Bright Stars are FIVE!

Let the birthday celebrations begin! Claire’s babies with the fabulous Ferguson are FIVE!

Brand new Bright Stars 🌟

Alison starts the party:

“The palindromic litter! Where did five years go?????????

"A winter wonderland for me?.  For my birthday? 

Oh look, that tree needs pruning!"

Zuber is a sweet, laid back charmer who has kept me busy in the past year, dipping in and out of various adventures. He is teaching me sooooo much about training and showing, in all venues.

In February he earned his CD then, switching back to his favorite sport, completed his Grand Master Draft Dog in March with his Draft buddy, Lindy.

We put Draft away and played in Jumpers Agility, then took a day for damp Farm Dog Tests. The hot summer led us to breed shows in VT and two five point majors!!!!!  He became an exemplary Uncle to baby Jasper on August 1 and the next day completed his CH.

All this was fun and exhilarating and I am exhausted thinking back on it!

This month we returned to the agility ring, in Standard this time, after well more than a year reconquering his dog walk and teeter. My heart sang as he confidently crossed both in all three Novice Standard runs. Hurray!

In the midst of all these adventures Zuber became a BMDCA Working Dog and Versatility Dog. Good gracious! What does his next year hold???????

Birthday wishes to all his siblings.”

WOWZA! Zuber had had quite the year. Thank you Alison and Tom for everything and HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZUBER!!!! 🎉

Zuber’s brother, Tobie, also has an interesting and active life. Cheryl sends us this update:

“It is hard to believe that Tobie and the other Bright Stars are 5 years old today!! We are forever grateful for Tobie and the joy that he has brought to our lives. 2025 was another memorable year and one that was full of adventure for Tobie.

This past year included multiple trips to his second home in Idaho and to a family cabin at Odell Lake. He loves these places; in the Winter he loves to play in the snow and in the Summer, he loves to hike with his mom in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho and the Oregon Cascade Mountains and cool off in lakes/streams. He is a great companion and a wonderful hiker. He has learned to hike off leash and enjoys this freedom. His mom also enjoys the freedom from the leash and especially loves that he consistently comes when called!

In his life at home, Tobie has established a comfortable routine of keeping his mom company when she is at home, driving on errands with her, and loves going for his daily walk. People love to greet Tobie on our walks and always comment on how beautiful he is. Tobie has learned to enjoy meeting new people and dogs on our walks which spreads joy to others.

When his mom leaves the house, Tobie becomes a “shop dog” with 3 other dogs who “work” with their dads at Tobie’s dad’s business on our property.

Tobie is incredibly affectionate with “his people”. He loves to snuggle and tries to sleep on our bed but quickly realizes it gets hot and there just isn’t enough room for a big dog who likes to stretch out in comfort and two adult humans!

We love our boy so much! He is so darn smart and has an endearing personality that often makes us laugh. He has woven himself into every part of our lives and brings life, joy, love to our lives. Happy Birthday Bright Stars!!”

I love getting potos from Tobie’s wonderful life — thank you Cheryl (and family) and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOBIE!!! 🎂

Starry's Good Day

Tommy Topaz came over to play with get beat up by his sister. I am not sure what Tommy thought but Starry had a lot of fun!

Jennifer laid a track for Starry and did a video for me. There are two turns shown in the video. We usually track by ourselves in the early morning darkness and so this was a great opportunity to add some new challenges — thanks, Jennifer ❤️

Happy Wednesday!

🩷

Bad Behavior

My great-uncle was Herbert Agar; his sister was my grandmother. In a recent family Zoom, my uncle Jack (not Herbert, who is dead and was a great-uncle) explained how my grandmother had cut off her brother, Herbert, after he behaved badly with wife #1. My uncle made a passing comment about my grandmother having strict standards, and that resulted in an interesting family conversation about my grandmother, who died before I was five.

This is all related to dogs!

Apparently, this propensity to expect people to follow the forking rules/laws and do the right thing and so on and so forth is genetic. I am, therefore, unable to change this aspect of myself because it is in my DNA — like my blue eyes.

Pozy

Should I cover my blue eyes because they make people squirm? Of course not. Why then, should I be anything other than who and what I am in the face of bad behavior?

Pozy

Ah — but what is bad behavior, you ask. And who gets to decide? Fair questions and ones that I think about a lot, as someone incapable of seeing injustice and being quiet about it.

Capella and Starry

Is it a rule or a law? Then breaking it is bad behavior. If you don’t like the rule or law, work to change it. The moral tapestry of a community disintegrates one pulled thread at a time.

Capella and Starry

Does said behavior allow an individual to gain advantage over other people who follow the rules or law? If the answer is yes — bad behavior.

It is against the rules, for example, to do certain surgeries on a dog and then show him. A person who does that has broken the rules and gained advantage by doing so — double bad.

Capella and Starry

A third test of whether said behavior is bad is whether we prefer it not be known by others. If we would be embarrassed or upset that our behavior was widely known — easy peasy. Don’t do it.

Capella and Starry

Related to number three — if there are attempts to shoot the messenger, we should all just assume the messenger is on point.

Starry, seven months

It would take a lot for me to cut off a family member or friend and so maybe I am not exactly like my grandmother in that regard. But it is always so disappointing — and sad — to discover trust and respect has been misplaced.

From the whiteboard

And it is also just such a loss. For everyone.

💔