July 2025 in Review

July started with the return visit from Miss Ellie. She had a few fun days with Sir Bailey and Cooper. The weather was tolerable and they enjoyed a good romp as well as a rest.

Happy to have a playmate again. Miss Ellie enjoyed her Bailey day!

Ellie showed Cooper she could be very respectful and gave him the space he needed.

During the first two weeks Ruby, Suzy Q, Miss Lilly, Nugget and Peaches joined in. The sun was turning up the heat and the dogs were quite content to just chill indoors.

Cool air on the tummy is good for the soul.

 Miss Lilly is an absolute water girl and the pool suits her better than the cool A/C.

Bailey - "Are you sure you want to stay outside?"
Lilly - "Yep Im cool."

 Until it was nap time. Then the coolness of the indoor suited her just fine.

Lilly - "Wake me when its home time please."

During Nugget's visit we had Sir Henry join us for a day. Her small size didn't stop her from enjoying her ball play time. The two big boys, Henry and Bailey romp around her and did a fantastic job of side stepping her. 

My plan for mid July was to take a few dog free days. I hoped for 10 straight days with no dogs. It didn't really happen, but I did get 6 off and on dog free, Yay! 
There were a couple of buddies who needed daycare and after all, I was at home.  Everyone had such happy faces it was easy to enjoy even though I didn't get those 10 days off. 

Nugget - "Can we please go outdoors now?!"

The last two weeks of July have been FULL to the brim and loaded with fun. The summer sun is at its peak and the new A/C furnace is proving to be an asset! 
Peaches' extended visit has coincided with River and Bailey as well as Nugget, Suzy and Cooper. It's given her a perfect opportunity to gain some confidence with them and perhaps set the ground work for a friendship in future. 

Though she had an opportunity to meet with Miss Ruby, I decided to keep a divider fence between them. Peaches seemed less secure in her presence. I only want positive experiences for her at the moment. River kept Peaches entertained while Ruby and Bailey enjoyed their romping in a separate play area.  

Peaches seems to be developing a keen liking for River. Is it that River is closer to her sister's age? Perhaps River exhibits similar behaviours to her sister Sadie? I dunno, but I like what I see developing between them. 

Waiting for lunch. 

Where River goes, Peaches follows. At nap time she seeks out where River is and stays very close. 

Peaches still looks across the road to her home but seems to understand there's noone home. It must be a very difficult for her, but she seems to be coping really well.  
There's always lots to do with her new temporary pack. Im so glad her visit coincided with them the way it has. 

Peaches - "Look mom! New friends"

Bailey , 'the wonder dawg' has given Peaches ample time to trust his large presence and she seems to feel more confident with him now. 

Bailey - "I promise, you can trust me."

Peaches still has one more week with us. I'm looking forward to watching her develop a friendship with Sir Bailey. Next week little Nugget will join them once again. 

July has been a blast and I remain thankful for all the happy faces of my visitors.  Moving into August Im also looking forward to trying for another 10 days off. 
Will I make it. Hmmmm Maybe??

June 30, 2025, Rainbow Bridge Has Knocked Again.

Rainbow Bridge has taken another one of our Extended Royal Pack. 

It was with great sorrow we said farewell to 9 year old Miss Sadie yesterday. Sadie has been the happiest, and wiggliest of all our visitors. She got along with everyone and was an absolute pleasure to be around. I will miss seeing her watching us from her porch across the street. Always a ‘Hello’ wiggle and wagging her tail. Always watching to see if my gate would open and she could zoom across the street into my yard. 
Sadie first visited at 2 years old in Oct. of 2019. She made friends easily and before long I named her my 'Shadow girl'. She was always RIGHT BY my side. Glued to every step I took.  How could I not fall in love with her. 
You can read Sadie's blog entries here- and watch her YouTube videos here. 

She fills a very special place in my heart, and we feel blessed to have been allowed to share her love. Over the last few years Sadie has given us a few very scary days. There were many days when her mommy feared Sadie would not have the strength to pull through. Sadie was a strong girl and always seemed to say, “I'm not ready to leave you just yet mommy.” This day was different. Sadie had reached her final vet visit. Her x-rays showed ever deteriorating severe hip damage from her previous fracture, and possible cancer. There would be no coming back from this one. Sadie’s mom made the very difficult decision to let Sadie cross Rainbow Bridge with dignity. The most loving gift she could give her girl. We support her decision and share her heartache.

Marchioness lil Molly and Sadie will reunite over Rainbow Bridge.

Run free and pain free now dear girl. You are already so sorrowfully missed. Your memory stone has been placed. You now sit in our Rainbow Bridge garden. Say hello to your brother Rookie for us and all the Royal Pack who have crossed before you. You were the best Golden Lab I’ve ever known. 
Rest in Peace Dear Sadie.
Dog gone it! I'm going to really miss you!

Two of Our Buddies Moved!

In daycare it's common for dogs to come and go from time to time. Mom's and dad's move out of town or no longer require day care. It's more than a little bit sad to see them move on.
It doesn't take newcomers long to find a cozy corner in my heart. A warm special place in my memory where they will forever stay. Two special spots of my heart are occupied with big smiles, giggles and oh, so fond memories. 6 year old Cocker Spaniel, Poppy and 11 year old Corgi, Karma, hold 2 of those places. Nether one was here for a lengthy stay but it didn't take them long to melt into my heart and memory.

Last visit together March 2025

Poppy was a visitor since May 2024, and she sure melted her way into our hearts.
She moved away with her mom this year in early March. Her last few visits were to give her mom some time to pack things up. I love that I was able to have a few extra wonderful days of squishies and cuddles with her before she moved. She happily zoomed through the gate oblivious to it being the last of her visits with us. She is such a happy little girl. In all her visits over her 10 month stay, I never saw an unhappy face. She loved all the other dogs. she really didn't care if they were around if a sprinkler was going. She would spend hours on end having water fun if I let her. If the hose wasn't on she would drag it around in hopes that it would suddenly start.

When poppy has had enough play she suddenly does a stop and flop. Whether she's outdoors or in. She reminds me of one of those soft overstuffed floppy plush toys. You pick her up and she flops over into your arms full of love. She plays on the floor and will suddenly just flop! All four legs sprawled out and tail wiggling. She looks like one of those old fashioned dust mops just laying on the floor. 

She gives me belly laughs each time she does it. Such a funny silly girl.

 Poppy loved her time with us and in the beginning she would make a big fuss if mom came to pick her up before she was ready to leave. If she didn't run and try to hide from mom she'd flatten her body and make it difficult for mom to put her harness on. She soon learned she could come back to visit another time and began to love to see her mom arrive again. Who says dogs don't have a personality? Miss Poppy was definitely a personality plus kinda girl!
Aw drat! Did you have to move away!

Miss Poppy's perfect Cocker Spaniel stance.

A bin full of toys, Poppy will always seek out the squeaky one.

Poppy - We're waiting for the Bailey dog to arrive."
Ruby - "Ya, we picked out all his favourite toys."

Poppy went through a bit of a rough patch and was a bit out of sorts until mom had time to move her favourite love seat back into the new  house! She's feeling much better and immediately claimed it as her own. Way to go Miss Poppy! Settled!

It's about time you brought my sofa indoors mom.

I will certainly miss your happy little face and lapping tongue. Have a wonderful time in your new home Poppy. Come back to visit us soon!

The second buddy to head on to new adventures is our best ever herding buddy Karma!
11 year old Karma had been a regular weekly overnight visitor since Dec. 2023. He always came with a big smile and eagerness to play. He learned very quickly to watch my hands and if I happened to have even one in a pocket he was zooming towards me. He quickly became our Master Cookie monster who definitely kept me laughing.  

Karma and The Cookie Monsters.
Left to right Nugget, River, Cooper & Suzy Q

Karma loved all the playmates he met. Big or small it really didn't matter. If they could run, he could chase!  He has impeccable herding skills and showed the others on every visit.

 

Waiting for a buddy to arrive

When his friends arrived Karma always knew to head to the gazebo area for cookie time. It was a routine that he leaned quickly and if no one was visiting he would wait for me to follow our routine just the same. 

Karma - "Hope you brought the whole bag lady!"

That face! (((sigh))

Karma's long Corgi body earned him his nickname as the Love Loaf  Each night he stayed, I would send a picture to his mom saying goodnight. When he was all snuggled in, his mommy called him, her love loaf and it stuck with me. That's exactly what he is.  One lovely loaf of love! I'll sure miss our before sleepies snuggles Karma. 

The Love Loaf

Karma has always been an on the go kinda guy. He and mom love to hike and roam and explore together. Where they have moved has all those wonderful areas for them. Mom says they've been to a dog park as well. It  has a lake in it! Karma is beyond happy and can get as muddy as he wants.

Have wonderful new adventures buddy and take care of your mommy.
I'll try to send cookies often!

Karma on a hike in his new home town.

Look! I'm blogging again!

Why has there been no blog posts since Sept 2024?
I have to admit to going through a time of great sorrow. Even though my daily daycare visitors keep me smiling and laughing and on the move. When I sat down to write up a blog, my heart felt a heavy weight and I couldn’t make it through the things I wanted to say.
So why now? 

I’m not exactly sure except that I feel I’ve given myself the right amount of time to process some ‘stuff’ and heal my heart. 

Annually, there are many days that bring up memories of our past Royals who have crossed Rainbow Bridge. I usually post the days that mark each of the passing's. That usually provides me with the necessary grieving/healing time to make it to the next ‘marker’. September 2024’s post hit me very hard. I knew I had Lady May’s memorial passing day coming up fast in Oct.. When it did, we had also lost one of our Royal extended pack members, Sir Cash.
I felt flooded with emotion, and I absolutely could not find the strength to post. 

Soon to be reunited over Rainbow Bridge

Lady May had the softest fur ever!

Always in our hearts

Daddy hangs Lady May's Prayer Flags with her sibling Royal Pack's

Sir Cash came into our hearts and our daycare in an oddly similar circumstance to our Beloved Pack Leader, King. We felt a very strong bond with Cash. February 24th 2021
We are so grateful to his mom for giving us an opportunity to visit him in his home before he passed. He rests and plays now with the others who passed before him. We like to think he's met with his doppelganger and hopefully sharing the role of pack leader.  

Sir Cash comes for a last visit.
He stands under Lady May's newly hung Prayer Flags.

Just two days later we visited Bo and Sir Cash for one last visit before their passing.

Bo accepts a cookie from daddy even though he's in great pain.

We love you Sir Cash

Until we met again Sr Cash

Sir Cash and his big brother Bo crossed Rainbow Bridge together in late Oct. 2024
RIP Sir Cash and Bo. We miss you both!

Since then so many marker days have passed by and with each one, I believe I’m getting stronger and coping better with memories. The Rainbow Bridge Memory garden has given me some much needed support in that area. I find myself passing by, reading the name stones and recalling several happy memories each day. I still cry, of course, but not as often.

Royal K9 Korner's Rainbow Bridge Pack
Always remembered, Forever loved.

Today I know, I deep sigh more, and I think I smile more. So, I’ll try to blog more.
I know I won’t be able to fill in all the many gaps from missed days. I will try to bring it up to date. Thank you for being so patient with me as I worked through my emotions. 
Stay tuned for some happier memories.

Princess Molly Brings in The Fall

The first day of Autumn for us brings a bittersweet memory.
Today 4 years ago we said a final farewell to our Princess Mollydawg.
Thank You for the First Day of Autumn.  

Molly was a 50/50 Akita/Rottie girl. She had smarts, beauty and muscle.
Today we look back in our memory and laugh at some of her antics.
She is still the bold, strong willed force in our hearts.

We love her deeply even through those times she played the aloof ‘I don’t need humans in my life routine” We just laughed at her and loved her even more.
She was the very best friend to her big brother King.
She allowed the sweet Duchess Sammy into our hearts and home, and we believe she even found a place in her own heart for her. When Lady May arrived, she saw fit to include her in her antics and they soon became close buddies. 

 

The Two Rottie Sisters. Molly deciding if she will accept Duchess Sammy
Duchess - "You will learn to love me."

Princess Molly - "But she's not prettier than me, right mom?"
King - "It's a trick question mommy. Don't answer it."

Our Molly was our first and only little puppy. We adopted her from the Kamloops SPCA at just 8 weeks old. Rescued from a box of puppies left on the hwy in Merritt BC. She was by our side until she was 15 ½ years old.

8 weeks old. Already a Princess carries her first ever bone to her bed.

Truth be told our puppy Molly was a disobedient little brat who could get her own way with her daddy with just the bat of her eye. She made me laugh hard every day. She was smart as a whip and knew how and when to preform. As she grew, Molly became a real people dog. They were her favourite playthings. She stole the hearts of everyone who came in contact with her.  The sparkle in her eye and the tilt of her head were no match for anyone.

Molly -  "It went under here daddy. Can you find it please?"

We miss that beautiful face and glossy coat. Her funny antics kept us laughing daily. Like when she tried to be graceful and do a rollover. She would flop clumsily to the ground and almost forcefully try to shift her body into a roll that ended up like a kind of half side flop. She would jump back up and sit just as dignified as ever and ask for her reward for such a fabulous rollover. Man, we laughed at her.  She put on such a performance when somebody came in the yard. She made a beeline in their direction, zooming as fast as she could. Within a foot of your body she would stop in her tracks, jump and twirl without touching so much as a hair on you. It became Molly’s trademark greeting and try as we may, we could not train her out of it. Even with my inept training skills Molly did her best to understand what was required. Jumping up was just too much of a use of self control in such excitable moments.

She was so happy to see people. Passers by would often comment of how Molly would jump up like a kangaroo to see who was walking passed the front hedge. Or how she would stay at the front fence in case someone passed by with a cookie for her.

Molly - "Listen Griz, when you see somebody walking past, it's important to jump up and down ok?"
Griz - "I'll do my best Molly."
Autumn 2007

Molly - "Get as close to the fence as you can, so you can reach the cookies, ok?"
Griz - "Ok Molly."

Molly's jumping up in front of people was not safe nor appropriate behaviour. We knew it and ended up putting our Molly on a safe lead when we knew newcomers would arrive. That was a fate worse than death to Molly. She did not like leads of any kind. She was a free spirit and ‘tying her up’ even for short times or on walks would mean you were in for a tugging match. Believe me she was strong! A short 10 min walk could take an hour due to my having to stop every few steps to remind her I was leading the walk not her. Oh Molly! We put her on as long a lead as we could find and would also often drive to areas where Molly could be off lead for her exercise. She loved it and truthfully so did we. 

Ball play for Molly still on long leads until recall has been 100% guaranteed.
From left to right - Lady May, Princess Molly, King, Marchioness lil Molly

She learned impeccable stay and recall skills even with my inept training.
There is a 6 minute video of my inept training skills and how clever our Molly was here:
Molly's Training Begins
She never strayed further than she could spot us. We miss her every day and we’re thankful we’re over the painful hurt of her passing. Now we smile when we think of her and just shake our heads. 

Molly's first pack.Together at Rainbow Bridge now
Left to right Squire Seven, Princess Mia, Princess Molly, Duchess Sammy, King

Why do dogs have to leave us so soon.
I know, it’s like the little 6yr old boy explained, “People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life - like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?
Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don’t have to stay for as long as we do.”

We love you Princess Mollydawg. Say hi to everyone over The Bridge.
Mommy and Daddy sure miss you 💝

Cooper's Day - Meeting with Lilly and The Countess

Cooper has being visiting a few times a week for a little while now. His mom and dad want him to feel comfortable here before there's a real need of overnight stays. The Countess and Lilly had finished their early morning fun times and were quietly resting indoors.

River - "Hey COOPER! When are you getting here?"
Lilly - "Hurry Cooper we want to play more."

When Cooper arrived he came straight to me happily jumping up. A behaviour I will usually rebuff with a backwards movement or turn away from. This day I reinforced it by bending down and giving cuddles. His dad says when he told Cooper they were coming to visit me, Cooper became excited. Yay Coops! I hope he believes things here pose no threat. Confidence, comfort level and security, yay!

Cooper - "Wait for me Lady, I'm coming too."

As dad drove away Cooper watched with only one short whimper. He had a relaxed body and wagging tail. I stepped away and called him, he turned and happily trotted up to me and then followed me to the top yard. There was no moment of running back to the gate for security. His focus was on the sights and smells of the yard and on me. Good boy Cooper. I’m winning your trust. 

Can we go in and see the others now please?

Indoors, the senior Countess River and the exuberant, almost 2 yr old, Lilly were in the living room separated to give Cooper maximum comfort meeting them. I allowed Cooper to say hello to the well socialized and seasoned senior River first. It gave Lilly an opportunity to watch the positive body language and see an appropriate interaction between the two and still have an opportunity to contain her excitement.
As I expected from River, she stayed calm and polite when Cooper approached the gate.

Cooper seemed reassured when River showed she was ready to meet him.

 It wasn’t long ago Lilly was the ‘newbie’ going through the same slow introduction process. Now it was her turn to learn to engage the newcomer in a safe, more relaxed mode. Lilly excelled! She showed 4 year old Cooper the respect he deserved and allowed him to say hello to her at his own pace. Well done girls, River and Lilly! I know your moms and dads are so proud of you both.

Cooper - "I see you and I need you to go slow please?"
Lilly - "Yes, yes, I will but can we just touch please?"

Lilly - "I'm being good right?"
Me -"Yes, You sure are Lilly. I'm very proud of you"

I kept a safety lead on Miss Lilly for a while outdoors as a precaution. One excited leap with her puppy paws could easily set Coopers trust back.

After polite greeting exchanges, Lilly, Cooper and The Countess
roamed back and forth all around the yard marking and remarking areas.

It didn’t take long for all three to be outdoors free of leads and collars to socialize and explore.

Cooper - "Hey River, wait up"
Lilly - "Wait for me too"

Cooper wandered, then followed and soon was staying close to the others and seeking them out as they played. He chose not to join in but made no attempt to run away when they began their romping. I’m hopeful he will soon feel confident enough to join in a controlled bout of play with another soon.

River - "Do you want to play too Cooper."
Cooper - "Ahh, no thank you, maybe another day."

Cooper - "Hey! Wait for me. I wanna come too."
River - "Hurry up then, or you'll miss it."

A few more days like this will hopefully allow him to relax even more. I’ll be watching for the right time and the right visitor to promote a safe, happy playtime for him. I feel like I’m gaining Sir Cooper’s trust and want to continue moving slowly in a forward motion. A backslide can easily undo all the positive gains he’s made to date.

Just dogs in the yard
Lilly, River and Cooper

Thank you to his mom and dad for allowing Cooper to visit and find his place in our extended pack. He's a little darling and his personality is truly shining through now.
I can't wait for his next visit.