Last August I took a break from gardening for a little while after moving. Why? Because I acquired a small fuzzy ball of trouble, mayhem, energy, messes, fun and total cuteness: also known as my Border Collie puppy Fiona Grace or "Fi" (pronounced "fee") for short.
NOTICE: This is your warning that there will be a LOT of puppy pictures in this post.
Last July, I stopped by southern Virginia on my way to North Carolina for some R&R after paramedic class to meet the litter of puppies and decided I wanted the only girl in the litter of four. She was about the size of a Guinea Pig and really cuddly. I spent the next four hours I was driving talking to my car about puppy names. Half the list I'd picked out earlier just didn't seem to fit this little girl's temperament. Finally settled on calling the little princess Fiona because not only is it a traditional Border Collie Name, she was spunky and stood up to all three of her bigger brothers kind of like the character in the TV show Burn Notice. And before you ask, I was completely unaware of the movie Shrek. Never seen it.
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| Hello world, meet Fiona! |
My friend (and fellow volunteer paramedic) ended up getting one of her brothers, so we carpooled down to pick up the puppies in August and my roommate came along for the ride.
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| Fiona and her brother decided to cuddle with my roommate on the way home. |
The next few weeks were a blur. Figuring out puppy-sitting arrangements on the days my roommate and I were both working, vet appointments, starting initial training, socializing her and getting her used to strange loud noises and large objects. With such a busy schedule, she took frequent naps to keep up her incessant energy.
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| So tired and so small! |
She loved to chew. One of her favorite toys was (and still is) this Kong binkie. Especially if it's filled with chunky peanut butter.
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| Two Months old with Binkie |
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| Four months and the ever-present binkie. |
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| Six Months with Binkie. She's lost the puppy fuzz now. |
Taught her to enjoy strange things--like drinking out of a syringe, and normal things like sit, down & stay. Oh, and look at me to so I can take yet another picture with you looking this time.
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| Two months and drinking water out of a syringe during a visit to the Rescue Squad station. |
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| Three months and I FINALLY have her full attention for a few seconds. |
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| I had her attention in the last picture because I was holding her new favorite toy: a Frisbee. We've gone through about five of these now. She's truly obsessed with the game. She's eight months in this picture. |
We've been hiking, pumpkin picking, and visited the fire station I volunteer at. The bells going off or the tones dropping don't even bother her. She's working on getting comfortable around crowds since she's a little shy with new people.
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| Hiking to Bear's Den at 4 months. |
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| Pumpkin picking at 4 months |
Posing on the front of the engine during a visit to the fire station. Almost five months old. |
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| Posing in one of the chase vehicles for National Puppy Day. Seven Months old. |
She's now reached the fine age of 10 months. She's all of about 35 lbs, fast, smart, and totally obsessed with balls, frisbees, and cats. Good old Border Collie instinct kicking in because she wants to round up all kinds of things. Chickens, cats, me... We're getting pretty good at the basic obedience commands. She's a good traveler and I take her everywhere I possibly can. So much fun now that she's patient enough to focus and obey commands!
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| All a girl needs when going hiking: backpack and faithful canine companion. Fiona is nine months in this photo taken at Bear's Den. |
As you can see, I've had my hands full with this one. She's finally reached an age where her body has grown enough that I can start agility and sheep herding training with her. Going to try obedience competition first though. And then maybe we should try something that involves swimming...
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| Fiona at nine months. She's on a nice "down-stay" in the middle of a patch of bluebells we found next to the Bear's Den lodge on the Appalachian Trail. Isn't she gorgeous? |
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| At ten months, she's staying cool while playing fetch with a stick in a lake and giving her best "drowned rat" impression. |
Fun and exciting times coming up this summer! Her new thing is to have me throw the frisbee from the patio and leap over my pots to go fetch it. As long as she doesn't tip over all my plants in her pursuit of the frisbee, ball and cat, we'll be fine.
Until next time then...
