Happy 8th Birthday Rosemary

Our pretty little pony turned 8 today. To celebrate Peggy and I harnessed her up and took her for a drive. Rosemary loves to drive so it seemed fitting. Deliah came along, enjoying her status as carriage dog, but we had to keep the drive short as thunder rolled. As Peggy put it, Rosemary is a dream to drive. She wants to please and listens so well. With the weather, we just trotted down the road a couple miles before turning back at a walk. She handled the heat and humidity great. Peggy gave her a fancy treat for her birthday after her hose down. And she pushed me for some treats when I put her back out. Some things you can get away with on your birthday.

At 8 she is looking mature and keeping her color. So far no fading this year. She is one of the prettiest cob mares I have seen, not that I am biased or anything. I really hope we can get her to some shows this year and let others see her. She seems to have forgiven us for sending Roscoe away, but is not thrilled with being stuck with Comrade. Unfortunately, the cobs have to watch their weight along with Winston, so they spend the night together. Rosemary has been known to stir up the boys if she can by doing laps in the sacrifice area. She adds spice to our life.

The big spice she added to our life, Roscoe, is showing Lisa his dramatic side. He is behaving though and listening to her, which makes me feel good. On the other hand he is no Casanova when it comes to the mares. Poor boy has no idea how to treat a girl and has directional issues of where to mount. The good news is he lets Lisa pull him off, the bad news is he kicks toward the mares when he does come off. I trust Lisa completely to handle everything and keep things safe, but it is hard when my boy is being rotten. Mom and I both are like maybe if she tries this or that, but when you are 10 hours away you can only speculate. Hopefully Roscoe will figure out being sweet to the girls will work so much better for him. Ah well boys.

Roscoe is one of Rosemary's great achievements, so I hope some of her will show in the foals. 12 more days until we make the trip to see him again. I can't wait.

Worth Her Weight in Gold

This holiday Peggy had a couple family members visiting. They toured DC and Middleburg with a bonus of seeing a foal at a friends house. At the barn they got to go for a drive with Comrade, who was much better behaved than his last drive. On their last full day, they got to go for a ride.
We ended up putting the western saddle on Dottie for the guests to ride, while Peggy and I rode the cobs. Dottie is our steady, trust worthy mount. Since she used to do therapeutic rides, she knows how to read a rider and won't do more than she feels they can handle. Once everyone was mounted and we taught her niece to steer, we headed out on trail.

All in a row, even the dogs :)

Rosemary had to go first because she was not in the mood to regulate her walk. Comrade took up the rear with Dottie in the middle. We kept the ride on the more level areas and kept it short. Dottie did great and only trotted once when she felt like catching up to Rosemary. Peggy had to school Comrade a bit but it did not bother Dottie.

So I breathed a sigh of relief that all went well as we came back to the arena. Peggy wanted to let her brother ride Dottie, but somehow it turned into her niece trotting around on Dottie. She got comfortable once I showed, as best I could, how to sit the trot. Though Dottie did wonder how she got drafted into doing a lot more work then expected. Dottie gave her niece a great ride and even walked over some poles for her. That mare is worth her weight in gold.
Then Peggy says she has to go cook dinner and she puts her brother on Comrade. Now you all know I love Comrade, but he has his moments. I though her brother would just be walking around. Oh, if only. I looked over from watching Dottie to see Comrade cantering down the long side. He pulled back on the reins and Comrade came down to a trot, but he would not walk. I had to tell him to turn him into the fence. That worked, but Comrade was wound up now. Peggy owes me big for watching over him. I was so relieved when pictures and ride time were over. The horses at least got paid well with treats and carrots so they were happy.

 

When I got home, Lisa texted me a Roscoe update. Still no mares ready yet. That figures since she and Roscoe on working better together. Ah well more time to fine tune. I did tell her we were have withdrawal and she needed to send pictures. So she did one better and sent a video. She said she missed his better movement, but what she did catch was pretty awesome. He looks to be maintaining his weight even with all the round pen work which is comforting. Can't wait to go see him next month though. Here are a couple shots from the video.

Stallion Boot Camp

Life without Roscoe is just plain weird. I keep expecting him to come around the corner and take his spot at the gate looking down the barn aisle. Lisa has been great about giving me progress reports. I feel like the parent of a naughty child misbehaving at school though.

But Mom...

Roscoe does not believe he has to listen to Lisa. He gives her a hard time just walking to the turn out. So Lisa has started round pen work with him to establish her authority. Luckily that is something he knows and can serve as a bridge between them. Stallion boot camp has started. She has to be able to control him if any more breeding will take place. And yes that means he has covered one mare so far. Once Roscoe knows the routine and that Lisa is the boss, hopefully the hormonal idiot will be more controllable and make the process easier.

Roscoe vs Lisa 2012

On the positive side, she says he is fit and smart. I hope both will help him get through this learning curve. Lisa and Roscoe have sort of been through a power struggle before, a couple years ago getting ready for a show. She had to move him around then too. Roscoe is not an easy horse, never has been. It is a darn good thing we had no experience with foals before he was born, because then we would have known how tough he was from the very beginning. We just thought he was being an independent boy. He has kept us on our toes for nearly four years and now Lisa knows why.

Two strong personalities

 

The tough part for Roscoe is that when he was trained for the phantom, there was separation of activities. They had a breeding shed that he went to by leaving the barn from the right side. Turn out was done by leaving the barn from the left side. He learned how to act when he was in the different areas. At Lisa's the breeding happens right by his stall. And since she is a one person operation, the mare is tied up right by the stall which raises the drama for handling him in the stall. They are working through the bumps and figuring each other out. As tough as it is to experience this from a distance, I think it is better for all of us that we are not close enough to drop in. This way Lisa is the only authority figure he has to deal with. No blurred lines.
So here's hoping the progress reports keep improving and breeding can happen once the mares come into season.

Working things out

A Trip We Will Never Forget Part 3

After two hard days mixed with some baby fun, we were ready to head home. The fact that we were leaving Roscoe was softened by the fact that we were bringing his older, by 9 days, half sister back with us. Aeres was headed to Maryland to begin her training. So our red head was switched to black for the return trip.

As we loaded the truck, a bit of rain started so I reached for my jacket. I was shocked to feel a pain in my ring finger. Something had bit or stung me. My finger swelled and burned. I took the ice I was using on my ribs and put it on my finger. Yep, time for me to get out of Indiana. Luckily the rest of the load up, including Aeres getting on the trailer went great. We pulled out 2 minutes ahead of schedule.

Aeres and I waiting

We stopped to fill the truck and our own tummies. Aeres and I chatted while waiting. She is a cool mare, but one that is a skittish. We wanted her to be as comfortable as she could be on this trip. She will have a tougher trip since she ends with the mountains. Mom and Peggy came back with food and it was time to begin. Or maybe not. Peggy had to go back in and get our correct order first.
Finally we were ready. As we pulled onto the interstate, the truck started shaking. Oh SHIT, what now? Plus Mom realized she had not plugged in the electric brake. What came next was a bit of comedic relief. I had undone my bra to be more comfortable and was trying to put some arnica cream on. I laughed and said I had to try not to flash the passing truckers. Then Peggy decided to try and hook the electric brake which meant leaning into Mom's lap to reach the hook up. Anyone looking in would have been asking questions, but is was really funny. The not so funny part was looking over at my camera case and seeing a big bee/wasp thing staring back at me. I guess my attacker had crawled out of my jacket. Peggy rescued me by taking care of him. Since she was not as successful with the brake we ended up having to pull off the next exit.
Mom plugged it in only to get an error code. I looked up the code online and found that it meant there was a short in the blue wire. That combined with the shaking truck we called my Dad. We could not see anything with the truck or the trailer. Somehow, someway the electric brake started working. We set off again with less shaking in the truck, but still some unease. At the next gas stop, our unease was justified.
When Mom walked around the trailer she found a tire sheared to the belt with wire exposed.

Not what you ever want to see

Thankfully, the tire had not blown out. Mom moved the trailer to a better resting spot and Peggy called USRider. My Dad had just signed me up for it a few months ago. We knew we could change the tire ourselves, since we have a trailer aid (every trailer should have this), but we wanted someone who could look at the other tires and make sure they were okay for the rest of the trip. The trailer people who did the check up before the trip said the tires looked good even though they are original. USRider texted me the company name and estimated time of arrival for the service provider. 35 minutes to wait. We used the time to feed and water Aeres. Peggy even went into the store to find candy that would appeal to Aeres. The store was great about us hanging about.
A bit late, the service guy showed up in a Malibu. Have to say that did not make me feel good. Then when he asked where the flat tire, uh what, was and we pointed to the trailer we got a blank look. "I've never changed a tire on a cart before." Seriously that is what he said. RED FLAG!!! I handed my phone to Peggy and told her to get USRider back on the phone. Peggy told the guy to hold on while she talked to them. She walked away and told them the situation. Needless to say, we refused to let him work on the tire. USRider was great and arranged for another service provider. I received the text in no time letting us know it would be about an hour. Then they called to say that he might arrive earlier with traffic.

Our rescuers

This time when help came he was in a tow truck. What a relief. He looked at the tire and said we probably hit a pot hole just right to break the rubber. The rest of the tires were still good. He checked their pressure too and made them all match. Mom pulled the trailer up onto the trailer aid and he went to work. As soon as he took the tire off, I saw a frayed blue wire. Remember the electric brake error code. Yep, there was our short. Since we had three more, we would be okay for the rest of the drive. As he was finishing the tire change, his wife offered to call the Walmart just up the road to see if they had a spare we could buy. When they did not, she called the tire place and asked them. That place did, so she said they would come with us to take the damaged tire off the holder and bring it inside for us. Sure enough we headed to the tire place and he went in with Mom. When they came back out we had a new spare and he made the pressure match the rest. This couple went above and beyond the tire change knowing the pay is not very much. Mom and Peggy gave them a generous and heartfelt tip out of our travel cash. Good people who just want to help others are great to find.

Are we there yet?

Aeres, bless her, stayed calm on the trailer during all this. She was munching on her hay enjoying the break. We were glad to get back on the road after the 3 hour delay. And what do you know, the truck was smooth again.

Yum, hay cubes

From that point on, the drive was normal. Aeres did not drink as much as we would have liked, but she did eat the soaked hay cubes with pro bi added. She relaxed and her tummy did not look as tight. She was so tired, that Mom took it slow through the mountains. We drove up Peggy's driveway at 12:34am. Aeres went into the big stall with the attached little paddock. Rosemary glared at us and did not even come see us. Talk about being in the dog house.
Mom and I finally found our beds at about 3:00am. What a trip.

DaVinci checking in with Aeres

The last part was sending Aeres off with her Maryland trainer on Sunday. Aeres took naps in the sawdust and rolled in the mud resting up for her last trip. Unfortunately, her ride came by way of I95 and found our lovely traffic. Once they arrived Aeres was awesome stepping right up into the trailer. It will be great to see how she grows in the future.

Walking back into the barn, we all realized the energy was different without Roscoe. Much quieter. Comrade though is back to breaking out of the stalls. Without Roscoe to burn off his energy, his Cob trouble is showing. If I can get back into the saddle it would help, but it is tough with my ribs.

And that is the trip we will never forget for reasons you now know. Now we have two months till our barn is whole again. I have already received a progress report for Roscoe. Can anyone guess how he is doing?

A Trip We Will Never Forget Part 2

We expected the hardest part of this trip to be leaving a member of our family behind. No matter how great someone else is, they will not be able to take care of your horse the way you do. Roscoe's adaptability made that fact easier to handle.
What ended up being the hardest part of the trip was something we never expected, but touched us all deeply. Thursday morning I woke up early and went to feed Roscoe. Then Mom and I turned him out to run off his excess energy. By that time, Lisa had breakfast ready.
Afterwards we all headed back to the barn. As we neared, Lisa said "Uh oh, we have a baby in the field." Sure enough laying by the hay feeder was a foal with a big blaze. Lisa wanted to move the other horses into the stalls before moving the baby. Peggy had an emotional reaction to one of the mares with dapples like Addie did. Amazing how something so simple can bring back such strong memories. I told her to focus on the new baby.
Little did I know how focused we would be. As we approached the foal, we all were a bit apprehensive. We looked to see if it was a boy or a girl. And I can say I am two for two at getting the gender... wrong. I really must remember to look under the tail. The more we examined him, the more we worried. It looked like he had not stood at all and was very lethargic. As Lisa got a stall ready, the three of us rubbed him all over. When Lisa carried him to the barn, he was dead weight. The worst part was when Fflame, the mare turned around and went back to the hay feeder. Fflame is normally a very good mother so that was unusual. I led her into the stall.
The colt was very cold and still not active. I volunteered to hold him. At times I felt like I was holding him so he would not die alone. We also put a lead line around his chest and neck like they do with dummy foals. At that point anything was worth a try. Lisa called the vet when things did not improve. As I rubbed his head, he would move his legs and grunt. He was trying more as he warmed up. Just before the vet arrived, he even made suckling movements though his mouth was so cold. Lisa and Peggy worked to milk Fflame and the two other mares with foals. When the vet came, he told us the colt was premature despite coming only days before his due date. His slightly curled ears and sunken eyes were the premature signs. When he looked at the placenta, he believed Fflame had eaten fescue which thickens the walls decreasing the nutrients the foal receives. Such a hard situation.
The vet tubed the colt, so that the colostrum and milk would go directly to his stomach. Let me tell you it was hard to see a baby tubed, but great to see him fight the process. After he was fed, he had to get a catheter to be able to receive fluids with glucose. Every hour he should be fed, every four hours his catheter had to be flushed with heparin to prevent clotting and four times a day he would get half a bag of fluids. Fflame was still not showing a lot of attention toward the foal which worried us, but at least there was a plan.
In light of everything, we decided to delay our departure until Saturday. Good or bad there would be some change. Luckily my sister and Peggy's husband could handle the horses for another day and hold horses for the farrier. We all helped Lisa watch and feed the colt. He barely had a suckle reflex so the process was difficult. A high point was when Peggy was sitting with him and Roscoe called. Surprisingly the colt answered. That little vocalization was so heartwarming. The colt also tried to get up occasionally, but was never successful. By that evening he started to open his eyes. Lisa had a long night ahead of her.

The fierce little Ffhoenix resting after attempting to rise.

The three of us talked and wondered why this happened. Why now? Why us? Watching that colt fight for his life was an experience. Hard as it was, we were invested. His strength had us naming him Ffhoenix. He touched us all.
The next morning Lisa's tears told us everything. He was failing, going septic. Mom and I went to feed Roscoe and put him out. We looked in on Ffhoenix and knew the end was near. I told him it was okay to go. When I went into the barn next, he was gone. Ffhoenix had risen to the highest place he could. And as Peggy said when I told her, he was playing with Barry now.
He had a short life, but he was loved. Ffhoenix showed us that we are so lucky to know these animals and to appreciate the time we have with them. Every horse gives us something, even if they are only there for a day. We were glad we could support Lisa during this time and share the emotional load.

A Trip We Will Never Forget Part 1

This trip was a roller coaster of emotions and tougher than we could have ever expected. With that being said, I am dividing it into 3 parts.

Wednesday, bright and early, we loaded Roscoe and ourselves to begin the journey to Indiana. Roscoe knew right away that this was not a show drive and Rosemary called to him as the trailer rolled away. By the first stop he was wondering where the heck we were going. By the second nearly 6 hours in, he was resigned to the drive that was beyond his comprehension. I told him he made this trip before, only in the comfort of Rosemary's belly.

Are we there yet???

We had taken out the divider and left him loose so he could move or stand as he wished. He reaffirmed my preference for straight load trailers by standing straight each time we saw him. He would change sides depending on which hay bag he chose to eat from, but he seemed comfortable. Roscoe drank at every stop and ate his wet alfalfa cubes. Though he did decide that eating cubes out of his feed bowl was not as fun as eating them out of the little bucket we used to soak them. He had a lovely streak of green up his blaze because of that choice.

Green nose

His biggest issue was that he really had to pee. I told him to pee in the trailer which was bedded deeply with wood chips, but he just could not do it. Finally at one of the gas stops with a grass area right by the trailer, I decided to let him off. Just in case, we used the chain lead. He thought the cement was a bit strange, but he was happy with the grass. He nibbled a bit before stretching out and peeing. Such a good pony!
On the road again we started the last 3hr leg of the journey. Peggy had navigated the whole way, directing us to a great route. She was also in charge of the radio, which at one point resulted in a laugh fest as she tried to find a country station on the XM and kept finding foreign channels. Overall except for some 40 degree temperatures we found in some places, the drive went really well. Then just at the end we made a wrong turn. Our tired eyes saw the name of the road the breeder lives on and did not take in the fact the sign said north and she lives on south. When we picked up Rosemary, we followed her to her place since we had picked up one of her other ponies at her other property. So this time we drove and drove, not seeing her house. When we saw a covered bridge we knew we had not seen the last time, we called her for help. Sure enough we had turned 2 miles too soon.

The Stud is IN

Eventually we made it to her place just as dark was descending. We settled Roscoe into his stall and then got to play with the foals. Roscoe was already being teased by one of the mares. He turned into uber stallion right before our eyes. We ended up having to close his top door to block his view of the mares and make sure he stayed in the stall. He also seemed fascinated by the foals running about.
The two foals, both related to Roscoe and Comrade, were so awesome to play with.

Rosemary's half sister Rebecca and her colt

The colt, Roscoe's cousin, was really friendly and starting to get frisky. He would bite at his dam and visit a young mare, getting her in trouble with his dam.

Always sticking his head somewhere or running around

His sister just born on Mother's Day, Roscoe's great aunt, was more reserved about approaching us. Her dam kept her away if she could. I had cookies in my pocket that I used to gain the trust of both the mares. Lisa told us we had to play with the foals while we were there. Such a hard job...

Roscoe's Great Grandmother and Great Aunt

Long baby legs are good for itching

Over the next days, I kept cookies on me so that the mares became more comfortable. I was so happy when the filly's dam let me play with her baby and stayed calm. The farrier in me had me picking up feet all around. They both were really good about that. I hugged them, rubbed on them and just plain enjoyed being with them. The filly even let me move her around a little with an arm around her butt. We even got to see the other young Cob mares and one gangly Warmblood filly. It was a pony huddle. Lisa gave me a pop quiz on who their dams are, I passed. Some of them will be bred to Roscoe so she wanted us to meet them. One named Rosalee, another Rosemary half sister, has been a favorite of mine since I first looked at Castleberry's website. Sadly since I know her ponies well, when I asked about one that had really cool markings, she told us she had passed away.

Pictured on left: RIP Chantilly Lace From '10 visit

The horses all went out at night due to the flies, but Roscoe had to go out during the day since he had not been on much grass. He was lonely not having anyone near him in the turn out. We ended up taking off his muzzle because the field was not too plush and he was running around so much he needed the calories.

Free after 13 hours on the trailer and a night in the stall

 He enjoyed watching the others when he came back into the barn. The colt made his day by calling to him. The tough part was that he was a bit hard to handle. Near the mares he immediately dropped and called. He reared and tended to forget about you. I learned to back his butt into the stall so that I could distract him enough and safely take off his halter. One day though my luck ran out. Walking back to the barn after turn out he was beckoned to by one of the mares. She most likely is in her foal heat and Roscoe was more than ready to answer her call. Well he lunged forward forgetting me, hit the end of the lead which engaged the chain and kicked out in frustration. I seriously worried he broke my rib, he did not, as I gasped in pain. I also worried about holding on to him since the roadside gate was open. Plus I would die of embarrassment if I could not handle my own horse. I knew he did not mean to connect with me. If he wanted to get away, he easily could have while I was getting over the shock. I regrouped and was able to back him down to his stall after Mom opened his door. He backed in and let me take his halter off before acting the dodo stallion to the mare in the next stall. Roscoe realized pretty quick that expending that much energy was not really worth the effort. I showed mom by chest and asked if she saw anything. Her eyes got big and she nodded. Oh yeah I am totally rocking a Cob hoof print.

So swollen and colorful, the other part of the hoof print is not in a spot I can show

My large fat deposit, otherwise called a breast, did something useful for once and deflected some of the kick. I have a huge bruise and scrape which turns a bra into a torture device. Luckily mom had arnica cream in her purse that I could use after icing.

Time to say Farewell

Coming to this barn had turned Roscoe into Castleberrys ReFflection, total stallion. Mom had told him that he was here to do a job, and then he could come home. Well he was ready to work. Maybe he figured he could hurry and finish so he could go home earlier. With everything, we could still get him to listen so his training was holding. Over time Lisa will introduce him to her yearling colt to hopefully be able to turn them out together. Then he will have a buddy.

A banana before we leave

I told Lisa we needed regular pictures and updates. Except for the two weeks he was phantom trained we have seen him almost everyday of his life. It helped to drive away after seeing him settled and accepting his circumstances. Part 2 of the memorable trip coming soon.

Success = Immense Relief

The reality of Roscoe leaving is starting to hit me hard. And trying to find a saddle was seriously stressing me. How could I ask Jen to ride him and not have tack he would work well in? I was to the point of trying the treeless. While talking to Peggy, I joked that Comrade's saddle would probably fit Roscoe since she bought it for him when he was five. She said to try it and see.
Well, the morning was insane and I was tense. So, I loaded stalls with sawdust before heading out for a hair appointment. After getting a flower to match Rosemary's, I was ready to tackle the saddle search.

May Flowers :)

The Thornhill Germania resulted in the same kind of ride the Pro Trainer did. I seriously felt like Roscoe's brakes were locked. He was not willing to move above a walk. The fit was good around his withers, but just below their was some tightness. Roscoe said that any pressure on his shoulders means he can't move. So up next was Comrade's Black Country saddle. For those of you that like County Saddles, this saddle was made by former County employees who started their own company. Peggy had it made for him as a five year old, but by time in came from England it was too small. It was just bad timing considering how slowly the Cobs grow.

Roscoe approved Black Country

I placed the saddle on Roscoe's back and worried it would be too big especially towards the back. It was worth a try though. I put the sheepskin pad underneath and girthed him up. The best part was that I could easily run my hand from wither to girth. No tightness. Time to ride.
Roscoe walked off well and seemed happy. Now to see how long that happy would last. I asked for trot to the left. At first he was reluctant, but persistence paid off and he trotted. Okay, good start. Then we moved around the arena and he still maintained his pace. No slowing down, no reaching and I could post with out him balking. I looked at Peggy and asked if the saddle could go with him to Indiana. The next time I asked him to trot, he picked it up right away and moved freely forward. Roscoe has spoken, this saddle is a winner. We both sighed in immense relief.

Narrow, But Wide

Scratching your head yet? Yeah, me too. In packing for Roscoe's trip, I found that he has outgrown his first saddle. This is much sooner than I expected. Normally he wears the X-Wide Isabel with a sheepskin pad to fill any gaps. Well we can't send that with him since two others use the same saddle.

 

 So I pulled out the Thornhill Pro Trainer I first rode him in a couple years ago. Mom looked at it and said the fit looked good. Now the challenge of a girth. He is still has that narrow youth look. When we used the saddle before, Dottie's dressage girth fit great. Can't send that either, so the hunt was on. I found a short string girth that was worth trying. Under normal circumstances the girth was too big, but with nothing else it would have to do even though it was nearly on the last holes.
I hopped on him to test it out. He did not react badly, great. As we walked around to warm up, I could tell the saddle was a bit tight on his withers. Then when I asked for trot he did, but reluctantly and was quick to transition to walk. Roscoe does not seem to want to move forward if he has any pressure on his withers. I did not have a whip with me to see if he would move on if encouraged. Instead I think I shall bring the Thornhill Germana and try that on him. It is a similar saddle but wider. I bought it for Barry using a wither tracing only to have him outgrow it in months. I really love changeable gullets. They make life so much easier with a growing, developing horse.
Leave it to Roscoe to be narrow around, but wide on top.

We have put together 35 days of food, hay cubes and beet pulp. That will be fun to load into the trailer. Plus sugar cubes, treats, fly spray, vicks, pro bi and fly masks. Still more to gather. The trailer got looked at and greased up, so it is ready. Hopefully today I can get the tack fitted and then cleaned.
And I still have to pack for me. Too much stuff to do and not enough time.

The Best Compliment

I got a call while at work that started the way you never want to hear, " The vet is here..." What???

Once I was assured by Peggy that no one was hurt and the vet was in the area and decided to come do Roscoe's health certificate. They just needed to know his shot history. Cue the sigh of relief. Of course whether or not the vet should give Roscoe shots is Mom's decision. That meant jumping through hoops to get Mom on the phone. The vet examined Dottie for us while I contacted Mom.

I had to settle Mom down over the change of days, but finally got her to call Peggy and answer the questions. The vet, a new one to us, was impressed with Roscoe. She felt his temperament and build made him worthy to pass on his genes. When Peggy went to recatch him, so he could get his shots, and Roscoe walked up, put his halter she was amazed. By the end of her dealings with him, she even said he was the best stallion she had been around.

As an owner that is the best compliment I could receive. Mom too. I love knowing Roscoe is a good citizen. We have worked hard to establish boundaries to keep him happy but respectful. Hopefully, his lessons will stay with him as he works with the breeder and Jen.

So now he has his shots and health certificate. The check marks are adding up and the days are down to 7.  This seemed so far away when Lisa proposed it last year.