Tuesday morning (17 Jan 2012) I was walking with Rosy thru a clearing between a woods and a smaller grove of trees, when Rosy decided to check out the grove of trees. I expected her to follow after me once she satisfied her curiosity, but she didn’t. She just sat there and looked at me even after I called her. So I had no choice but to go and see what was happening. As I got closer I saw a young deer about two-thirds grown standing behind her. It didn’t flee as I approached, and then I saw why. Its left rear leg was caught in a wire fence and was pointing straight upward. The top wire looped around its hoof so tightly that it took me several minutes to get it free, but at last I succeeded and the poor animal could at last stand on all four feet.

For a while it just stood there and looked at us, not seeming to fear me or Rosy. Either it was in shock, or it figured that if we meant to harm it we would have done so already. Finally it started to walk away, and I saw that the formerly-imprisoned leg was stretched out straight and and totally stiff, apparently from the who-knows-how-many hours it had spent ensnared in the wire loop. So it hobbled away, and I wished it well, feeling happy for having freed it, but fearing that its troubles may have only begin.

Rosy followed it for a while, but seemed only curious. She did not attack or harass it, and eventually she came back to me and we resumed our hike.

–Dwayne Martin

(Stock photo)

Rosy was standing by the dinner table hoping one of us would throw her a table scrap, when I noticed that her leg was shaking. By the time we got her to the vet, her whole body was shaking and I was in tears. The vet said that the symptoms resembled pyrethrum poisoning and asked if we had bought any new house plants. We had some poinsettias, and wouldn’t put it past Rosy to have taken a bite, but we hadn’t seen her do it. (Poinsettias themselves are only mildly toxic, so the poisoing would have come from insecticides sprayed on the plants.)

The vet anesthetized her and gave her an intravenous antidote. By morning she was OK and we were relieved, but $200.00 poorer! We worried that it might happen again since we weren’t sure what caused the problem in the first place.

We are passing this on to let people know that newly-purchased house plants may come treated with insecticides or other chemicals that may be hazardous to a puppy’s health. Next time you buy a house plant, ask if it has been sprayed or treated. Keep your plants up where pets are less likely to eat them, and have a safe and happy New Year!

–Dwayne and Pat Martin, and Ammerville’s Rosalind Layka

Dwayne, Rosy, and Hamlet share a moment of reverent thanks for everyone's good health

Dwayne and rosy at the Fun Match

Rosy made a splash at her dog show debut at the Kooikerhondje Fun Match this October. Dwayne Martin, her housemate and handler, had never been to a dog show, let alone been in the ring with a show animal! Rosy was all confidence (even if she didn’t have a clue), and quickly put Dwayne at ease.

It all paid off, and Rosy earned her first ribbon, bringing home the Best Puppy Award.

Of course, there were only three puppies in the field–all excellent kooiker specimens, and the other two Rosewood bred pups–so there was no way to lose.

But in the end, the day was clearly not about the competition. Judge Carol Noe had to do some on-the-spot handling instruction, and her patience and good humor prevailed as human and canine alike bumbled around the ring.

Instead, the day was about sunshine and camaraderie, laughter and beauty, as we got to know each other and meet another wet, wiggly nose.

Everywhere you turned, there was something spectacular going on. A Border Collie, all its energy focused in one blue eye, snakes its way through a set of weave poles at the adjacent Agility Trial. The clear afternoon sun slants across the tin roof of an old barn. A girl with impossibly long hair leads an old kooikerhondje around the ring for the first time and takes home a ribbon.

Yesterday, we took Rosy to Love on a Leash, a dog training and agility facility, to see how she did with the agility toys and tunnel.

Here she is attacking a favorite chew toy.

Grrr! Must get that squirrel tail!