Pointer fetch

Met up with pointer Goma and his family who also helped looking for Luna last summer, and we all hung out at L'allure Dog Cafe - great apple cake and a fantastic dog run. Throw me the ball says Goma, I wanna play...

  OOOPS well that was a curve ball, gonna make a quick change of direction here...
 No sweat, I can make it!...Gotcha!

 Look here, I'll bring it back and we can do it again, right?

Meanwhile we were all literally chilling in the freezing wind, enjoying chatting and generally hanging out, but glad to get back in to the cafe after a while for a delicious afternoon tea...

Photos by Lelantos

Triple Setter Families meet and greet

 On Saturday of our short trip to Nasu to stay at Pension Olive, we met up with Ralph (above), Amelie and Bona's parents for tea at Finland Forest...a six dog skedoodle but with plenty of woody space the dogs stretched out and all went to sleep while we slurped delicious smoothies...thank you guys so much for helping out in the search and rescue for Luna last year! 

With six dogs milling around, smooth teamwork and instantaneous communication is manifest...happiness in the making.

The only thing better than two setters...is three!

Photos by Lelantos

Nascent Cherry

Please notice (if you didn't already) how each cherry blossom picture mirror matches the movements of each dog, at least that's what I meant it to do as I chose and arranged the blog...

Into the Fray

Doggie Mama

When you're weary

I was a bit worried about Luna while I was away, but she is fit as a fiddle, although thin as a rake...on walks, it's all about the hunt, she trots along blithely in search of pigeons. Totally absorbed in the joy of it, she forgets everything, and when we end up back home she snoozes tired but happy with Nobunaga for a pillow.

 Morning sees her with Nobunaga again waiting for walkies...Every day of her life, Chiaro di Luna is a miracle...she's so thin and bony, it's a wonder where the energy comes from, but she's such a happy hospice foster, you tend to forget the hospice part (perhaps she does too!). When she fixes you in her sights for some tidbits, she is just irresistible...what a marvelous little setter she is.

Memories

Plumblossom by DragonSnake

 Back here in Japan spring has arrived, and DragonSnake captures the ultimate fragile and ethereal plum blossom in this photo...Clearing out some of Mum's stuff, I carried Tanya back to Japan with me: the picture below painted for my mother by her sister after dachshund Tanya passed.
 I remember going to choose Tanya with Vati, responding to an advertisement selling puppies in the paper. I lay down on the floor to let the tiny puppies run all over me and see which was the sweetest, gentlest and most inquisitive. We ended up driving home with the runt. I used to enjoy holding her soft calf bones and cartilage to chew for strong paws, teeth and bones herself. I started off training her to sleep in our old wicker cat basket (now the dog's toy basket, still in use after all these years!) next to my bed. That soon failed, and she would cuddle up under the covers at night, first with me and then with Mum when I left for university, right through till her demise. It feels good to have her home with me now, hanging above Claire's favorite armchair bringing good memories of family.

In among the mountains of stuff to be rummaged through and sorted, I found this postcard sent to me by my Dad when I was four: it must have imprinted on my brain subliminally and be the reason why I so love setters!

 English setters rule!