Happy Birthday Stormy!!!!!!!!!!!
Stormy is not the first sheltie to “own” our family, but, he is the first that I worked with in the performance rings. Stormy’s intelligence, enthusiasm and desire to please hooked me from the start, and, as they say, the rest is history. Still wild and crazy at 11 years young, and always my heart dog…..Happy Birthday buddy…….
HAPPY BIRTHDAY STORMY!!!!!!!!!!
It is hard to believe that Stormy, my “main man” is turning 10 today, where has all of the time gone? Wasn’t it just yesterday that he was a fuzzy little puppy running around the house carrying his leash? The day that we brought him home from his breeder in Pennsylvania could not possibly have been that long ago. I remember toying with the idea of doing some obedience training with him, maybe even eventually trying some trialing. Little did I know the potential my fuzzy little “Storm-pants” actually had!
Stormy at 14wks
Stormy is a wonderful and very cherished member of our family, and, he is a very accurate and extremely talented competition obedience dog. Together we achieved far more than I ever thought would be possible. Storm took us from a run off for High in Trial out of Novice A in our very first obedience trial-all the way to an Obedience Trial Championship! It was an amazing journey, that had it’s share of both high and low moments. Along the way we made many friends and many wonderful memories….Happy Birthday to my Storm- man, you are nothing short of amazing, truly a once in a lifetime dog! You are, and, always will be my heart dog!!!
Stormy in 2009 shortly before completing his OTCH
GREAT NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was very surprised to get a call from Dr Power today with Stormy’s results, it was really good news ! The tumor was something called a trichoblastoma, and it is BENIGN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The only treatment needed for these masses is complete excision. Thank God! My prayers have been answered, he will be fine……a little “naked” on his neck and shoulder <ggg> but FINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is the best news that I have had in a LONG time!
Post op……..”Franken-dog”…….poor Stormy…….
Dr. Power said that Stormy’s surgery went well today. She didn’t like the way the tumor looked, so she took really wide margins to be sure that it was all removed. It will take about a week to ten days for the pathology to come back, until then, all that we can do is pray that tumor is not something serious. Stormy is in a post anesthesia stupor tonight, he can hardly walk the poor boy.
We go back to see Dr. Power in 10 days to have his sutures removed, but, for now Stormy looks like Frankenstein.
"Franken-dog"
We got some bad news today……
We met with the vet today; she was very concerned after examining Stormy. She gave us the bad news that she did feel that he would have to have surgery as soon as possible. We got everything set up and he is scheduled for surgery on Friday next week.
OH NO…..
Last night I discovered a good sized lump on Stormy’s neck 
An ultrasound was done today to see what it looked like, the ultrasound findings were a mixed bag of news. Some OK findings and some…..well not so good…….
The bad news: the mass is solid, it would have been nicer if it were cystic….perhaps even an abscess. Also bad news, it has vascular flow too (not good….)
The good news: it seems well encapsulated, and the Doppler resistive index on the flow is high enough that there is a fair chance that it is not a malignant process.
Next we have an appointment with the vet, I have no doubt it will have to come out ASAP!
Ultrasound of the mass in Stormy's neck
All of your ducks in a row….
Is this what they mean when they say “have all of your ducks in a row”?….or is that shelties in a row?
Britt, Robbie and Stormy, "sheltie-ducks in a row"
It’s funny how times have changed, when Robbie was a puppy, he was an “on looker” rather than one of the dogs claiming a spot on the couch, <ggg>
5 month old Robbie looking on, while the adults, Sarah and Stormy nap on the couch.
Now that he is all grown up, he has figured out that one of the best things to do on a cold winter day, is find a nice soft place to curl up and enjoy a long winters nap!
Robbie always finds a nice soft spot for his nap!
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow…..
and snow it did, we had a bit over a foot of snow overnight. After we spent several hours digging out, the dogs got a chance to play in the new fallen snow and they really enjoyed it!
The snow was chest deep for Stormy……..
He and Britt, acting very proper, looked on……… 
while Robbie was gleefully dashing through the snow…………….
it wasn’t long before they could no longer contain themselves, they just had to join in on the fun….
they all had a great romp in the snow, running this way…….
and that way…………….
Britt is so light, she can practically run on top of the snow…….
Stormy, looking slightly windblown, but, dashing as always……..my very handsome
“Storm Man”
The rough life of a retired Obedience Trial Champion!
Even though he is no longer showing, Stormy always travels with me when I go away to a seminar or a show. We have made the long trip to and from New Hampshire 3 out of the last 4 weekends, and he really needs a break! This is his opinion of what a Monday after that trip should be….
Stormy's new versions of the obedience exercises include; The High Jump=getting on the couch, Scent Discrimination=using your nose to decide which pillow is the best to rest on, and finally the Long Down= settling in for a well deserved nap!
I responded saying they could count on me for support in running ads. So, I organized my thoughts and pictures and sent them to Karen Jordan. A special “Thank you” to Karen for the beautiful ads she designed for our boys! These will run on Shelties On Line during the week of October 24-30, 2009 in support the very first Shelties On Line Performance Week!
Stormy's ad for Shelties On Line performance week 2009
Robbie's ad for Shelties On Line Performance week 2009