Henry walking with Peter (great Dane and Wendy)

 Vegas

Wendy

 

Peter, Wendy and Vegas, 

     The human mind is complex, One trait of the human mind is that it is self-trained to see certain things visually. The people who create movies are aware of that . An example is in the movie I just watched. In the movie is a train engine from the 1860’s. The producers place a black steam engine on the screen and it is visualized moving complete with steam coming out the stack. Upon opening the shot however  the train is moving via a truck pushing it. In the human mind however if it looks like a train sounds like a train it must be a train when fact it’s mostly made of cardboard.

    This brings me to Peter, Vegas and Wendy and their owners Henry and Cindy Silva of Pioneer. I was driving up highway 88 and alongside the highway was a man (Henry) walking a Great Dane, a Chihuahua and a Saint Bernard, all on leashes. Two things seemed wrong with this picture the first, the Great Dane is the size of a small horse, the St Bernard about the size of a small bear and the Chihuahua can fit in one’s hand. The second is that they were all walking at a gentle pace in stride none pulling at their leash.(For most dog owners we know that walking a dog is the equivalent of holding onto a moving car). Note if I tried walking my three dogs on a leash at the same time I would end up looking like I had a net around my body wrapped as tight as those Christmas trees on top of peoples cars.

   Yet there along the side of highway 88 were Pete, Vegas and a St. Bernard (Basha) all walking very perfect on their leashes. Vegas the Chihuahua was keeping in stride with Peter. To my mind that doesn’t make sense that could happen so I had to get their story.

   I drove up to the Silva’s house and was greeted by Peter staring in the window of my SUV while standing on all 4’s, Vegas running around the car and Wendy waiting in the garage. Since I last saw them the St Bernard has passed away. A third dog Wendy is a Pomeranian mix.

   Peter stands over 3 feet at the shoulders perhaps 4 feet to the top of his head. Vegas is  the size of a small shoe while Wendy is about 15 lbs. I asked Henry how he trained them to walk so obediently and he indicated that they taught themselves.

   Peter during the interview rested his head on my shoulders standing on all 4’s. Vegas was in Henrys hand and Wendy jumped up on my legs to get petted. All three dogs are very affectionate.

   Peter came to the Silvas as a purchase. They had a Geat Dane previously and when that one passed away 7 years ago the replacement was Peter. Wendy came to the Silva’s via a truck driver at the STP in pioneer where Cindy was working. The driver stated he could no longer care for Wendy and asked Cindy if she knew of a good home and Wendy was at the Silva’s home that evening . Vegas (named after the city) was a transplant from child to parent. Vegas grew up at the Silva’s children’s home but via circumstances ended up in Pioneer.

   These days Peter is reaching old age at 7 and is taking medicine for his legs, so the walks aren’t as frequent but they still are happening. Peter is content now to rest in the house and to be petted and loved. Vegas is not sure of Peter but the two dogs have agreed to a truce with both getting a happy home. Wendy  wants to be loved by everyone.  So the family is tight nit and proves that despite huge differences everyone can get along. All it takes is love, a good bowl of food and a daily walk.

 

 Fargo in submissive post

 Fargo with her bright blue eyes

Fargo posing with her pwner Shaundy

 

Fargo

     Deep in the valleys of the Motherlode are nature created caverns.. As I turned left off Volcano Pioneer road onto the fenced property the road changed from blacktop to gravel. The dust floated into the air as I made my way to the visitor center  at Black Chasm landmark.. When I parked the car there is a special greeter, Fargo a 12 year old Australian Shepherd collie mix. 

    Fargo because of his age may have slowed down a little bit but still makes sure everyone who comes into his life gets a greeting, especially children who are more likely to give him people food. Unlike mother nature’s coloring of camouflage for her animals Fargo stands out for his silver color and bright blue eyes (an Australian Shepherd trait). He is usually laying in front of the gift shop making sure he doesn’t miss any of the daily activities.

    Fargo’s owner is Shaundy Farley is an employee of the park. Fargo was rescued by Shaundy and her husband as a search and rescue dog. Fargo because of the Australian Shepherd in him made a good tracker. Shaundys ex husband was a member of search and rescue and wanted a companion to go into the forest with him. Fargo loved the work and would go everywhere he went but then Shaundy split from him taking Fargo with her.

    Fargo initially was moping around the house but as time passed he became attached to Shaundy. Today he has free roaming of Black Chasm’s grounds. Fargo will follow Shaundy as she gives tours of the Cavern which requires his 12 year old legs to climb down and back up over a hundred stairs. That is the equivalent in human years of an 84 year old. I am only in my 60’s and wouldn’t attempt that feat..

   But Fargo loves it and he is always following Shaundy on her treks not only into the cavern but into the far reaches of the park. He loves looking for new things to sniff out. For all dog owners know this can sometimes lead to trouble as what we consider smelly dogs love. Thus skunks offer no deterrence to dogs and Fargo has his run ins with them.

    One treatment for Fargo after a skunk encounter was to be placed in a crate allowing for the odor to diminish. Australian Shepherds are highly intelligent (Shaundy says he can understand 250 words) and Fargo quickly figured out how to release the latch and would come running to Shaundy. All further treatments required a bath and chemicals to eliminate the odors.

   Fargo has also had an encounter with a porcupine and was curious about this strange creature. Porcupines have no time for such inquisitors and Fargo was quickly on his way to the vet to get the quills removed. He has also had his encounters with mountain lions but has an arrangement with the big cats in that if they leave him alone he leaves them alone.

  His days now of chasing the animals of the forest mostly lie behind him but he now uses his instincts to herd children visiting the park away from dangers and following Shaundy everywhere she goes.

   As I watched him lie on the ground beside us as we concluded this interview I could sense he has had a good life and has many good years ahead of him. The years may have slowed him down but have not stopped him, His eyes still sparkle as bright as they ever have.

 Archie and Annie a few years back

 Archie posing

Annie

 

Archie and Annie 

      Archie and Annie are two black and white 50 pound border collies that reside in Pioneer. I came upon the idea for this story because I used to always meet their owner, Dana Hunt, walking the two to the mailboxes here in Amador Pines. This had been a daily ritual of theirs over a period of years. Now, in 2012, I hadn’t seen them in what seemed like an eternity.  Suddenly last week I came across their owner, Donna Hunt, walking them once more. I couldn’t help but notice that the two were “greying”. That is to say they are growing older.

     Donna and Dana Hunt, their owners, explained to me that a walk to the mailbox that once was daily us now a rare occurrence. Archie and Annie, both 13 years old, are only able to manage the trip rarely. On this particular day the trip that used to take twenty minutes had taken over an hour. Age is overtaking them.

    As the owner of a 13 year old boxer mix I can identify with the aging process in dogs and humans for that matter as I am in my golden years. As I drove away the lyrics to a song came to mind. “Old dogs lie beside the door, they toss and turn scratch and snore. They fight again their puppy wars their playful battles raging.”

    Anyone who has owned a dog from puppyhood through old age or for that matter any length of time know that when our dog friends age its hard on us because as they age, a part of our life also passes into history.

   Archie and Annie came to live in Amador Pines via Pittsburg, California. From the start Archie and Annie loved the country. Here there were animals, deer rabbits, raccoons, that they could herd.  Border Collies are a herding breed. Even though the Deer didn’t feel they needed to be herded, Archie and Annie tried. They were never successful as anyone who know deer, knows they can outrun a dog. But that didn’t stop the deer from returning. After all, even deer and Border collies need to run once in a while.

   One day Dana and Donna heard the dogs barking.  They found Annie and Archie at the base of a tree out in their front yard. They glanced up the tree and there perched on a limb was a full grown mountain lion. Fortunately the lion was not hungry and before the big cat got away Dana and Donna managed to get a picture which too has passed into history. 

   These days Archie and Annie spend most of their time curled up at the Hunts feet by the fire. Annie is starting to have the classic signs of aging with fatty tumors and a skin tag that is growing.  Neither stops her from greeting all visitors. The two are brother and sister and have done everything together since birth. Still they both like to be petted and once the friendly greeting ritual is over, are content to lie on the floor at the guest’s feet. Despite aging they don’t want to miss out on anything.

    These days they have to share their owners’ attention with a white miniature poodle named Buddy. What they lack in energy Buddy more than makes up for. He is bouncing around all over the house making sure that he is noticed. Archie and Annie don’t mind as they lay beside the fire with its crackling warmth their owners never too far away.  

  

 Vito playing in yard

Vito getting serious lying down indicating he has found a bloody knife

 

Vito Corleone 

     This past month we all felt more than a few booms from thunder storms.  Please be reminded that most dogs are sent into frenzy at the sound of thunder. So please keep your dogs indoors or crated so they do not run away and become lost.

   As I drove into Margaret Blair’s yard to do an interview on her dog Vito, one of her dogs had run away after hearing the sounds of thunder. Margaret’s dogs have acres of land upon which to take cover so she spent 24 hours to find her dog. To many of us the thought of a lost dog raises a lot of fears because of the dangers that exist in the mother lode.

    Vito, a good size German shepherd dog greeted me as I drove into Margaret’s acreage. Vito on first look is a very handsome dog standing about 3 feet at the shoulders.  According to Margaret, in the shepherd tradition, Vito is very smart. Margaret breeds German Shepherds and early on selected Vito to be a tracking dog. Then she also added to his resume, a cadaver dog.

    While the word cadaver does not exactly bring pleasant pictures to mind it’s a job that is very important.  Many times a year people have gone missing under suspicious circumstances.  Vito is trained to search for the person. His highly sensitive nose can smell blood or decomposing bodies. He recently helped in finding a body in the mother lode that had been covered up and decomposed over a period of months.

    Vito is also a tracker dog. In these circumstances Margaret may be asked if Vito can be used to find people missing.  Here in the mother lode every year there are people who take a quick hike off the trail and end up lost. Vito is trained to search for them. Recently Vito was called on to help locate three people lost in Big Trees Park. It only took him a matter of minutes but he located the three, saving the hikers and their families a great deal of anxiety.

   Margaret says there is a distinct difference in a tracker assignment and a cadaver assignment. They are two specific tasks. Vito becomes aware of which task he is being assigned by the vest Margaret puts on him.

  Margaret points out the importance of each role.  For an example, the dogs brought in after tragedies such as 9-11 in New York. There were both tracker dogs and cadaver dogs searching in the rubble. The tracker dogs were searching for survivors while the cadaver dogs were searching for those who died.   These dogs know their roles and do not get confused.

    Vito works with several law enforcement agencies in the local area. When Margaret receives the call she puts Vito’s vest on, and day or night, off they go.

    Vito loves his work but he also loves to just hang out on Margaret’s acreage. She has several other dogs to keep him company. Vito enjoys his playtime but when called into duty he is ready to work. 

  For his endeavors he is happy to be told he is a good dog and, of course, a dog treat is always welcomed.

Kahana

 Kahana Sleeping

 Kahana Posing for Camera

Kahana hanging out in yard

Kahana

 

     I just came inside from the yard. It’s been hot here so wish to remind everybody to keep your dogs home during these hot days. I know all dogs love to hop in the car to go for a ride.   But this heat can kill them in minutes when left in a hot car with the windows cracked open.

    I would like to take this opportunity to express my condolences to a friend whose dog, Sierra, passed away. I don’t think there’s anything short of the death of a family member that can be as tough as the death of a pet. As I write this, our friend is looking to replace Sierra with another dog of the same breed. I totally understand her feelings but having owned many dogs, each one is unique and can never be replaced. A new dog however can mend a broken heart quickly. It only takes one nudge from a dog’s nose to help push the pain of a pets’ loss aside.

  Now let me introduce you to Kahana, a 150 pound, 10 year old Saint Bernard residing in Pioneer. Like many of us she is a San Francisco Bay Area transplant. She arrived in the Mother Lode in August 2009 when her owners Donn and Vikke Keith retired here. Suddenly she went from being a restrained city dog to an open country dog. To her that was a great change. She got out of the car and immediately started running around in the open space as fast as her giant paws could carry her.

  However her new found freedom was short lived when the Keiths realized that in the forest a dog unfamiliar with the area can get lost easily but, there is also a leash law.  Thus, she was put on restriction as to where she could and could not go. Still being on restriction in the Mother Lode offers new opportunities that a city dog doesn’t have. She gets to interact with the wildlife now. In the city its birds and the occasional squirrel in the country she interacts with deer, raccoons,  squirrels, possums and, yes, skunks.  

  Kahana began her life with the Keiths as their son’s dog. Their son Donovan raised her but over time left home and could not take Kahana with him.  So Donn and Vikke sort of inherited her. These days she spends her life content to watch wildlife.  The deer seem to sense she is no real threat.  She sleeps a lot but does like to sit and watch the world go by. There is one deer with two Fawns in particular who comes close to her (about 3 feet) and Kahana just lies there watching the deer eat. Kahana’s  food bowl is outside and she sleeps as the raccoons help themselves to her food.

 

    Kahana is a very gentle dog and one of her greatest desires is to be loved.  She likes greeting people but like many large dogs she thinks she is a petite little thing. Should she step on your foot, you know immediately she is not petite!

    Rescuing people, although a trait of the breed is not something Kahana is interested in. Instead she would rather gulp down a dog treat and nap. All in all, Kahana  loves being a dog of the Mother Lode.