West sets eastward for east meets west meet and greet

"West sets eastward for east meets west meet and greet"

How's that for a title? Well it perfectly explains a long anticipated event where my sister's dogs and my dogs meet for the first time! In early June, my sis and her hubby pack up a pair of energetic border collies (are there any other kind?), Josey and Lucas, and head on a road trip from California to a Canine Country Getaway at Glen Highland Farm in upstate NY, where I will be waiting with my pack of two. Let a week of fun and games begin! Trail running! Swimming! Naptime! Frisbee! Agility! Summer BBQs! Fields, meadows, woods, creeks! Running everywhere all the time! And the best thing... off-leash freedom! Fun for human, fun for dog.

Of course we want the dogs to be the bestest friends ever. That will be one of the most interesting things to observe... how our dogs will interact and how that will evolve during the week.

Yes, vacation is still weeks and weeks away, a bit early to post about it here. But my sister was buggin' me that I haven't shown her dogs and mentioned the upcoming adventures of the dogs meeting, and why aren't there any photos of Shada, my brother's dog, etc., etc. So here is that post. For you sister. Can't wait to meet Lucas for the first time and to see Josey all grown up.

Black dogs

Perhaps a more befitting caption would be Black and white dogs? At the sprightly age of 1.5 years, Ben started to go white in the face. Come to think of it, that was about the same time that I got Molly. Coincidence? I think not!

Ben has nary a black hair left on the front muzzle and chin. His eyelashes are white. I love his face. One day I'll have to post a progression of Ben as "black dog turning into white dog." Both dogs' bellies are salt and pepper, and in between the pawpads the fur is white. Molly's age shows more subtle in the face, a bit more salt and peppery, along her chin and front muzzle. She has one fat white whisker and one really long crazy white eyebrow hair.

The good thing about all this is that I have been able to take better photos of them. No more black-hole-of-light-absorbing-into-nothingness that results in dark silhouetted-shaped-like-a-dog-sounds-like-a-dog-must-be-a-dog photos. Molly, and Ben, in particular, have nice built in highlights!

At 9.5 and 10 years of age, these guys wear their age well.

Ben celebrates 10!

A step back in time...
When I got Ben in 1998, I made a website about him. It was both an educational and fun endeavor. "Puppy Ben" was the first website that I built from top to bottom. See screenshots below. Come to think of it, the journal was an early version of a blog! Look how teeny the photos were! Hee hee! (That was when folks were still dialing up on 14k modems so photos had to be teeny tiny for a 'reasonable' download.) Wow, 10 years ago. Ahhh, a trip down memory lane.

Ben, my bestest boy... Happy 10th Birthday!