bed of blankets on the floor, I realized the collie wasn't there!  Looking around my room, I didn't see him anywhere.  My bedroom door was still shut, so he couldn't have left.  Sinking to my knees next to the bed I had made for him, I stared in confusion, wondering if it had all been a dream.  But later when I spotted the bowl of water on the kitchen floor, and the missing chicken from the fridge, I knew he had really been there.

How he disappeared from my room, and where he went, will always be a mystery.  I did return to the cemetery, to the spot where I had found him, but I never encountered the lost collie again.  Was he a lost dog, lonely and looking for companionship?  Or was he something more, perhaps a weary soul wandering through the night?  I can only hope the comfort I gave him allowed him to continue his journey knowing he had a friend.  I still think of him from time to time, and wonder if my ghostly visitor ever found his way home...

Nothing Gold can stay...

Along with attending another dog show this weekend, we took a hike in the woods to enjoy some of the beautiful New England Fall foliage that surrounds us.  Autumn is my favorite time of year, surrounded by beauty, I try to spend as much time outdoors as possible.  It's also my favorite time of year to take pictures of the collies.  Every Fall I share our Autumn pictures, along with some beautiful seasonal poems and quotes...

"In the garden, Autumn is, indeed the crowning glory of the year, bringing us the fruition of months of thought and care and toil.  And at no season, safe perhaps in Daffodil time, do we get such superb colour effects as from August to November."-   Rose G. Kingsley, The Autumn Garden

"Just before the death of flowers,
And before they are buried in snow,
There comes a festival season
When nature is all aglow."

-   Author Unknown

"The scarlet of maples can shake me like a cry
Of bugles going by.
And my lonely spirit thrills
to see the frosty asters like smoke
upon the hills."

-   William Bliss Carman

"The leaves fall patiently
Nothing remembers or grieves
The river takes to the sea
The yellow drift of leaves."
-   Sara Teasdale

"Youth is like spring, an over-praised season more remarkable for biting winds than genial breezes.
Autumn is the mellower season, and what we lose in flowers we more than gain in fruits."
-   Samuel Butler

"The gilding of the Indian summer mellowed the pastures far and wide.
The russet woods stood ripe to be stripped, but were yet full of leaf.
The purple of heath-bloom, faded but not withered, tinged the hills...
Fieldhead gardens bore the seal of gentle decay; ... its time of
flowers and even of fruit was over."
-   Charlotte Brontë

“I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”
― L. M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

“No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace as I have seen in one autumnal face."
[The Autumnal]” 
― John Donne

"Colors burst in wild explosions
Fiery, flaming shades of fall
All in accord with my pounding heart
Behold the autumn-weaver
In bronze and yellow dying
Colors unfold into dreams
In hordes of a thousand and one
The bleeding
Unwearing their masks to the last notes of summer
Their flutes and horns in nightly swarming
Colors burst within
Spare me those unending fires
Bestowed upon the flaming shades of fall."

-   Dark Tranquility, With the Flaming Shades of Fall  

“But I remember more dearly autumn afternoons in bottoms that lay intensely silent under old great trees”

-   C. S. Lewis 

Nothing Gold Can Stay
~ Robert Frost

Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay. 

Happy National Cat Day!

The collies and I were surprised to learn today is National Cat Day!  Ooops, we totally forgot, but I know the kitties will forgive us, we do have special treats for them tonight...

Pumpkin - "Did you say you forgot it's National Cat Day?  There better be some really good treats tonight!"

Goblin - "National Cat Day?  I've never heard of it!  My previous family never celebrated it."

Pumpkin - "It's a day to celebrate All Things Cat!  At Christmas time Mom gives us lots of toys, treats and catnip.  See all the presents behind me in this picture?  Well, Goblin, National Cat Day is like Christmas, but it's ONLY for cats!"

 Goblin - "I wasn't sure what would happen to me when I came to live here as a foster kitty.  But if this is really how we are treated, I never want to leave!"

Mom - "Okay Goblin kitty, since you have been such an amazingly good boy, how about we celebrate National Cat Day by announcing you are staying here!  You are home!"


Goblin kitty was not treated well in his previous home, so I didn't have the heart to refuse my daughter's request to foster him.  But he has turned out to be a wonderful kitty.  He never lived with dogs or other cats, but he gets along with both.  He wasn't sure of the collies at first, and still keeps a bit of a distance, but he touches noses with them in the morning, and never hisses or swats at them when they try to play.  Pumpkin isn't attached to him, she won't sleep with him like she did with my daughter's cat, Ghost.  But she tolerates him, and doesn't seem to mind sharing her home with him.  He doesn't seek my attention, but purrs like a motor when I pet or cuddle him.  I named him Goblin because he has one green eye and one blue eye, just like David Bowie.  So his full name is Goblin King, from the movie Labyrinth.  All of our kitties, past and present, have had Fall/Halloween themed names, and they have all been rescues.  (Autumn, Spice, Pumpkin, Cider, Ghost and now Goblin)  While I think most cats believe EVERY day is National Cat Day, I am glad to say we remembered in time to celebrate.  After all, I have two of the sweetest kitties in the world living with us.

And because it's the Aww Monday Blog Hop, here is a picture of Pumpkin when she was just a baby!

Collie vs Squirrel

Some squirrels just know no fear...

Poor Kori is so frustrated, that squirrel just continues to ignore her while he demolishes my daughter's pumpkin!

Wordless Wednesday - Abby

I just couldn't love this girl more...