Stumpy says...

Ho! Ho! Ho!



Enjoy the season!

Two Very Good Reads

"Unsaid"

written by Neil Abramson

Stumpy gives this book five out of five kitties

Veterinarian, Helena Colden, has died and left her husband to care for her menagerie of rescued critters. A tortured spirit, she is unable to move past the world she loved. She fears facing the animals which she aided in death and the truth which she hid, even from herself, will be discovered by those she loved most.

A very good read! This book was compared, by many, to Racing in the Rain. It's a book that made me laugh and cry. Definitely pick up a copy!

Pack of Two - The Intricate Bond Between People and Dogs

written by Caroline Knapp

Stumpy gives this book four out of five kitties. Only because she prefers story time to actually learning something.

This book was a real eye opener for me. I even saw myself! The author relates our life experience, and her own, to the manner in which we relate to our dogs. It's an interesting concept and one I think many can and will relate to. 

I wished I had found this book earlier, when I was training dogs professionally. I think it would have really helped me to deal with some of the human behavior!

If you question or are interested to know why your dog behaves in some ways, you might find the answer in this book.

The Dome Rock Pack Reunites for RTR 2012

Last year bonds were formed and Stumpy's posse, the Dome Rock Pack paw-teeeeed 24/7 at RTR2011.  the pack reunited for RTR 2012

Make no mistake, the RTR is a dog friendly event. The interaction between the pack members is one of my favorite things about this gathering. (Yes, I love all you people, but the dogs really complete the event.) I was REALLY looking forward to Stumpy running wild with her buddies. When we first pulled in my heart sank. I saw more than one dog on a leash and immediately thought, "ACK! How on earth am I going to convince Stumpy that she will not be able to run wild with her posse."

Fortunately, that was not the case. There were a few dogs there, that for whatever reason were restrained. (I appreciate responsible humans that know and understand their dogs' behavior and/or limits and act accordingly! xox THANK YOU!!!)

Again, I use the excuse of the new camera, broken laptop, the (insert as many four letter words, as many times as you want) sloooooooooooooow netbook and blogger issues for the lack of pictures and the quality of the photos I post, here. I've even resorted to recycling pictures from last years post!

We invited Kuzzin' Fenway to join us and he volunteered to drive. My son wouldn't let him go :(  

I've already decided to just dognap him, next year. He is my grand dog, after all!

Stumpy is very comfortable in her house on wheels

Stumpy's nemesis, Rain arrived on Tuesday. A cattle dog stink eye stare down ensued, immediately.

Rain really matured over the year and was able to meet and hold Stumpy's gaze. There was no winner.

Returning pack members included:

Homer, our handsome host

Izzie left early last year, so I had no pictures of him. Izzie was rescued, as a very sick puppy, from the streets of Mexico and is living happily ever after.

Dina handled crowd control and security, both canine and human, much to Bri's dismay. I think she did a great job!


Kelly, the matriarch


Rain was everywhere! She  provided hours of entertainment with her many talents. Some of which I captured on video. But, I have no idea how to transfer the new camera's video format to the computer or YouTube.


Stella!

Stetson

Tony was there to make sure everyone got enough lovin'

Mia's here!

New pack members included ( I apologize for not knowing everyone's names)
A couple of Labs, at least one is a service dog.

2 Italian Greyhounds and a Whippet, named Wicca

Tori

Luke

Tawny, a pit bull mix, an English setter, a beagle and  two chihuahuas were among the dogs that are not pictured. I estimate over 20 dogs in our encampment. There were a couple of little squabbles, but amazingly all the dogs get along, in their own way.

It's interesting to note that almost every traveler's dog, that I have met, is a rescue or shelter dog. Another thing to love about people on the road!

Candids
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Stumpy didn't have her own chair this year (HORRORS!) She became one of those people who show up at a camp without chairs and steal whatever is available. 

 Meet and greet

Mia spent a couple days at Stumpy's house while her partner went to work

 She made herself right at home!

This year rehab/boot camp began early, before we left camp!

Rain! Over here!

I can't help but believe that Stumpy is looking forward to seeing her posse, again, just as much as I am looking forward to seeing members of my RTR family at RTR 2013, if not before. Who knows where???

Stumpy's friends were waiting for us when we got home

Still having issues with blogger. It took about 5 hours to upload these pictures when I created the post, originally on RVly Ever After. I suppose I should be grateful blogger hasn't eaten my blogs since it seems to have eaten my reading list and blogs I follow on my dashboard. Still reading blogs when i can and miss you all!


Below is one of the error messages when I attempt to comment on a blog.
Error 324 (net::ERR_EMPTY_RESPONSE): The server closed the connection without sending any data
WTH???