CaN GeRmAnS, ScOtS, WeLsH aNd BrItS sWiM iN HaRmOnY!?!?

Hey Friends!! I know, two blogs in one week.....WhAt!?!? Well, believe it!!  I've had more time in the past week after my last marathon so I feel like I should get Tier's blog up to date and try to get in the habit of posting weekly!  Anyway, on to the good stuff.....

This week Tier was invited by one of her best friends, Shorty, to go swimming at an exclusive park (not allowed to share the name due to Aunt Cath confidentiality issues)! Tiers, being the water dog that she is, begged me to go and me, being the sucker that I am, said okay!  Monday night we were off to the pond to do some swimming with her friends, Shorty, Tink, Reina, Bink, Rhoddie, and Tilly.  Tiers is still not quite sure about whether she should come to me when she is called so I was a little apprehensive taking her off the leash.  But, with all her friends around, she was not about to take off by herself and, luckily for me, her friends do come when they are called....so it all worked out!

When we arrived we went into the gate of this exclusive park and had to walk across a large field to get to the pond. When I let Roo off the leash it was like shooting a rocket launcher.....she was off like a shot sprinting around, jumping over all her friends (she is quite a bit taller than the corgis and Tilly) and enjoying life to the fullest!

Here are some of her friends sprinting away
from her....wonder why!? 

After about a five minute walk we finally made it to the pond.  Tiers was so excited she immediately bounded into the pond!  And for the next several minutes she ran, splashed, jumped, swam, bit the water, and enjoyed this over sized swimming pool for all it was worth!

When it was time to head home, Tiers was pretty darn tired but not ready to go! However, I promised her that we would go again later in the week......and I lived up to that promise....but I'll get back to that later..

On Wednesday of this past week, Tiers grandparents got a new addition to their family, I'm happy to introduce for the first time.......QUINN!!!

Quinn, aka Quincy, is a year and half old Border Terrier mix that came from a rescue out in Eaton, CO.  He is cute, smart, silly, funny, and full of exuberance....just like a terrier, or terrierist as I like to call them, should be!

Getting back to my promise to Roo.....Thursday (last night) I promised Roo I would take her to play with her friend Shorty at the pond again.  This time her new friend Quinn got to go, along with Reina, Bink, and Tink.  It was a German, Brit, Welsh, Scot party!!  Tier, of course, got in the pond immediately and spent her time swimming and splashing about!  Quinn, on the other hand, wasn't quite sure about the water so he and Shorty spent most of their time on the bank.......

A little history behind Shorty....Shorty has what Aunt Cath affectionately calls "his women".....yep this corgi is a LADIES MAN!!!!  Tierney just so happens to be one of Shorty's "women."  Quinn, being new to the group, didn't know that Roo was already spoken for when he arrived and now thinks she belongs to him.  I'm sure you can see where this is going.....it's a German, Welsh, Scotch love triangle!

Quinn looking on with anticipation,
contemplating his next move on Tier.....

As I said before, Tierney hit the water immediately upon arrival....Quinn, being scared, spent his time  running up and down the bank barking at Tierney trying his very best to get her attention! What he didn't realize was, water is far more important to Tier than any man and thus he was ignored  the entire time!

Tiers ignoring all those around her because....DUH.....
there's water to be played in!!!!

Quinn did NOT like being ignored by his new BFF and took to biting her in the back legs when she got close enough to the bank....Roo didn't find this very amusing but, like I said, when there's water there's no distracting that tyrannical terrorist!!  Shorty, on the other hand, spent his time barking at Quinn in a valiant attempt to make him aware that Tierney was his first and he will not give her up without a fight!  Despite their exhaustive efforts, both Shorty and Quinn's attempts at securing Tier's love and attention were futile.....

Fortunately for the two bachelors, they will have another chance tonight at the pond to win over my rebellious Roo's heart......stay tuned for our own twisted version of the Bachelorette After the Final Toy.....which guy will receive the final toy from our water logged bachelorette Roo?!

Until next time friends, have a safe, fun, water filled weekend!  And, to that big beautiful girl in the sky, "I miss you, I love you and thank you for everything, I had a wonderful time!"

CiAo,

TiErS aNd ShAn

ThE LiFe aNd TiMeS oF A TyRaNt.....

Hey Friends.....long time no see!?

It's been quite a long time since I last blogged about the terrorist but we've both been so darn busy lately I haven't found the time....not a good excuse, I know, but I'm sticking to it!  Tier (aka Roo, Ruby, Rubes, Ooby, Tierney, Tiers, Tyranny, etc, etc, etc) is now a little over 8 months old (turned 8 months on June 16) and has been on quite a few adventures lately!  Quick biggest gainer update - she now weighs 71lbs!!!!  Now, onto the good stuff.....I'm going to give you a little rundown of what the maniacal monster has been up to.....ready.....set.....GO!

First up, Tiers went on her first road trip back in March to visit her cousins in Kansas City!  The drive out was fairly uneventful and pretty darn boring for her -

She's clearly having the time
of her life hanging out with me
in the back seat!

After 11 hours, we finally arrived and Roo spent a good 45 minutes of running as fast as she could around the yard and then it was time for bed!  The next morning, much to Tier's excitement, she got to meet a new friend, Scout! Scout is a little Jack Russell full of energy and exuberance, loves people but does NOT love other dogs!  However, Tierney being the puppy she is, was not going to take "I don't love you" for an answer!  After working and working on Scout she finally broke down the walls and the two became the best of friends!  

A little side note on Rubes....if a dog doesn't like her she will work and work and work until that dog loves her.  She has spent the first 6 months of her life with me working on my parent's corgi Reina (aka The Bitch) and Reina finally loves her and will even attempt to play with her every once in awhile!  If you've ever met Reina you know how big of a feat this really is, I'm one proud parent! 

Okay back to the Kansas road trip......

Here is a video of Scout and Tierney playing!  Scout became such good friends with Tier that she mailed her a bone after we left!

While in Kansas, Tier also got to meet her other cousins Zoey and Amani.  Tierney, of course, thought these two girls were the coolest and spent her time trying to get them to love her! Fortunately, Zoey and Amani were quite a bit easier to work her magic on than Scout and they became friends quickly!  

Amani

Zoey

After a week in Kansas it was time to head home....much to Tier's chagrin!  But, it was a successful first road trip and Tierney made some great friends while she was there! She will definitely be returning in the future and can't wait to play with her Kansas cousins!!!

After the Kansas trip, life slowly got back to normal!  I had a lot going on with school and running (training for a trail marathon and road marathon) so Tier's got to spend a lot of time over at her grandparents house!  Clearly her grandparents are not a good influence....

I don't think German Shepherds
are supposed to drink martinis,
but that definitely doesn't stop Tiers!!

In addition to loving Reina, Roo also loves what we affectionately call, "her binky"!  Bink is a 15 year old Jack Russell (he may be the reason she thought Scout was so cool) and has never been one to like other dogs.  He's not mean to other dogs, just simply ignores them.....clearly Tiers has done a great job breaking down his walls as well...... 

I think he likes her! 

Obviously Bink doesn't think Tiers is too terrible.....that
or he's using her to keep warm! 

A few minutes spent chewing a bone
and staying out of trouble....but
trouble will find her shortly I'm sure!

She's found herself in trouble
yet again.....in the kitchen where
she is not allowed!!! 

Tier's LOVES to ride in the car! She often sits in the front 

and helps me navigate but she also loves to stick

 her head out a half opened window and

 have the wind blow through her hair!

In addition to loving a good car ride, Tiers has discovered she LOVES my bed!  I can't figure out why though, the spoiled pup has her own memory foam bed in her kennel!  I guess she figures what's mine is hers, but, unfortunately for me, what's hers is......hers (according to Tier)!!

Ahhhh.....the good life! 

Tier's "Red Bear" that she LOVES! She

 uses the bear to what I call "tranquilize" 

herself!  She will lay for hours with that bear 

in her mouth as she stares around the room 

or sleeps.  Red Bear is the best gift she's ever 

gotten from her grandma!!!

All tucked in and ready to go back to bed!!

Another fascination of Tier's is water and mud!  Anytime Tier can find a mud puddle or a water feature, she is in Heaven!!!  

Here she is after a late night excursion in a mud puddle.....
let's just say I was less than thrilled to be washing
her right before bed around 10 o'clock at night!
But, such is life when you live with a terrorist! 

Tier recently got a baby pool to play in
and she LOVES it! 

But, unfortunately, she loved it so much she destroyed it!  However, my mom found her a new baby pool that is much sturdier than her first one and is now spending many an afternoon playing in her new pool!  I've never known a German Shepherd to love water so much but Rubes rarely follows the rules so I guess her love of water shouldn't come as much of a surprise!

She had mud all the way up to her shoulders, on her face,
all over her stomach and in her tail!  I think she was a pig
in a past life! 

Tierney found another mud puddle while
I was in Spokane, WA, running a race.
Unfortunately,
Aunt Cath had to clean up the monster!

Reina in the dog house, Tier supervising!
What you can't see is that my little cousin
Tanner is on the inside of the dog house, being
hidden by Rein! 

At the end of May, Tier got to go on her second road trip!  On this trip we were headed to San Diego, CA, to visit my second family.  Tier, happy to be in the car, thought the trip was great until about 14 hours in and that was when she had, had enough! She spent the next two hours crying and throwing herself down in the back seat in an attempt to let us know that she was done with the car and wanted out!  

Calm before the storm! Fortunately, I had the
wherewithal to bring "Red Bear" to keep her
happy for a few hours!

Much of the day was spent with
grandpa in the back seat sleeping!
She often pushed him to the very
corner of the back seat so she could
have more room!

After arriving very late to Mary Jo's house, it was straight to bed.  But, the next morning was full of excitement when Roo discovered Mary Jo had not one but TWO water features!!!

Tierney frequently found herself
submerged in the pond.... 

Or attempting to bite the water as it
fell down the fountain!

At least it made for some good
pictures! 

And, a good video!!!

In addition to the pond, Mary Jo also has a pool!!!  Tierney thought the pool was a little more intimidating and only made it in there a couple of times! 

Trying to convince her the pool is okay! I was successful
only twice! 

I was very appreciative for the momentary calmness....
it didn't last long!

Water features sure do tire out a
terrorist!

Working on her golden tan in beautiful
Southern California! 

Tier's new best friend Bru!  I don't think
he shares the same feelings but he will! 

The life of a water dog can be rough.....not everyone
can handle it!! 

Grandma, Bru and Tiers enjoying the pond.....
Bruin looks as if he's contemplating an escape!

After a few days at Mary Jo's it was time to head up to Solvang, CA, to visit more family.  Tier got to spend a few hours at my cousin Allison's house looking at the Coy in her pond and watching me ride a beautiful Arab show horse!  Then we headed to Utah to visit Aunt Cheryl and Uncle Chuck....and boy was she one happy dog to spend a night at their house because......I'm sure you guessed it.....they have a WATER FEATURE!!!!! Tier's spent hours upon hours playing in their pond!  She also discovered that they have fish in their pond and the game was on to try to catch one!  The fish, fortunately, were smart enough to hide under the rocks in the pond and she was never able to catch one.....I think Chuck would have killed me, or her, or both if she had!  She sure did try, though!

Tier's also got to go on a really fun hike with grandpa while I ran the trail in Salt Lake.  My dad said that the second she caught my scent it was like a heat seeking missile trying to find me!  At the top of this very steep trail, I stopped to wait for them. When they were about a tenth of a mile away my dad let her go and I have never seen her run so fast before....I was a little concerned she was going to plow into me and we would go tumbling down the mountain!  Fortunately, she didn't!  It never ceases to amaze me that such a small act of her running as fast as she can to get to me can make my heart melt!  Those are the times you realize the infinite capacity of a dogs ability to love! I can't wait for all the years to come with this wonderfully crazy girl....she makes my days more than worth it!!!

After a night at Aunt Cheryl's and Uncle Chuck's house it was time to head home!  Much to Tier's dismay, it was back in the car but this time for only 8 hours.  Fortunately the trip was short enough that she was content to sleep curled up with "Red Bear" for the duration of the drive.....

Overall, the trip was a success and Tierney had a GREAT time! 

As you can see (or read), Tiers has had quite a busy couple of months!  I can't believe how much she has grown and she is learning more and more each day!  It's mind boggling to me that just a short 8 months ago she was a tiny little newborn! I can't wait to see what the future holds for her.....it has and I'm sure will continue to be a crazy, fun, exciting, eventful, joyful journey with my tyrannical terrorist!!

Well friends, I think that's enough for now! We wish you all a happy, safe, not too hot summer! And, to that big beautiful girl in the sky, "I miss you so much and I often find myself looking for you out on the trails as I navigate through running without you!  Each day Tiers reminds me of you, thank you for sending me the best friend a girl could ask for! Love you Brear!!!!"

cIaO,

RoO and sHaNnOn