Viktor, was a Polish Lowland Sheepdog who shared his views on life and had a following of loyal readers from around the world . He sadly left all of us us way too soon. He left his PON brother, Frodo and his Berger Picard “brother”, Elroy to continue his “legacy.” We now welcome a new PON brother to our story- Wojtek- who in many ways, has the very same “bigger than life attitude” as Viktor. So we know Viktor’s spirit lives on, as does the spirit of Paxton, his Bernese Mountain Dog…
It is Valentine’s Day. The day to say you appreciate your loved ones. Human or canine.
Frodo here. I must confess I am a BIT embarrassed because I discovered this week that our neighbors know us dogs all too well. You see, her highness received some Valentine flowers – from us boys. That’s what the card said. But it was REALLY from the neighbors. How nice was THAT?! We really DO live in the nicest neighborhood around. And speaking of which, there is a house for sale in our neighborhood. If anyone comes to look at the house, I must meet them as part of the interview process. We cannot have anyone living on MY road who does not like dogs. I must contact that real estate agent today to let him know my availability.
Her highness didn’t get any new “props” or attire at the Dollar store this time. So we were forced to use props from previous Valentine photo shoots. It was a rather miraculous shoot. It literally took only minutes. For some odd reason, the beatnik was cooperative. He actually LOOKED at the camera. The fact that her highness was balancing fluffy squeaky toys on her head may have helped.
And speaking of photos…. her highness saw the following video on Facebook the other day. So she was watching it – and suddenly realized that yours truly and Brother Viktor are in the video! Now we would get all excited, however we also noted that there is an Old English Sheepdog in the video – and they have tried to pass him off as a PON. So much for credibility. Anyway, watch the video and see if you can count how many times Viktor and/or I appear. There won’t be any huge prize if you guess correctly- other than knowing you are a brilliantly observational human. Good luck.
Well time to go and be nice to her highness on this day that celebrates a martyred guy who was the patron saint of love, happy marriages, beekeepers, the plague and epilepsy. I’m not joking. Hallmark decided to capitalize on the love part. No one wants to send plague cards.
Happy Valentine’s Day. Have a good one. Peace and paws up.
Yo. Elroy the herder here. The Boss said I shouldn’t get so cocky calling myself a herder just yet. HE says it is beginner’s luck. I say he is just jealous. I have found my niche (whatever that means – I didn’t realize I lost it) – and I look forward to more meetings with the woolies.
Meanwhile, White Fang had to go to the vet. Yup – the broken tooth fiasco. Now, as far as I could tell, it wasn’t THAT big a problem. And ya know what? If her highness had not been present when the tooth exploded (I love using dramatic descriptions), she would probably not have even noticed that the Boss now had a a symmetrical smile. But no – she saw it happen. And because she becomes neurotic about us, she started watching every move he made. If he licked his lips – it must be the tooth. If he twitched his face – it must be the tooth. Add to that – Dr Google can present humans with a HOST of catastrophic ailments resulting from a broken tooth. Never mind the fact that his other canine is broken and it never caused a problem. That must have been before Google.
Anyway, she decided to take him to the vet – just to be sure. She even took the tooth in a little box to show the vet. Like our poor vet has never seen a tooth before. Let me tell you – our vets spend a whole lot more time treating her highness than they do us. They are VERY patient. The vet said the Boss COULD get a root canal with a cap – but she didn’t really think that was a good idea. She felt it would be best if the tooth came out. Along with a cracked molar in the back. They made the appointment for next week. The vet asked her highness if she wanted an estimate. Her highness said “no”- she loves surprises. Besides – she can double dip – our vet gives air miles AND if she puts the bill on her VISA she gets MORE points. Gotta look at the silver lining. She said to her vet, “not sure what I’ll do with this tooth.” The vet wryly suggested making a pendant. Brilliant idea. What a great conversation piece when she wears it. Just kidding….
Yesterday, for our afternoon jaunt, we went down to the lake. And guess what we discovered? Well her highness discovered. The ice along the edge of the lake LOOKS solid. But it isn’t. Well – it’s solid enough to hold me. Or the Boss. But it isn’t solid enough for her highness. It all goes back to too much Halloween candy. In 2018.
Anyway, I was about 8 feet from the shoreline on the ice ( and of course on a leash). The Boss was out there too. The Boss came back and her highness decided (surprise surprise) to get a photo of yours truly. So she stepped out to position me. And that’s when we heard the splooosh. Her left foot went through the ice and into the water. Now before you get panicky, the water along the shoreline is about 20 inches deep. And even at 8 feet out it’s only about 36” deep. So nobody was in any danger of drowning. We never really go far out – even when it’s super cold. But we had some warmer weather the past few days – so clearly, parts of the lake melted.
So here she has one foot down in the water over her nice leather boot. The other foot is on the ice and she is balancing so she doesn’t get the other foot in too. So she kind of throws herself backward into the shoreline repeating a series of phrases I cannot write here. The Boss and I just looked at her. She stood up on the shore, and said we had to get back to the house. Her foot was cold and wet. The Boss just rolled his eyes.
We had to move quickly – I BARELY had time to stop and poop. She got in the house and quickly took off her boot. She positioned it so it would dry out. Probably by June.
Elroy here. I went for my first sheep herding lesson yesterday. We got up at 5:45 so her highness could take us out, feed us, shower and be ready to hit the road by 7:30. Ludwig pulled out of the garage at 7:26. Her highness wanted to be sure we didn’t turn up late for our first lesson. The roads were clear and the temperature was a crisp -14 Celsius. Her highness was wearing so many layers of clothing, she could barely move. I almost didn’t recognize her.
We arrived at the farm by 8:30 – and our lesson was booked for 9:00. Perfect. It gave me time to have my new arrival poop. I had already pooped at home, but whenever I arrive somewhere, I almost always poop again. Some folks roll out a red carpet on arrival. I announce my arrival in a different way.
We met our instructor, Heather, and I immediately liked her. I also quickly spotted three sheep in a pen, and became a little “excited.” Heather explained that she would work with me to introduce me to the wooly trio.
So. This is what I learned. These are the rules in sheep herding.
1. It is OK to go with a stranger, if your human says you can go.
2. In race car driving, a waving flag may mean speed up. The same is NOT true in sheep herding. When the instructor waves the flag or hits in on the ground, that means back off. Or do something else. It does not mean run at the sheep like your tail is on fire.
3. IF the instructor waves or hits the flag, don’t take it personally. It’s basically the language of herding 101. You can’t get your knickers in a twist about it. You can’t be overly “sensitive.” Herding is not for sensitive introverts.
4. Barking to alert your human at home that there is an intruder – like a squirrel, is OK. Incessant barking at sheep is not OK. I guess the woolies are “sensitive.”
5. Lambchops in the freezer are edible. Moving Lambchops are not. And attempting to sample moving Lambchops will get you a waving flag. That hits the ground. Repeatedly.
6. Woolies or moving lambchops leave delectable treat balls. Sampling treat balls will also get you a waving flag. That hits the ground. Repeatedly.
7. Humans are generally left or right-handed. And we dogs prefer one side or direction over the other. For me, when I move clockwise, I am happy and I move beautifully. When I must move counterclockwise, it’s not as comfortable for me, so I go crazy and try to sample the moving lambchops. I have to learn to feel comfortable going both directions. My Jekyll and Hyde personality must be under control at all times.
Those are the basic rules. First and foremost, one must RESPECT sheep. They are not rabbits to be chased. While there IS some prey drive involved in herding, that drive must be under control. Always. There is a difference between herding and lure coursing. Big time.
So. Given all those rules, how did I do? My first round was OK. But I didn’t KNOW the rules initially so I got lots of waving, slapping flags. Which was justified. But by the end of the first half of my lesson, I was STARTING to catch on.
We took a little break and went for a little walk to decompress my brain. And then it was time for round 2. And that’s when the proverbial light bulb switched ON. I remembered the rules. I didn’t become offended if the flag waved and my sampling of treat balls and moving lambchops essentially disappeared. I started figuring out how to go both ways when I was instructed to do so. The instructor no longer needed to hold onto the long line I was attached to – like she did in round 1. I started getting the point of this exercise- and I LOVED it. I mean I LOVED IT. Here is a very short video in round 2. Her highness didn’t take a lot of photos or video because it was -14. And she couldn’t take her gloves off for long to hold her phone. But interestingly, despite the cold temperatures – she never felt cold! Must have been all those clothes – and the fact that she was so intent on what I was doing that she didn’t have time to THINK about the cold. In the video, you will see me going both directions here. And you’ll see me slow down to smile at her highness to let her know I was having great fun.
Heather said she never worked with a Picard before. And she said I did some things that can sometimes take several lessons to do. She said her highness should be proud of me – I worked very well. Both her highness and I were beaming. Well. She was beaming. I just kept watching the sheep. Even when I was out of the pen and our lesson was over. Her highness was thrilled – and relieved that Heather’s first exposure to a Picard was not a total embarrassment.
As Heather predicted, I was pretty tired afterwards. But ya know what? I can’t WAIT to do it again! We will be back!!!
Hey there it’s Elroy here. This is going to be a short blog because I’m going somewhere! I’m going to check out some SHEEP! Yup. Her highness and I are going to a farm about an hour from here – and I’m going to get to play with some sheep. Well- I guess “play” is not the appropriate word. My understanding is that I’m supposed to move some sheep around. I’m not sure why. But I’ll find out. I met sheep once before and I thought they were rather intriguing. We’ll see if I like them today.
It’s pretty cold out, so maybe by moving them around, I’ll stay warm. No matter what, it will be an adventure.
Meanwhile, White Fang will be staying home. That’s my new name for The Boss. He doesn’t really appreciate his new name. I gave it to him because on Friday, in the midst of a freezing rainstorm, he was chewing on a bone -and he broke his canine tooth! Yup. It flew across the floor. This makes a matching pair for him – several years ago he broke the other one. It doesn’t seem to hurt him- her highness can touch it and he’s eating just fine. The only difference in his behavior- he’s not barking as much. So no one is complaining about that. If her highness didn’t hear it happen, she probably wouldn’t have noticed anything odd. Right now the biggest issue is that her highness keeps watching his every move. If he licks his lips – she immediately thinks it’s a problem. Even after he eats. She is kinda driving herself crazy. So although she was going to “wait and see “ instead of racing to the vet, for her own health, they may end up going sooner rather than latter.
Ok. Gotta go. Stay tuned tomorrow to hear about my adventure with the Lambchops.
Frodo here. Well it is that time of the year. People are madly traveling to New York City this weekend and Monday and Tuesday for one of the most well- known dog shows in the USA. It’s Westminster time. Ah yes. There will be much of the dreaded fluffing and puffing occurring at Madison Square Garden very soon. Several years ago, the Kennel Club finally realized that dogs are not just pretty – but we are athletes with brains too. So they started hosting obedience and agility competitions as part of the “Westminster” extravaganza as well. Proper thing. Not all of us like to be in beauty pageants. Personally, I didn’t mind them back in the day. I didn’t love the grooming part, but as for standing still and getting treats – well that was right up my alley. And oh yes, you DO need to run around the ring a bit. But it’s not like it is a marathon. Yes – there is much involved in getting a 25 cent ribbon. Every single one of which we have kept. Of course we have.
Anyway, this year there are over 2600 dogs entered in the show. Her highness read an article about breeds that have never won the 143 previous Westminster shows. I’m shocked that neither a PON nor Picard has ever won, but probably a bit more shocking is that neither has a Labrador or Golden Retriever. Given the popularity of those breeds, it’s quite astounding really.
So who are the contenders this year? I know you might find this shocking – but some Las Vegas oddsmakers place bets. I haven’t seen any numbers yet, but here are the top contenders, based on their performances in the show ring last year:
Now it is not a GIVEN that one of those dogs will win – it’s really anybody’s luck. But let’s check back next week and see if any of these names takes the big win.
If you want more info about the show, and the schedules so you can watch from the comfort of your home, here’s the link to all kinds of info about the show:
A new breed competing for the first time this year is the Azawakh – a sighthound from Africa. The name is pronounced oz-a-wok – in case someone asks you.
The beatnik was gloating a bit because there are more Picards entered than PONs – 13 to 11. That is not what I would deem a significant difference although I did not perform the stats. The Goldens beat the Labs 48 to 44. The smallest entries, with just a single dog represented are the English Foxhounds, Sloughis, and the Komondorok. The good news about that – unless you come in limping or bite the judge, there’s a pretty good chance you will get Best of Breed. I like those odds.
If you want to look at the schedule and numbers of dogs, here is the link.
No doubt we will watch at least parts of the show. The breed judging sadly is not always shown, but we may be able to find it on-line. The group judging is always shown in the evenings on TV. Her highness better check that we get the channel. I do recall her calling the cable company with minutes to spare in order to get the channel one year. I must remind her to do so ahead of time.
It is raining today – so our walks will be abbreviated. Which is frankly fine with me. Unless she resurrects the raincoats…. We can only pray she can’t find them.
Frodo here. It is February 5, and according to what Viktor would call “the crazy calendar,” it is something called National Weatherperson’s Day. A day devoted to meteorologists. Or what I prefer to call Fortunetellers Day. Or Professional Gamblers Day. Or Professional Dart Throwers Day. I suppose that’s actually unfair to Fortunetellers, Dart Throwers and Gamblers because they probably have higher accuracy rates than Weatherpersons. Like Viktor, my absolute favorite thing about weather forecasting is long term forecasting for one to two weeks. They generally cannot predict how much snow will fall within 24 hours so WHY do they even try to predict the weather a week in advance? Where else can you have a job where you are frequently wrong – and you still get to keep your job? I suppose I am being a bit harsh – and while I am sure they TRY their best….it’s still a gamble.
Even our local prognosticating rodent had forecasting problems this past week. This is a brilliant example of forecasting at its best. Each year, on February 2, our local groundhog, Shubenacadie Sam makes his forecast about spring. It’s a big celebration to see if the rodent will or will not see his shadow. People come from all over to see Sam emerge from his den. It’s a little festival. But in an ironic twist of forecasting fate- on February 1, the weather prognosticating rodent festival was CANCELLED- because the weather forecast was calling for a storm. They said he would make his prediction via social media. I’m not joking. So sure enough, the next day the attendants at the park where Sam lives reported his actions and posted them on-line. And the funny part? There was no storm. The forecast was wrong. They didn’t need to cancel the festival. It was a nice, sunny day. Oopsie. The bad part, though – as a result of the sunny weather, the rodent saw his shadow, went back to his den, and that sadly signals 6 more weeks of winter. That was in contrast to other groundhogs – Punxsutawney Phil in Pennsylvania and Wiarton Willie in Ontario who said there will be an early Spring. Lucky them. As if a rodent can make a 6 week prediction anyway.
Meanwhile, here at home, the beatnik and I were crushed yesterday- despite a beautiful sunny day. After a nice long walk, her highness announced she was “going out for a bit.” Her bit is like a week in dog years. When she returned, we greeted her and we were instantly mortified. She was cheating on us. It was evident all over her. Her hands, her legs and even her shoelaces had the distinct aroma of dogs. Several dogs.
After we sniffed and inhaled practically every inch of her body, she confessed where she had been. Which frankly, annoyed me even more. She had been to visit MY breeders. MY birthplace. How dare she go there and not take moi?
It seems my breeders just got a new PON puppy. And her highness just HAD to meet her. She said the puppy was “a sweetheart.” On top of that, there were Coton puppies there as well. And they were reportedly equally adorable. Our initially rapidly wagging tails slowed when we realized we had missed out on a delightful afternoon. I do believe there will be some serious countersurfing happening over the next few days as payback.
And no – before you puppy loving readers start jumping to conclusions- we are not getting a Coton puppy. Much as we love our Coton buddy Milo, we are not adding to our household right now. Don’t get any ideas. None. Whatsoever. I “predict” that there will not be another Musketeer added to this household for QUITE some time. Probably years. You can quote me on that. Me and my accurate prediction friend Sam.
Well. It’s Frodo again. It seems that my posting yesterday caused a fair amount of discussion in this house. And the discussions have resulted in several tangents. Allow me to explain.
Many, many of you wrote to say that you also saw “the sign” left by Viktor. Some of you saw his face in the clouds. Some of you saw his profile running. Most of you saw some image of the grey whirlwind. And that was super comforting. And interesting. But- that’s not what we saw!!!!
Just a few people saw what her highness saw. Here’s a clue… look in the sky again – for a letter…It’s barely there in this one…
Do you see it now? It’s a letter V. Or at least that’s what her highness first spotted. Which got me thinking about a lot of things. Why did her highness see a letter? Is it her background as a speech pathologist and her work with words? Did others see Viktor because they expected to see Viktor? Is it like those optical illusions where people just see things differently. Here’s a great article about humans and optical illusions:
On a deeper level, do humans focus on something because they expect something, and miss other information? How much do “influencers” impact what humans see? And believe.
Indeed – some rather deep discussions – all from a couple of colorful dog photos.
But getting back to “signs” – the general consensus agreed that there are signs around us. And they provide comfort and a sense of peace. So no matter what you saw – the fact that you looked – and believed – is the key point.
Now. Excuse me while we head out for our walk. And we’ll be watching, listening and sniffing for more signs. I’m thinking we canines have you humans beat when it comes to being perceptive. And that my friends is why we canines rule the world.
Frodo here. Let me begin this blog posting by saying I’m a serious kind of guy. Except when I’m rolling. Then it’s hard to assume your intellectual appearance. I can’t help it. Her highness has now started calling me Rollo. I cannot control myself when it comes to packed snow. I must roll. It’s actually an addiction. Most of our snow melted after the rain last weekend, but there are still patches around. And as we are walking, I cannot resist the urge to drop and roll.
Anyway, I digress. As I said, I’m serious and I look at things pretty objectively. But then there is this part of me that is willing to admit that there are things I cannot explain. Like “signs.”
When someone you love is finished with his or her earthly purpose, they leave us. They are no longer physically with us, but they are in our hearts. We think of them. We miss them. We wish they were still with us. Like Viktor…
And sometimes I think we have “signs” given to us to let us know that they are still with us- even though we can’t see them. Perhaps theses signs are purely coincidence, and perhaps we see them because we want to see them. But if we note them, and it gives us some strange feeling of comfort, what’s the harm?
Yesterday morning, just before sunrise, we headed out on our walk. We went up to the golf course. Yours truly was let loose, because I come when called. At least 99% of the time. If there was a meat truck accidentally dropping it’s load, I might not be quite so quick to return. But there are rarely meat trucks at the golf course. As we were walking, her highness turned around and gasped because the sunrise was nothing short of spectacular. And as you might imagine, she thought it would make a perfect background for a photo with me and the beatnik. She knew she only had minutes before it would disappear so she scrambled to find the perfect photo location. There is a giant rock on one fairway, so she ran to it. It slopes on one side- so the beatnik happily climbed up. Meanwhile, yours truly found a patch of snow at the base of the rock. A perfect patch. So you know what I did. I rolled. Her highness was anxiously calling for me to climb up the rock. The patch of snow wasn’t a meat truck – but it was almost as appealing. She called. And called. As she watched the brilliant sunrise already beginning to fade.
FINALLY I got on the rock, following my instructions for modeling. And of course, the beatnik did the opposite. He wouldn’t look at her. Or if he did, he would turn his ears all inside out. He would turn to his left so her highness tried to trick him by simply walking around to his left. If he could have turned his head around like something out of the Exorcist, he would have done so. Of course, if she moved far enough, there was no sunrise in the photo. She pleaded and made every noise possible.
In the end she did manage to get a few photos. No prize winners – and the most brilliant color had faded. But she was content and we continued on our walk.
When we got home, her highness quickly scrolled through the photos to see if there were ANY that justified having frostbite in her fingers. And that’s when she noticed something in a number of shots….
Now SHE sees something. But well… I’m not sure anyone else will. It’s really a stretch. It’s most visible in the last two photos. See if you notice anything. In the sky. And really, if you don’t- it’s OK. Signs do not have to be for everyone. But when they are for you, they sure can make you feel better. Even with your frostbitten fingers.
Greetings blog readers. Frodo here. To begin, I would like to thank all those who sent me birthday greetings. It was a delightful day filled with lots of attention and copious amounts of treats. It was the best 10th birthday I have ever had. And being the generous fellow that I am, I shared my treats with the beatnik. Well. Most of them.
In the past, Brother Viktor often liked to share historical information in this blog – related to canines. In keeping with his practice, I thought I should mention two things. First- today is the last day of a January. As you may recall, our New Year did not begin on a high note, so we are quite happy to say goodbye to the first month of the year. We have proclaimed February 1 as our New Year. Out with the old bones. In with the new.
Second. Today also happens to be something called Inspire your Heart with Art Day. It sounds a bit “made up” to me – but given the fact that humans are often looking for any reason to celebrate in the midst of winter – it seems fine to me. I mean it’s not like a day to celebrate a burrowing rodent or anything. Something like that would be ridiculous.
Now there are numerous artists who specialize in canine art. We have a few things like these acrylic paintings that are of us.
And some others like this wood burning done of dogs from long ago. Schubert and Guinness, are the two Bernese, we have Beamish the Lab and that’s Barney – the multibreed adoptee. Whose nickname at the shelter was “The Biter.” Quite the character, I understand….
We even a pottery sculpture of me and Brother Viktor from an artist in Poland.
She loves art of her boys. Who wouldn’t?!
But in addition to art done of the best subjects on the planet by humans, one can also have art DONE BY canines.
Viktor may have shared some of these before, but they are worth repeating. The following dogs have inspired me to try my paw at painting. This is actually a few years old, and some of these dogs have gone to the Rainbow bridge. Mind you, that should increase the value of their work….
I am impressed with the fact that people PAY for this dog art. That is really what captured my attention. I think I could do it. However, realistically, her highness thinks I would be more like THIS dog. Note that this dog requires a treat for every brush stroke. Every single stroke. Her highness said my style would be closer to this…
In fact, her highness found that particular video humorous. Very humorous. She said THAT would be me.
I don’t see the humor. The dog is simply being paid for his work.
I would definitely prefer holding the brush – rather than running through any paint. I mean I don’t like walking though puddles – so the thought of paint on my feet – well it makes me shudder.
So that is my news for today. Have a happy Friday. And take a minute to look out for all the art around you!
It’s Elroy again! Because I get to tell you about a special national holiday. It’s kind of ironic really. Yesterday I got to tell you about the bad “good dog”. And today I get to tell you about the good “good dog.” Because that’s what we do on someone’s BIRTHDAY. Yup. It’s the Boss’ celebration of another trip around the sun. And it’s an extra special one. It’s his 10th birthday!!!! Double digits! It’s been a long time since we’ve seen double digits in this house. Mind you, her highness is well into triple digits. In dog years.
Viktor probably has told the story of Frodo (the Boss’ real name) many times before. But because we may have a new reader or two, I thought I’d recap his history….I wasn’t around during these early days, so I had to research this stuff.
Over the years, her highness had been owned by a multi-breed dog, a Labrador and several Bernese Mountain Dogs. When she suddenly lost her third Bernese, Harper at age 7 to cancer, she decided to “look at” some other breeds. She had read about Polish Lowland Sheepdogs and she knew someone who owned one. She met the dog once and the owner commented that the breed could be stubborn- but also extremely smart. Not one to easily back down from a challenge, her highness thought they sounded “interesting.” In addition, she had a fondness for rare breeds – when she first got into Bernese, no one knew what they were. So rarity did not bother her.
She had heard that there were few PON breeders in Canada – but as luck would have it- there was one in Nova Scotia. She contacted them to simply meet and learn more about their dogs. She did NOT know that they had 9 week old puppies at the time.
The rest, as humans say, is history. It took her less than 24 hours to make a decision- even though she had no intention of getting a puppy when she had arranged that visit. The breeder had been calling him Frodo, and her highness thought it fit, so why change it?
The new family member got along great with Paxton…
And although I couldn’t find a puppy picture with Beamish, the Lab, this shot is proof that they also got along great.
Here’s a shot of the trio:
Her highness quickly learned that this shaggy newcomer was like no dog she had ever owned. He was smart. Really smart. No gate could contain him. And he would NEVER forget something. He was extremely food motivated and extremely easy to train. And he liked to bark…
When he was a puppy, his portrait was done by a Canadian artist when her highness shared his photo…
You can find his painting to this day, on prints, pillows, bags, T-shirts… you name it! Her highness has the original painting. But no – we don’t get royalties….
Meanwhile, they worked together in obedience and rally and her highness also decided to show him in beauty pageants too. Which was not super easy because there weren’t many… often there weren’t any PONs being shown. Despite that fact, the Boss got his Championship with her highness on the other end of the lead. He got it by getting some big group ribbons He also routinely had high scores in obedience and rally. People would comment that they must have trained a lot. Her highness was too embarrassed to admit that they rarely practiced. Once she showed him what to do, he just did the job. Here are the ribbons he got in 2012. Before he turned 3…
He actually also did some work with sheep!
But years later, when he was in a sheep test, he failed. He just likes to do things HIS way,
Because he proved to be such a “wonder” dog, her highness wanted another one just like him. So she got his brother Viktor almost two years later, from a repeat breeding. They were the same, but not.
The Boss welcomed Viktor and years later welcomed me. While he likes to look tough when he first meets other dogs, he’s a real softy underneath.
Here’s a video of The Boss and Baby Viktor. Several carpets ago…
Here are early photos with yours truly. Some of them. There are loads. Although for some reason, I am blurry in many of them…
The Boss is RARELY blurry in a photo. Her highness calls him Frodo-genic. He loves having his photo taken. There are literally hundreds of shots of him. Maybe thousands. Here are a few favorites just from the past year…
Barky, bold and brilliant. He owns our house, our road, our county, and her heart. Happy birthday big guy – my hero! Today we celebrate YOU!
Viktorsviews. The Next Chapter. 