Remembering Herricane Andrew

Let's take a trip in the WABAC Machine.  The dial is set back to 1992, the place Homestead, Florida.  (Great Great) Great GrandPa Rex (Holmaven Golden Rex) is only five years old.  (Great Great) Grand Pa Jason (Holmhaven King's Gold) and his brother Bobby are not even born yet.  People who read our early posts will remember the pawsome letters Great Uncle Bobby sent to Essex and Deacon.  As for our kindly Dog Dad, he is stationed half way across the world in South Korea.


(Great Great) Great GrandPa Rex

Hurricane Andrew from Wikipedia

Around 5 PM on 24 August 1992 Andrew decimated the city of Homestead, Florida.  In it's wake people died, the emergency services were maxed out.  Many pilots where Dad is stationed are worried about their family and friends living in Homestead.  Dog Dad wasn't overwhelmed with news coverage, as only CNN covered the story.  At the time it was the costliest Herricane of all time.  It was later surpassed by Katrina and Ivan.

When Dad moved to Florida in 1997, the damage from the Andrew was still visible in the city of Homestead.  He heard stories from co-workers.  Dog Dad has a great respect for the forces of mother nature.  He will not knowingly put the pack in harms way.  Tropical Storm Isaac promises to shake things up but we should be safe in our home.

We'll post tomorrow about Isaac.

Stay Safe and Dog Speed

Essex & Sherman

Cousin Toby Crosses The Bridge

We found out from our breeder mom, Lil, that our cousin, (Holmhaven Pure Copper, UD, RE) Toby, crossed the Rainbow Bridge, Tuesday, 4 October. Toby was born 6 January 2003; his sire was Duffy vom Grutlohner Hof, Imp and his dam was Holmhaven Crystal Treasure. Both Toby and Essex had Jason for a Grand Paw and both would have called Jason’s brudder Great Uncle Bobby.

Cousin Toby, January 2003- October 2011

The collies are sad. The Key West Collies knew Toby from when we were pups. Toby was ten months older than Essex and was almost a year old when Essex left to come live in Key West. Sherman is even more closely related as Toby paw-rents are Sherman's Great Grand Paw-rents. Our Dog Angel, Deacon would have called Toby’s Mutter, Grand Mutter.

Toby was a Velcro collie and loved to be as close to Lil as possible. He loved going to shows with Lil. When he finished his Utility Degree, Toby still wanted to go to classes and make Lil proud. So Lil and Toby learned to do all the Rally exercises together. Toby was happy to just be with Lil and loved to give her kisses. Toby had been battling a lung when Dog Dad and I went bring Sherman to our home. He fought the lung infection for three months and at the end would only eat only braunschweiger. We know that Lil is missing him terribly. She referred to Toby as her soul mate: and since she has been so lucky to know so many collies, that means Toby was extra special.

To Lil and the Holmhaven Collies: Thank you for sharing your pack with so many people. Know that you have made the world a better place. We know your pain and appreciated your kind words after Deacon’s sudden crossing. We are sure that Toby is playing with Deacon, Cousin Howie, Great Uncle Bobby, Grand Paw Jason and many other Holmhaven Collies in the forest and fields that are past the Rainbow Bridge.

Dog Speed

Essex, Sherman and Dog Dad too.

A Kansas E-Bark

Dog Dad and I got an e-bark with paw-tographs from Great Uncle Bobby's Mom in Kansas.  She told us that she really enjoyed visiting and spending time with us.  We barked out loud when she told us that Kansas was hotter than Key West.  It was 111 Fahrenheit in Kansas yesterday, while we were only around 91 Fahrenheit.  She and her husband had a splendid time visiting Lil and the Holmhaven Collies.  They especially enjoyed getting to meet Sherman and his litter mates.  She gave Sherman hugs and kisses and he enjoyed it.  They told him that he was going to a pawsome home with a good Dog Dad and pawsome Great Auntie.  I liked her even better when she e-barked Dog Dad to "Give Essex a piece of cheese for me!"   Not isn't that pawsome.  

Sherman looks swell and we see his sister's nose



Sherman sure is cute

We are looking forward to picking up Sherman in a couple weeks.  The house will once again have two Collies and I will have to teach Sherman the way of the Collie.  That will fill a great void and bring joy to our pack.  We hope to see Great Uncle Bobby's Pawrents sometime soon again. 

Dog Speed

Essex

Vistor From Kansas

Dog Dad and I had a visitor from Kansas on Friday.  It was Great Uncle Bobby's Dog Mom.  You may remember that Great Uncle Bobby used to send us letters before he crossed the bridge in 2008.  The visit lasted for three whole hours.  We talked about Collies and I got a good ear rubbing.  Dad said I warmed up quicker than usual.  We met her at the Days Inn, then she came over to our house to talk with us.  Dog Dad took her to his favorite Cuban Restaurant, then it was off to my favorite place, Angel Paws Dog Park.  I took off time from fence patrol to pose for this picture with her.

Great Uncle Bobby's Mom & Essex

February 2008 Great Uncle Bobby & Dog Mom

They talked about her four Collies Sam, Honey, Mac and of course Bobby. They talked about me, Deacon and Sherman. I got a ton of attention, which I tolerated. We wish Great Uncle Bobby's Dog Dad had come to, but he was bitten by the diving bug and was busy under the Sea. Since you can't dive very often in Kansas, I was okay with it. They are going up to Holmhaven and will meet Sherman, Duke and Dakota. We told her to give Sherman a big hug from us. Duke is the other sable male and he will be going to live in North Carolina. Dakota is a tri-color bother that is going to live with Shiloh and create puppy mayhem in Central Florida. We hope Bobby's Pawrents get to visit us again soon. It is nice to have company that loves Collies. 

Dog Speed,

Essex

Sweetz

Hello Essex & Deacon,

My name is Sweetz and I knew Great (Great) Uncle Bobby when we were just pupsters. We are cousins, just like you are with Clyde in Cincinnati. Way back then I had a shiny black coat, now it is speckled with lots of grey. I was quite rambunctious back then and survived being hit by a car. Those things hurt when they hit you. As for the grey fur, I was thinking of using Old Dogs Grecian Formula but decided to be proud of my grey.

I used to live in Louisiana but after my pack evacuated for Herricane Katrina, we decided to move to Portsmouth, Virginia. I am 14 years old now and have slowed down quite a bit. I do love being with my family and love to walk on the beach.

Deacon you sure look a lot like Bobby. Do you like hunting things like he did?

Happy Woofing to You,

Sweetz

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Sweetz,

It is good to hear from you. Any cousin of Bobby is our friend. Things are going slow right now. Dad is trying to fix stuff around the house and is he slow about getting things done. Essex’s paw is healing and she is going to get her teeth cleaned this week. That way she will have shiny teeth.
Dog Speed,

Essex & Deacon

SPECIAL DOG FLASH BULLETIN:

Please go visit our buddy Gio. He is at the vet and isn't doing to well. We figured his Mom could use some kind words and support from you out there in cyber paw space. Come on Gio, the Collies are pulling for you.

2008 Review

We wish all our cyber-paw pals a barky New Year. We hope 2009, the Year of the Ox is much better than 2008. We look forward to a pawsome 2009. For us 2008 was a star-crossed year. We went through some of life’s rough spots, but there was some good things too. Now the Key West Collies recap 2008.
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18 January – We head on an emergency road trip north to Ohio.
20 January – We play in the snow for the first time.

Essex the Snow Queen

21 January – Grand Maw crosses the rainbow bridge.
22 March – Great (Great) Uncle Bobby Crosses Rainbow Bridge.

Great (Great) Uncle Bobby

23 March – The Dog Hero of Santiago, Chile: An unknown dog pulls another dog from a highway after it was struck in traffic. We first see the story in December.
29 April – Sun Halo over Key West.
10 June – One Year Blog Anniversary.
26 June – A huge tree limb crashes down during big storm by Grand Paw’s House.
15 July – Our 100th Post.
2 July – Gomer and Opie start drive for Gemi’s surgery, which is a success.

Gemi

8 August – The beginning of the # 1 Cousin saga.

No 1 Cousin

13 August –Cash, a German Shepherd, is reunited with her hooman Mom and son. Cash guarded the skeletal remains with her Dog Dad for about six weeks.
18 AUG – Tropical Storm Fay passes over Key West and the Collies.
7 September – Hurricane Ike evacuation.
9 September – We meets Deacon’s previous family.

Deacon at his previous home.

10 September – German Shepherd dials 911 and saves his dog dad.
26 SEP –Hooman rescues his dog from the jaws of a shark.
27 OCT – No 1 Cousin not coming to Key West.
12 NOV – Oorvie crafts a Collie Clock for us.
15 NOV - Grand Paw admitted to the hospital.
30 DEC – No 1 Cousin tells us he found furever home.
31 DEC – We find out Grand Paw is getting worse. He won’t be to his house to live any time soon.
While it has been a tough year on us, we faced it as a pack and weathered the storms. No matter what happens, we look forward to 2009.

Dog Speed and may the Great Dane watch over you always,

Essex & Deacon

8-O-8-O-8

We could not resist this title. It is the eighth day of the eighth month of 2008.

Imagine this, it is 2 AM Tuesday morning Aunt and Nephew decide it is play time. Time to run around, play growl, bit legs and clash teeth. Imagine doing it in a really, really dark room. Add in that Dog Dad is sound asleep. Well, we did that last Tuesday. The next thing we heard was a loud, low growl. We are not sure if it was a giant Kodiak bear or Dog Dad. We immediately went silent and tippy pawed out of that room. We swear you could have heard a flee jump a nano-second after that growl.

Great Uncle Bobby’s Mom e-barked us and told us how proud she is of us and that Bobby’s Wheels were donated to Kansas State University. His Dog Mom remarked how Deacon could have been Bobby's twin. Looking at the two photographs of Bobby taken in May 2005, we agree. She even stated that Bobby and Mac would even fall asleep at times belly up just like us. We do love it when Bobby's parents e-bark, they are part of our extended family now.

Late Great (Great) Uncle Bobby

Doesn't he look like Deacon's Twin?

Bobby sleeping on the job.

Bobby's best pal Mac

We miss Uncle Bobby but we are looking forward to our cousin coming to Key West. This picture was taken yesterday. So he is 24 days old in the photo. As you can tell, he is doing well, though none of our cousins look like Collies yet. There are four boys and one girl in the litter. We can’t even figure which one is the girl in the photo. Well, one of the five is coming to Key West to live with Dad’s friend. They just aren’t telling us which one. By the Great Dane, we wish one of them would spill the water bowl.

Cousins, which of you are coming to Key West?

Essex & Deacon

Bobby's Last Letter

Bobby - 2007

Dear Great Niece Essex and Great Great Nephew Deacon,

If you are getting this letter, I have crossed the rainbow bridge and could not be with you for my fourteenth barkday. I so wanted you to celebrate it with you. I know you will be thinking about me today. I asked Dog Mom and Dog Dad to e-bark this to you today.

First, I am proud you are my Great Niece and Great Great Nephew. You are a wonderful pair of Collies. Secondly, be kind to other animals and take care of your Dad. I know you chose and outstanding Dog Dad, just like Mac and I chose a pawtastic Dog Mom and Dad. Introduce your Dad to the good people in the world. We dogs are much better judge of character than hoomans. There are far more good people in the world than hoomans realize.

Lastly, do not feel sorry for me. I have lived a full life. I have been so tired lately and it has been so very, very hard to get around. I think of my best friend Mac a lot. We had a so much fun together. I think of the tails Honey told us about her Sam when Mac and I were just little puppies. I feel the Rainbow Bridge calling. I can see, hear and smell Mac, Honey, Sam and your(Great) Great Grand Pa Jason (my brother). In the distance I can sense Foxy and your Dad’s first dog Pudgy. I hope my Dog Mom and Dad can meet all of you someday, I know you would like each other. Thanks for being you.

Woof and Sniffs,

Great (Great) Uncle Bobby

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Cyber Paw Pals,

We miss Great (Great) Uncle Bobby and wish this wasn’t his last letter. We are proud to have know him. Bobby has left paw prints in the snow. We are happy he is no longer in pain, that he lived a full life and had a wonderful Dog Mom and Dad. We feel for both of them. We told Dog Dad to tell them they are part of our extended family, and if they are down this way to stop by and spend some time with us.

Dog Speed Bobby, forever the hunter, we know you are chasing rabbits and deer on the other side of the rainbow bridge when you are not watching over us and your family. We never mentioned it before but Great (Great) Grand Pa Jason passed away June 2006 from dog flu.

Essex & Deacon

Bobby and Mac taking it easy
Sam and Honey

Great (Great) Grand Paw Jason

Foxy - Our Guardian Dog AngelPudgy - Dog Dad's first dog

Bobby Crosses Bridge

We just received the news that Great (Great) Uncle Bobby has crossed the Rainbow Bridge. We are greatly saddened. We were hoping to celebrate his 14th Barkday in April. We know when he crossed the Rainbow Bridge that Mac, Sam and Honey were the first to greet him. After that we are sure that Foxy, Holly and Pudgy came to lick his face and say hello. We will miss his letters to us. We will write more about him later.

Dog Speed Uncle Bobby, Dog Speed

Essex & Deacon

Kansas Condolences

Great Niece Essex and Great Great Nephew Deacon,

I am sure proud of how you cared for your Dad. My family wants to send our condolences. I am sure Mac, Honey and Sam met your Dog Dad's mother at the Rainbow Bridge. You did well guys. All the strength a person needs can sometimes be found in the eyes of a Collie and your Dad knows that.

During the college bowl games, we were rooting for different teams. Here I am with Mom supporting our LSU Tigers. Geaux Tigers.

Woofs and Sniffs

Great (Great) Uncle Bobby

Bobby sez Geaux LSU Tigers.

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Great (Great) Uncle Bobby,

Thanks for the kind words, all of us appreciate them. We helped Dad through all this. Dad was running a fever of 103 degree Fahrenheit on Wednesday. Essex watched over Dad, sniffing, staying near by and made a few whining noises. Dad sure has been resting a lot trying to shake the bug.

We got back Saturday and have been real busy. Dad was tired from traveling and being sick. He did take us to Angel Paws before we went home. Quite a guy in our book. He wanted to reward us for our good behavior at the hotel and all the time in the vehicle. Below are some more pictures of us enjoying the Ohio snow.

Woof Ya,

Essex & Deacon

Essex gazes ever forward.

Our good friends Hattie (top) and Cassie

Cassie, Deacon and the Red Ball

"Curses foiled by the Red Baron, again"

Essexmas 2007

We had lots of fun on Essexmas 2007. Bobby and Howie e-barked us.
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Merry Essexmas you two. Things are going well. Especially since I am enjoying a Louisiana Essexmas visiting my hooman's relatives and friends. It sure is a nice warm break from the frigid Kansas weather. I heard both of you were good collies, so Santa Paws should be good to you. I woof you both.

Great (Great) Uncle Bobby.

Bobby enjoying warmer weather

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Merry Essexmas cousins. It is Santa Howie. I wish my two favorite cyber-paw cousins the best of things this holiday season. I hope Santa Paws was good to you and you had as much fun as I did.
Cousin Howie

Santa Howie

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Great (Great) Uncle Bobby, Howie, relatives and paw pals. We had a great Essexmas. Lots of treats and some neat stuff. Santa Paws gave Dad a dog treat cook book, so now he can make us home made treats. We were at the dog park for two hours, ate plenty of treats, had a belly rub and were scratched behind our ears. We send all of you a double Collie Blessing during this Holiday Season.

Have a Collie Jolly Essexmas and a Barky New Year

Essex & Deacon

A new door mat and a Collie Barking Only sign

Bones, greenies and dog treats - We were good doggies

A Cook Book, Bone shaped Cookie Cutter and a Picture Album.

A Cleveland Browns Dog Pound Ornament

Chilling Out In Kansas

Essex and Deacon,

I want to wish my favorite grand niece and grand grand nephew a Merry Essexmas. Essex sure is lucky to be named after a holiday. I don’t know how your Dad found out about Essexmas, but I would guess he has connections with the Great Dane or Santa Paws. Hope both of you good doggies this year?

I am doing very well. It snowed this weekend. Seeing the snow brings back memories of playing with Mac, flipping snow with our noses and catching snow flakes on our tongues. You need to bark your Dad into introducing you to snow.

It has been a good year for you two. You start a dog blog, find relatives and friends in cyber-paw space and meet more friends at Angel Paws.

Woofs and Sniffs

Great (Great) Uncle Bobby

Friday - Getting around outside

Saturday - Nothing like getting a snoot full of snow

Sunday - Just chilling out and enjoying life

One Year with Deacon

Dear Great Great Nephew Deacon,

I hope you had fun celebrating your one year anniversary living with Essex and Dog Dad. I can tell you really are enjoying yourself.

My family takes good care of me. The following pictures are of me in the family SUV. My Dog Mom and Dad put my electric bed inside to keep me warm and hand fed me. As Rocket would bark, “Life is Good.”

Great Great Uncle Bobby (AKA Holmhaven Bobbing Brown Beau)

Great Great Uncle Bobby taking a nap

Bobby catching some Zzzzzs.

Dear Great Great Uncle Bobby,

Yes it has been a whole year since I came here. When I arrived I was three pounds lighter than Essex. Now I outweigh her by 30 lbs. She is still the boss though. We get along fine and play from time to time. Dog Dad loves watching us play. I get along well with both the small dogs and the big dogs at Angel Paws.

I was named Deacon because my Hooman Grand Paw drove around a chaplan during WW II in Europe. I remind Dad of family, home in Ohio, and the stories his father told him. Grand Paw is really nice and loves all of us.

I feel so lucky that I chose to live with Auntie Essex. I remember being at Holmhaven and in walks a nice guy and a frisky female collie. I warmed right up to the two of them. My Dad Buddy was so happy to see his sister Essex and told me to mind Auntie Essex. It felt so right to be with them. I love going Angel Paws, playing with the other dogs there and chilling out with Dog Dad.

Me at Holmhaven

December 2006, chilling with Essex

All grown and bigger than Essex

A Smooth Collie named Tatum contacted us yesterday. She is sable and white like me and lives in Utah. We mentioned Dogs With Blogs and our Collie friends there. She liked meeting Tosca. Those smoothies sure are cute looking. Tatum will make a fine new cyber-paw friend.

Our newest friend Tatum.

Dog Speed,

Deacon

Free Wheeling Bobby

Great (Great) Uncle Bobby on Wheels

Essex and Deacon, howl are you two young uns. I’ve hope your Thanksgiving was as grrrrreat as mine. The weather is getting colder in Kansas. My Dog Mom and Dad got me a little jacket to wear and a heated bed too. They are so good to me. I decided to sleep inside last night because it was so cold. Before long the snow will be falling on the ground. I was told we will be going to Louisiana and warmer weather for Essexmas.

I can’t say it enough, but these wheels are pawtastic. I can patrol the perimeter of our six acres of land with Dog Mom and Dad, just like I did before my back legs started giving me problems. It feels good to be able to sniff around and find out what has been going on. Life is good.

My parents, especially my Dog Mom keeps telling me how happy I in make her feel. I hope they know that I appreciate everything they do. It is truly wonderful to have such loving parents. We all miss Mac at times, and I feel they miss him more than I do. Maybe I’ll take some time and tell you a few of tell you some of the adventures that Mac and I had. You can even post my stories on your blog if you like.

Bark at you later. Essex, make sure to keep your nephew Deacon out of trouble.

Woofs and Sniffs

Great (Great) Uncle Bobby

Greetings From Kansas

Dear Great Niece and Great Great Nephew,

It sure looks like you two have been having fun and excitement. That trip to Ohio looked like fun, especially meeting all those other Collies. I enjoyed seeing the pictures of you two having so much fun. I'm glad Noel only gave you guys a steady wind during Collieween, it caused a lot of problems other places.

I still use my wheels to get around and think about you two. I know Essex is glad to have you around Deacon. While Dog Dads and Moms are great, they are not quite the same as having another four footed friend around. Hoomans just are not as fast and don't understand the joys of a good sniff or a tree.

Things are starting to cool off here in Kansas. Here is a picture of me enjoying a picnic. It will be hard to want to eat outside when winter comes to Kansas. You two young pups be safe and stay in touch.

Woofs and Sniffs

Great (Great) Uncle Bobby

Having a picnic and enjoying life

Boston Whaler Bobby

y

Boston Whaler Bobby

Dear Great Niece Essex and Great Great Nephew Deacon,

Wish you were here, I had a great time at Table Rock Lake in Missouri this weekend. My Dog Mom and Dad took me out for a boat ride. I really enjoy boat rides and chilling out with them. I don't go into the water to often, though me and my former partner Mac, dog rest his soul, were once tricked into the lake and had to go for a swim. Boat rides are great and you should convince your Dad to get a boat.

Woofs and Sniffs,

Great (Great) Uncle Bobby

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Dear Great (Great) Uncle Bobby,

Have you seen the size of the fish here? They are huge, some are a wayyyy bigger than the two of us put together and have eyes that think you are a snack. We rather go to Angel Paws over a boat ride any old day. Give us dry land, we don't like water, swimming or baths. We don't trust Dad driving a boat and trust the other people on vacation even less. We think your bandanna looks pawtastic.

Woof Ya,

Great Niece Essex

Great Great Nephew Deacon