Our veggie garden has made way for a swimming pool. Only our fruit trees remain for canning. I buy from othe farms, organic tomatoes, green peppers, onions and beets etc for canning.

This weekend is fish. 2 smokers going full bore all weekend. By Monday we'll have done 12 salmon. We'll split that with Kathi and that's all we'll need for the winter. Landie will turn the last of the fruit, peaches, plums and pears into cider today.

The Royals have been diligent in making sure any fruit that dropped on the ground didnt get eaten by bugs. Heaven forbid the bugs should get some yummy food that really is better deserved by the dogs. Duchess sat on guard under the pear tree, on high alert in case something dropped. I've posted a few videos on Kings youtube. Have a look if you get a chance. http://www.you tube.com/user/kingsurvives2008

Here's a little video for you to enjoy. "The Royals enjoy they're last frozen bone before Autumn. Next ones will be oven warmed to keep their tummys warm in the winter months."

We finally put our pool up this year and had a fabulous month of sun and swimming. The Grandchildren came for a short visit and we splashed and played in it for a few days.  I won't add a couple of photos here of those days because I don't have permission to. Their mom, Shawna, has asked me, "Please keep their photos private."   I totally respect where she is coming from.  <i>Shawna, we get to enjoy and giggle at their antics in private ;-) </i>

However there are other photos of our new pool on our photobucket album. 

http://s422.photobucket.com/albums/pp302/Katog/  

We had Seven with us for the summer. Kathi was working up in the Yukon as a camp cook for an exploration company.  Similarly Logan is currently woroking with another exploartion company in Gold Bridge these days.  It make a mom feel so good to have both her children happy healthy and working full time. Ahh the good life :-) 

Good Health has followed our dogs this summer as well. Although we see age signs showing in King, he continues to romp and play with P. Molly like he's still a puppy.  If you check out his ears  you can clearly see the white that has taken over. His overall color is chaning rapidly from a deep ginger/red to a soft pastel gingery/orange.  I can relate to hair color change as I see athe straggly white ones creeping into my own scalp. I refuse to pluck them out cuz I'll be bald in a month lol  In reality. I couldn't care less about them ;-P

Duchess has settled in like a comfy old shoe. I know that's a terrible metaphore but it kind of really explains her personallity. I've been far better at updating her and Kings pages so please visit them to check out their updates. 

Duchess  http://duchesssammy.blogspot.com/

King  http://kingsurvives.blogspot.com/  

People have asked why Molly doesn't have a blog and I guess I should really create one for her. Years ago when Molly was first adopted I dedicated a page on our website specially for Molly and began her storya there.  It is my intention for the future to continue ono with the story I began for her.  I suppose Im waiting until I retire for "Molly" to write a book.  She continues to shine in our eyes

Princess MollyDawg...  We love you!

She has arrived and is settled back in like she never left!  We couldn't be happier to have her with us. 

King and Princess MollyDawg have accepted her better than when she arrived the first time. Could it be because they feel she "BELONGS" here now? 

I don't know nor do I care. We will have her withus for all of eternity now. 

I've created a blog site for her, please feel free to visit  her updates here @

My Life As Duchess Sammy

Her homecoming videos are here  on Kings Youtube Channel and her photo album is here on my Photobucket site. 

TOGETHER FOREVER

I received an email saying, "I just received word today that Duchess Sammy is not working out for her mom. I have been asked to connect with you and enquire about whether or not you would like Duchess back, permanently?"

I jumped through the roof with excitement and joy! I rushed to the phone and called Landie. "Do you mind? Can we take her back? He was over the top! YES! Let's get her HOME NOW! That was then.

Today is one week later and we're still trying to make arrangements to get that poor girl back HOME. She is in a kennel in Terrace. We are not sure how long she has been there. We only know she left our safe warm home on April 6.

We have felt her presence every day since. It was far too difficult to let her go. We were originally told she was a foster. Long term but never the less a foster. We knew at the back of our minds she may have to be returned one day to her previous owner. Why then, was it so hard to let her go?

I believe in fate. I believe she was destined to be one of our pack. Somehow fate played a cruel joke and sent her to us before the time was really suppose to happen. I believe our paths crossed before they were meant to be. It was so hard to let her go because she is MEANT TO BE with us.

Now, we wait for that time to happen. I promise you Duchess Sammy, once you are with in our grasp we will NEVER let you go again! Stay safe and warm dear girl.

You are on your way back HOME!

Sometimes we forget that our dogs didn’t always have a soft mat to sleep on and a full tummy every night. We are however reminded daily of all the dogs that are still out there that don’t have those things. The ones that are still waiting to be found and rescued and rehabilitated and rehomed. We imagine their day is just around the corner. We hope there will be more people who are willing to stop and take the time to DO something for them. Today because of people like that I can look down at our wonderful soft eyed King as he lies so peacefully at my feet. I can’t help but smile at him.

Today I will take a few minutes of out of my busy day and pay tribute to those people who SAVED HIS LIFE! Lou & Bonnie Baird and Dave & Yvette Labatte. I won’t go into all the details of their rescue because I write it out every year. You can easily read it in the This Day Past Years.

We still wonder what ever happened to the rest of The Bella Coola Four. We still hope that one day we can make contact with them. Lou & Bonnie continue to visit us regularly. They have only recently moved from Alberta and are now living on Vancouver Island. Perhaps there will be a chance for them to visit again, face to face with Yvette this summer at the Reunion. We’ll see.
Today I will serve King and his ‘todays pack’ a special meaty dinner. Oddly enough in our house this day we have four furries in our pack at the moment. Princess MollyDawg, Seven and Mia. King still reigns.

I know if King were a people, today in his heart he would cry out, Thank you Lou & Bonnie Baird and Dave & Yvette Labatte. From ALL my Packs and ALL the dogs you have ever helped to find their lives.
We owe you far more than our words can ever say. 

Thank you so very much for being there.

King & his Furever Family
Mark, Del, Princess MollyDawg, Seven and Mia 

Please take a moment to visit this link and re read this story. It is not about King but about another dog and it is a reminder of what Dave and Yvette DO! It was posted back on July 20 2006 by their son Stan and I always enjoy reading it. So I thought today would be an appropriate day to re share it with you. What They DO July 20 2006
And after you’ve read that please turn to this page and read the poem that broke our hearts enough to submit the application for King. Do I go home today?

We carry on day to day.  The weather is changing and the flowers are beginning to show their heads.  The skies have brigthened and our walks have started to increase again. 

We have Seven and Mia visiting us so we have lots of playtime. Mia is onlyhere until the first week in May but Seven will be joining us untill September. His mom, ( our Aunty Kathi) is working up in the yukon as an Mining Exploration camp.  It's a fly into only area and it may have been a bit too traumatic for Seven.  So he's our little baby brother again this summer :)

Mom has still been doing alot of Turtle Gardens blog writing and she has been trying to help promote them through Facebook as well.

Their facebook address is here

Turtle Gardens Animal Rescue Society Yvette Labatte/150720474987798

Please read their comments and current happenings on www.turtlegardens.org 

Duchess is an absolute doll.  She walked up and introduced her self to King and Molly like she was so happy to see them.  King and Molly gave her the once over and then said, Hey lets go for a walk Off we went to the nearest telephone pole and back.

I think Duchess is starting to RELAX!!

King & His Girls

It's 4 am.  I can't sleep. King & Molly & Daddy are all sleeping sound.  King's breathing is slow and methodical. I think he's feeling better. At least he seems to be resting very well. 

There's a skiff of fresh snow covering the already white and frozen ground.  I've checked and rechecked road conditions.  Compact snow and slushy sections. The weather for later in the day is to be cloudy. Some weather sites say there is a chance of flurries.  We have good snow tires and Mark is a good driver.   

Dave and Brian are leaving Naniamo some time early this morning,  We'll meet them in Cache Creek.  They'll phone ahead of time to let us know when they will arrive for us to meet them.   They are bringing our new family member to us.  Duchess!  I hope she's resting well.  She has no idea she is coming to live with us,  For all she knows this is just a wonderful road trip she is taking with her new Daddy Dave.   

King & Molly have no idea we are about to expand our family.  They should be used to dogs coming and going through our home.  I doggy sit so many different dogs.  We have not changed our daily routines. Nothing has been any different than on any other given day.  There has been nothing to indicate we will have a visitor.  

King had a dodgy tummy earlier.  A bout of vomitting and a VERY LOOSE stool yesterday afternoon.  He ate a small portion of rice for dinner and kept it down.  Perhaps it's just a 12 hour thing.  I'm thinking he probably ate too many of the mountain ash berries combined with too much bird seed in the snow.  He finds it in the snow and munches it down like they are cookies.  He is well fed in our care and does not go hungry.  I think he may have learned to eat these things when he was pack leader in Bella Coola.  Old habits die hard.   

I'll give him rice again for breakfast and see how he does.  He can rest during our car ride to pick up Duchess. I'm sure he'll be fine. Better to take him with us than to leave him home to worry on his own. He does NOT like to be left on his own.  He wont be. 

Time to try to read a book and fall back to sleep for awhile.

Will it work? I hope so.

We'll be there to bring you home soon Dutchess :-)

I was going to begin by saying something prophetic and awe inspiriing. 

No, I didn't think it would. That's exactly how I feel though. Is this a sign of getting older?

New Years Eve means I get to celebrate by doing the one simple thing I've really wanted to do all year long, but never seem to get the time nor the energy to do.

Stay home, relax with the quiet company of my own true love. Watch a bit of telly. Hug the dogs, take in the quiet escence of their beings. Shed a tear of happiness at the tranquille life we get to live.

Say a simple quiet prayer for all those who are not at home with the ones they love. Pray that the wandering dogs that have no homes, have at least found somewhere warmish to sleep on this Eve of a New Beginnning.

Toast the New Year in at 10:00 pm and snuggle into bed with my love. Waiting for the New Year to wake me with a rejuvenated soul. I've made it into yet another year.

What will I do this year?

Wake every morning and ask myself...

King and Molly had a chance to romp and play in it before it melted away in the sunshine and warm breeze. 0 ° Not warm enough to rain but warm enough to melt the snow. 

We're currently involved in trying to raise much needed funding for Turtle Gardens K9 Rescue. They desparately need more wood to carry them thru the long winter of Northern BC.  A logging truck load of wood is the goal. That's currently priced at $1,500.

Click an ornament to go to the ordering page.

$12.50 ea   

For each Ornament sold $10.00 is donated  to the fund.

Hand Painted Wooden Tree Ornaments  Actual size is approx. 2" and is finished with a sparkling glaze.

We can do this with your help. 

Here's a link to where these ornaments can be seen and ordered.

Tree Teasures Canada

Please help us support Turtle Gardens K9 Rescue