Mine started out with a mission to transport a Rescue Rottie from Miami to Alachua, just outside of Gainesville. Espresso has been in our Rescue organization for over 5 years. He was no kid when he came to us and he's very mature now. He'll probably never be adopted -- people will always go for the puppies and younger dogs first -- but he'll always be with us until the end. He's been staying with the President of the Gulfstream Guardian Angels Rottweiler Rescue (GGARR) since he was found on the street in Miami. Nobody has ever said they'd take Espresso and therefore he's lived in a semi-kennel environment since we took him in. Grace, the President, just recently moved from Miami to Alachua, just West of Gainesville, for employment reasons and she's in the process of moving both her own dogs and her Rescues. Espresso has been staying at a vet's and, according to reports, had stopped eating and was just pining for his "mom". So, today, a friend and I decided to bring him "home".
My friend Laura picked Espresso up in Miami and drove to the Ft. Drum Rest Stop on the Florida Turnpike -- some 185 miles from Miami. I drove from Orlando to meet her there -- some 65 miles. When I met Espresso, he buried his head in my chest while I rubbed his ears. Then, while Laura used the facilities at the Rest Stop, Mr. E and I went for a potty walk where he peed, pooped and expressed interest in visiting two very small dogs being walked by a guy not too far away. Once Espresso starting moving in that direction, the guy with the small dogs got apoplectic so I steered Mr. E away and he bayed at them like a Beagle. Cute I thought. Once back at the van, I loaded him into a crate, gave him a bowl of water and he drank eagerly. Then I reached for some Milkbones I had brought. Well, it was quickly apparent that this was not the first time Mr. E had seen Milkbones. He stared; he drooled. I gave him one and in 30 seconds, he had scarfed up all 10 of the Milkbones, had consumed half of the water bowl and had given me one huge, slurpy kiss
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After that, we were on our way to Alachua some 200 miles North. We stopped at a Rest Stop just outside of Orlando and Espresso and I shared two peanut-butter cracker packages. Then it was off to Alachua once again. We arrived at our destination and I let Espresso explore the yard and took a pic or two. Here's my one good portrait given the fact that every time I laid down on the ground to shoot him, he ran up and slurped me
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Then I introduced him to his kennel. He met the other dogs and then wandered into the main room where he found more treats. I grabbed a handful, walked him to his run, plunked a bunch of treats in his bowl and he went in without any fuss, ate the treats and then laid down to wait for his mom to get out of work.
Today's effort: 9 hours on the road; 395 miles driven; one happy dog. Totally worth it.
Once I got back to Orlando, I got a call from one of our puppy-owners to report that Brody (Annihaus Idol Aiken Breakin' Heart) had gone WD/BOW in Falmouth, MA. That moves him along on his quest for his Championship with 7 points including 1 major.
And after that, I received an email confirming that I would be the OP for the 2011 ARC National in Lancaster, PA. I had assumed that John Ashbey would be shooting it as he did several years ago but this year, they decided that I would have the ARC Specialty and the Sieger Show and John would have the Colonial Rottweiler Club Specialty being run concurrently with the National. I can't tell you how happy I am to be shooting "our" breed's National Specialty again. It is confirmation that what we've done over the past 7 years is valued by the owners of this breed.
So, that's my day. How was yours?
Jim
