Haskell Invitational & Waiting List

Yesterday... Sunday... the Haskell Invitational was run at Monmouth Park in NJ. A number of this year's top 3 year olds competed and it had all the excitement of watching the sun bake my yard into cement. Sorry, but there simply isn't a 3 year old this year that arouses my continuing interest. No great ones in this crop! One of the commentators mentioned that the 23 stakes races for 3 year olds have been won this year by... wait for it... 23 DIFFERENT horses. Now that is the definition of mediocrity. The Haskell was won by last year's 2 year old champ, Looking at Lucky. Which means he's one race better than anybody else. Until the next race. Ho hum.

Waiting List
For the first time in years, I am opening a waiting list for upcoming litters. I get email daily with questions about the Fall possibilities and they usually end with "please let me know when SO-and-So is bred." I am willing to do that on a limited basis, hence, a waiting list. Families will go through the usual screening and pay a fee to be on the list and will have first option to upgrade to the reservation list once one of the girls is definitely "with pup." Since I have a limited number of litters a year, this seems to be the best solution for people who want one of my puppies.

All Gone But One

Remy and Beckett flew out this morning, together in the same crate. They're going to be living within a short distance of each other in Salt Lake with families that are friends. Which means they'll get to see lots of one another.

Remy weighed 10 pounds 12 ounces at the vet on Tuesday
and Beckett was 13 pounds 8 ounces.

It is interesting to me that the pups are in the same formation, size-wise, at 3 months as they were at birth:
Elliott and Beckett the largest with Spider and Brother the smallest and in between, from larger to smaller, are Marco, Charlie, Remy and Lola. That seldom happens. And there WAS some shifting around getting to this age.

Which leaves Spider
Gonna have to get serious about finding her a home now that everyone else is gone. Of course, Wombat will miss her terribly, but maybe she'll develope some manners if she has to deal with adult dogs rather than a pup that is half her size!

Happy Birthday

The pups are 3 months old today. I know! Seems like they've been around forever! Even in dog years, they are still infants.

Another One

Marco's new mom flew in from Chicago to pick him up this afternoon. He went to the groomer this morning and looked SOOO beautiful... but he came home for a couple hours and played with everyone else. What can I say... he's a puppy! Marco weighed in at 12 pounds 1 ounce yesterday. I'm fairly certain he's going to get all the care and attention he needs... his new mom and dad just got back, yesterday, from a vacation trip to Washington DC. And while they were there, Dad had a heart attack requiring some surgery. BUT Linda still came after the puppy today. Marco's got it made in the shade!

Spider
Just wanted to know what her weight was up to on the official veterinary scales, so she went with me and Marco yesterday. She is 9 pounds 6 ounces! Made them weigh her twice just to be sure.

Two More in Their New Homes

Elliott left, on schedule, Saturday... which is more than I can say about Lola who was supposed to travel then as well. Let's start with her.

First off, Lola weighs right at 10 pounds and, outside of getting wet mouthed every time she was in the car, seemed to handle the trips to the groomer and vet... and TWICE to the airport... without problem. Saturday morning, at 4:30 (yes, AM,) the price in Delta's computer was more than $65 higher than what I was given over the phone. It was more than $65 higher than what it cost to ship Charlie two days before that and he weighed a little more and was in a bigger crate. Since I prefer to not spend other people's money without their permission and since it was 2:30 in the morning in Colorado, Lola and I returned home. Michelle wanted her shipped on Sunday, BUT Denver cargo is closed on Sundays. (Heaven help you if you are in Denver and need a heart transplant which becomes available on a Sunday...!) So, Ms Lola didn't leave until this morning. And today the price was correct in the computer.

I can hardly WAIT for Thursday when I'm sending TWO pups in one much larger crate and the quoted price is the same as for Charlie and Lola. We'll just see...!

Now, Jack Elliott... 15 pounds. Needless to say, he's the largest in the litter. And, according to Caren, the smartest. He learned to walk on the lead within a few minutes and has figured out air conditioning vents in the floor.

Pet Insurance

Some of you have asked about pet insurance. Marna (Montana's mom) uses VPI (Veterinary Pet Insurance.) She received excellent service from them with her first puppy and signed Montana up as soon as she got her. And that's all I know on the subject!

Additional on 7/26/10:
Caren reports that she has used the Kroger pet insurance for years. It is available in their grocery stores and on line (krogerpersonalfinance.com) and comes with a variety of options. She carries the catastrophic insurance, rather than the every day run of the mill care, because she figures that is what she'd have trouble with in the event of an accident.

One Down

Brother left this morning. He let his new family hold him without rolling his eyes. In fact, he barely moved at all! He weighs 9 pounds 4 ounces.

And Charlie and I are going to be at the airport by 4:30 in the morning. He weighs 10 pounds 14 ounces.

Both boys did very well at the groomer (where they didn't want to be separated from each other) and the vet (where they both fell asleep on the exam table.) The first car ride was a little frightening for them, BUT by the time we got done late yesterday, they were settled in... a little wet mouthed, but that's about it.

Lola and Elliott are next on the list, both leaving on Saturday.