Russian Shedders
I love this time of year: flowers blooming, sun shining and a yard covered in a whispy layer of white dog hair.
With four big white dogs (Borzoi aka Russian Wolfhounds) that grow thick wintery undercoats when spring rolls around, I take the puppies outside, bathe them, put them up on a grooming table and take the blow dryer to them. I leave them in the dog room over night, and by the end of the second day, the entirety of the yard has been covered in a fine layer of long white hair.
The dogs hate getting bathed, but they love all the extra attention, combing and brushing. They look so good when they’re freshly washed; they seem to know it, too, with that extra bit of spunk as they race around. It’s fun to watch the cat chase the fur balls, only to realize it’s just dog hair then look to see if anyone was watching, and since I was, well then the cat has to act like he knew it all along.
Bad enough when the hair is still hooked to the dogs, to be fooled by a giant fur ball, that’s just so embarrassing.
Marie Agun
I grew up in Washougal. Our family used to have cows, and so we always had the usual farm animals; cows, chickens, cats, dogs. When I was 11, some one dumped a young, silver point German shepherd near our farm. Unlike almost all dumped dogs, this one was lucky and we took him in. He turned out to be a pretty good farm dog. We called him Charley. My sister decided to enter Charley in 4-H obedience classes, and her little sister (me) always tagged along. One day, while my sister was working with Charley, I went back to the car. Someone had come to visit the obedience instructor, and in the back of the visitors’ car were two amazing, tall, thin, long haired elegant, majestic looking dogs. I was instantly smitten. I did see the person who owned the dogs, and I never learned who it was; but, I promised myself that some day I would have a dog like that. It took me 10 years to learn I’d fallen in love with a Borzoi aka Russian wolfhound. It was another 10 years for my first Borzoi to enter my life. Just how he came to live with me is another wonderful story. He was my love, he was an amazing teacher. He taught me a lot about dogs and life. I’m so glad he was part of my life. Since a lot of people don’t know much about Borzoi, I took it upon myself to learn as much as I could about the breed as I could. It’s only been 15 years now, so I’m still learning, and love to talk dog with anyone willing to listen.