A-Z Challenge 2021 - Photo Shoot: S - Sam, Sveti Stefan, Soo, Scout

 In the beginning the brother and sister were - 

Sam and Maxie

Maxie appeared earlier under 'M'.  Sam was the Golden 'Yellow' Labrador who would not go into water deeper than his knees.

Deep snow didn't bother him

Unfortunately when he got older he suddenly went blind, but this did not stop him getting about.

If you have time you may read an article about him which was published in Dogs Monthly (a UK magazine) - you will find it at When Darkness Falls

Now that people are thinking of foreign holidays again it has reminded me of a place we visited what seem like many years ago.

Sveti Stefan

Sveti Stefan is a small island on the Adriatic coast of Montenegro and is reached by the causeway you can see in the centre. Accommodation is in individual cottages.

Finally today it's the dog owned by our younger son.

Soo - ready for action

Not bad for a Springer.

But there is another dog. He insists on having the last word.

Scout

Picture of a Picture - Thematic Photography

I have some photos on my office wall that I have shot to create a 'Picture of a Picture'

Sam and Maxie 

They were my daughter's first two dogs - brother and sister, in fact, now long gone over the rainbow bridge. Top right is part of my daughter in a graduation gown.

On the side of a filing cabinet is a picture of a picture of BP Bruce offshore platform. So I guess what comes next is -

BP Bruce

A picture of a picture of a picture.

To see other double takes. no innuendo intended, visit Thematic-photographic-407.

When darkness falls

This article of mine appeared in the UK magazine Dogs Monthly in June 2012. Despite it's length I hope you have time to read it. I promised to post it after the A-Z Challenge for 2014 where my theme was 'Dogs'.

When darkness falls

When sudden blindness strikes a dog it can be scary for all concerned and turn lives upside down

My daughter and her husband live in the country outside Oxford in Michigan, USA. Their first dogs were Golden Labradors puppies from the same litter named Sam and Maxie.

Sam (right) and his sister Maxie as puppies

When Sam was 11 he suddenly went blind. My wife and I were on holiday at my daughter’s home when he first had problems. Up until then he had always been fit and strong, but then when you tried to stroke his head he would pull away and give a high- pitched whine quite unlike his usual deep bark. This became more frequent and would occur without you touching him.

Sam was obviously distressed over the next day or two as his symptoms persisted. You would hear his whine-come-bark when no-one was near him.

Sam always liked to travel in a car, but when it was decided to take him to the vet his behaviour in the car was not like him at all. There was no way he was going to sit still and without warning his high-pitch whine startled Rachel while she was driving - and us as well. Sam kept up the noise throughout the journey.

At the vet’s practice he paced the waiting room frequently, whining. Not even the free treats available quietened him for long. The vet immediately recognised that Sam was not the dog he had known since he was a pup and was concerned enough to take X-rays of his head. The films came back clear. Tablets were prescribed with advice to see how he progressed over the next week or so.

TELLTALE SIGNS

Back in England we had to rely on weekly telephone calls to learn how Sam was faring. Rachel said that he appeared psychotic; always hungry, he would eat anything and everything he could find or get at in cupboards. He became very chubby and difficult to control, making feeding Maxie, and their other dogs even more traumatic and chaotic! Everyone was hoping that Sam’s medication would kick in and the real Sammy would return.

Sam did not improve. Two incidents occurred that made Rachel and Steven realise he had gone blind. Once when offered food, unusually on a spoon, he missed and tried to eat from the empty end.

It was also a daily ritual, when Rachel came home, for the dogs to leave the garage and rush out to greet her car. One day Sam came out as usual and ran straight into the side of the vehicle.

The vet was concerned at the speed at which Sam lost his sight. Consequently he was referred to a veterinary ophthalmologist. After several tests they diagnosed that Sam had sudden acquired retinal degeneration syndrome [SARDS].

SARDS is not treatable, but is one of the ‘better’ blindness problems in that it does not affect anything else. Dogs retain their sense of smell and their hearing, which may even improve in time. The downside to SARDS, however, is that the dog does not have time to adapt to his loss of sight.

MAKING CHANGES

Sam had to learn to live with his blindness; and so did Rachel and Steven. Furniture was padded and rugs placed at the entrances to rooms to stop Sam turning too early and head-butting the walls. Sam even managed to get ‘lost’ in a walk-in wardrobe on occasion.

Scenting areas also helped him to find his way around – such as where the stairs started in the garage and round the dog flaps in the doors. It helped if people talked a lot and didn’t baby him too much. He still got confused but adapted all the time.

Rachel hoped that the other dogs in the house might help. However Sam’s sister, Maxie, was generally too lazy and Gem, a black Labrador cross, was just an opportunist who waited for Sam to drop a treat; she knew that she could nip in and take it before Sam located it. Initially Gem became a real drama queen, sulking because she was not getting so much attention.

Bells were fitted to the collars of the other two dogs and worn round the wrist of anyone taking the dogs for a walk, so that Sam could locate them by sound.

The house had to be kept tidier and furniture not moved about since it was important for Sam to know where it was. The door to the basement had to be kept closed to avoid the risk of him falling down the spiral staircase.

Garden furniture, tractors and equipment had to be kept in the same locations. Sam soon found his own way out of the house through the dog flaps and into the outside compound. Rails were fitted to the ramp leading to the dog flap into the house to prevent Sam falling off the sides. And when the snow was deep – Michigan gets a lot each winter - paths had to be dug with the tractor so that Sam could get around.

It wasn’t long before Sam had adapted so well to his loss of sight that he could take himself off alone for long walks around the property, but Rachel and Steven always made sure that he wore his bell so they knew where he was. They treated him exactly the same as the other dogs and never went out for a walk or on a road trip to the corner store in the car without him.

Sam in his twilight years

TEARS – AND LAUGHTER

The biggest problem with Sam was during the night; when he woke up he didn’t know whether it was night or day. Awake, he wanted to be fed - even if it was 2.30 in the morning – and his high-pitched whines soon disturbed everyone.

Despite establishing a routine and even trying pills to make him sleep, it took a while before he would go through the night. Ten months later there were occasions when it was a case of ‘Sam’s up so everybody up.’ Rachel and Steven even adopted a shift pattern to look after Sam during the night.

So it was not just Sam that had a confusing time with his blindness: everyone had to learn how to adapt and to ensure that he remained as independent a possible. There were tears for sure – but, thankfully, laughs as well. One thing was definite though, Labradors like Sam have very hard heads - and they need it for those times they bang into things!

Blind Sam lived with Rachel and Steven for a further two years before he suddenly gave up wanting to find his way around and wouldn’t go out for walks; he seemed to go downhill very quickly after Maxie, his sister and long-time doggy pal, died. In May 2010 he was gently put to sleep.

© Bob Scotney 2014

A-Z Challenge - 'Z'

Z - Zounds! It's Zara

Well I've made it to 'Z' again and still feel astounded that I managed to find dogs to get here from 'A'.

An Alsatian pup name Alfie featured at the start of the Challenge. At the end there's another Alsatian.

A young Alsatian named Zara

I used to meet Zara in the village but unfortunately she became very territorial and attacked the postmen. On her lead she was as gentle as could be, but she has had to give way to the Labrador pups that appeared under 'L'

I must pay tribute to all the dogs that I have met personally; not one objected to being photographed. I suspect however that owners in the village will be pleased that only their legs and shoes appeared in the shots.

My special thanks to my daughter's dogs - Sam, Maxie, Gem. Jack, Cody, Scout and Lily, not forgetting Gabby the Golden Labrador who has made up the latest "Gang of Four" in Michigan.

The Gang of Four (No. 3) - Gem, Gabby, Scout and Lily

And by the way Gem had her 15th birthday recently.

Sam was my daughter's first dog. He appeared earlier in the Challenge with his sister Maxie.

This is the tribute to Sam written for him after he had been put to sleep in 2010.

Sam Was My Good Boy

"Sam was my first dog. He was such a good boy.

Good? Maybe not—at least not at his first home in Troy.

The words “come” and “no” and the electric fence meant nothing to him.

And he was a lab, yet he couldn’t fetch, retrieve, or even swim.

Sam was my first dog. Okay, maybe he was “kind of” good.

Chasing deer in their new home, he and Moo would escape through the wood

They’d come home with deer parts, possums and the occasional mouse

And traipse their big dirty paws throughout the whole house.

Sam was my first dog. But he really was good.

He never fought for food, chewed up shoes, or rolled in mud.

When the new rescue dog, Jack, tried to eat his food and bite his nose--he didn’t mind.

When Jack was sick, it was always Sam who would lie with him—he was SO kind.

Sam was my first dog. And, YES, he was a good boy.

From the day we chose each other, he brought me so much joy.

Even when he went blind and had to live in the dark,

He still took himself for walks and played, and, boy, did he still love to bark.

Sam was my first dog. He was good and I love him still

He holds a place in my heart that no one will ever fill."                          

A-Z Challenge 2013 - 'S' -Snowdrops

My A-Z posts this year are based on my garden – flowers, animals, the birds and the bees, butterflies - with a bit of poetry thrown in. For some letters I am expecting to cheat somewhat – wishing they were here.

S – Snowdrops, Shed, Spider, Sweet Pea, Snails

For Snowdrops are the harbingers of Spring,

A sort of link between dumb life and light

Freshness preserved amid all withering

Bloom in the midst of grey and frosts blight.

Pale Stars that gladden Nature’s night!

Snowdrops

When I was young, Dad’s garden shed

Had lots of things to turn one’s head.

Chisels, mallets, pots of nails,

Windscreen wipers, cricket bails.

\

Now I’m old, my garden shed

Is merely functional instead.

Garden Shed

 But one thing in there is just the same, even if of a younger generation

Shed Spider

 Thus I, gone forth as spiders do
In spider's web a truth discerning,
Attach one silken thread to you
For my returning.

That verse was written by the author of Charlotte’s Web but Charlotte would not have woven this:

 

Spider's Web

Some say that it was John Keats who gave this flower its name.

 

Sweet Pea

Here are sweet peas, on tip-toe for a flight:

With wings of gentle flush o’er delicate white,

And taper fingers catching at all things,

To bind them all about with tiny rings

This is not the time of year to find a one of these inhabited:

 

Snail Shells

The frugal snail, with forecast of repose,

Carries his house with him where’er he goes;

Peeps out,, - and if there comes a shower of rain.

Retreats to his small domicile again.

This one on the nettles in warmer times is much more decorative.

Snail on nettle leaves

 Meanwhile Sam was quite prepared to stay outdoors and contemplate the snow

Sam (1997 - 2010)

  Poems:

• Harbingers of Spring – Caroline Elizabeth Norton
• Dad’s Garden Shed - Pete Golding
• The Spider’s Web – E B White
• I stood on tip-toe upon a little hill – John Keats
• The Housekeeper - Charles Lamb - snail

Shadows - Thematic Photography

The theme of 'Shadows' is one of those that you can meet by accident or design. Many of my previous posts would be fine here also, but I try not to repeat photos I have shown before.

Boat waiting for transport

In this shot it would have been impossible to shoot the boat without incorporating its shadow. However other shadows have been included as well.

When shooting dogs (not literally) you sometimes do not have time to think about shadowy effects.

Gem on her way to the house

The shadow in the next shot enhances a view on a Michigan golf course.

Oxford Hills Golf Course - looking back from 10th tee

 

You may be able to make out the shadow of a golf cart too.

Then there are times when the shot has been taken deliberately to catch the subject in shade.

Blind Sam smells his way home

In the next shot I was more concerned about framing the road with the trees; the shadows turned out to be a bonus.

Oakwood Road, MI

When it comes to old ruins, no not me, shadows can add a dramatic effect.

Fountains Abbey, Yorkshire

But enough of my shadowy past, it's time for you to check out other shades at Carmi's Thematic-photographic-225

Parallels - Thematic Photography.

This week's theme set by Carmi is Parallel which if you are not careful could be confused with last week's Vertical.


I've elected to concentrate on animals this time - well on dogs and a hamster named Deirdre, an escapologist of some renown.

Lily, a Border Collie, takes the parallel bars at speed.

I wonder whether she could take the parallels of the background fence as well.

Deirdre was a childrens' pet some thirty years ago. It didn't matter to her whether parallel bars were vertical or horizontal, they were there to be gnawed or climbed on the way out of her cage.

Deirdre inside her cage for once.

 Labradors like to be inside the house but are equally at home sunning themselves on the deck but not on the parallel planks, their beds are more comfortable.

Sam and Maxie take it easy.

An engineering structure has parallels too as shown by the main support frame for the Statfjord B platform under construction at Rosenberg Verft. Stavanger in the 1980s.

Statfjord B MSF at Rosenberg Verft

You may draw other parallels by visiting Carmi's thematic photographic 153 parallel

Jack

A-Z Challenge – ‘J’

 You’ve met Jack, the Brown Bomber, before in this A-Z Challenge (under the letter ‘D’). I’d like to tell you more about him. 

The other three dogs had never seen a dog like Jack. As the only male till he arrived Sam liked to think that he was in charge. There was no hope of this once Jack found his legs!

Jack was a rescue dog in a sorry state. He had been so badly treated mistreated that he had been taken away from his owners. He could only stand on three legs. However once he had four feet on the ground he was in charge. It was no good Maxie and Sam arguing just because they were older.

He was so fierce when he first arrived; if the other dogs got in his way he would attack without warning. He even snarled and snapped a lot at people, especially if they touched his back. Because of the way he had been mistreated he got away with a lot the others would have been severely scolded for. 

Sam, Maxie and Gem learned very quickly not to go too close when he was eating. They had to rush their food as Jack just bolted his and then would proceed to bolt theirs as well. Once he was mobile it became a never ending battle to keep the dog food secure and out of his reach. The dogs were often in trouble for creating a mess in the kitchen – but it was Jack who knew how to open drawers and cupboards and how to empty their contents; he even succeeded in taking a frying pan through into a bedroom.

Jack still acted as though he was fierce when unknown people visit. Once when his mistress was home alone you should have seen him bristle, growl, snarl and bark when an armed marauder knocked upon the door. Sam, Maxie and Gem were proud of themselves It was just routine for Jack

 He became a big softie really when he grew older. Who would have thought that macho Jack would proudly carry a soft cuddly toy named Piggy all over the place? He may have been the alpha dog but he was still scared of guns, thunder, fireworks and any sudden loud noises. You should have seen see him scurry when you threatened him with a squeaky toy.

 The dogs had a ‘game’ called running the gauntlet but this wasn’t about playing with a leather glove, even though that might be fun for them. It was about how they had to take their lives in their paws when they had to pass Jack lying on the mat just inside the back door.

Dog flaps in each door made it easier for the dogs to get in and out of the house, and from the garage into the corral. This meant that they had the run of the house when they were left home alone.

Jack, the scourge of the other dogs had a problem with his back legs and, according to the vet was in continual pain. This may have explained Jack’s short temper and why he snapped.

Because he slipped on the parquet floor, carpet strips were placed strategically from the back door into the kitchen to make it easier for Jack to get about. He had another privilege denied to the rest of the dogs, unless he was not about. He had his own little room inside the back door equipped with a duvet on which to sit.

Unfortunately, outside the door to his room, just inside the dog flap from the garage, there was the mat on which Jack laid in wait. When the other dogs entered the house through the flap at peace with the world and one another – Snap! All hell broke loose. Many a wound was inflicted before they had the chance to run. 

Sam developed a phobia about going through the flap in case Jack was waiting inside. If there was anyone at home he adopted one of two strategies. First he went on to the deck and stood at the door from the lounge hoping someone would take pity on him and let him in. Failing that he just sat in the garage and barked. He knew that it was safe for him to traverse the flap when he heard, “It’s OK Sam.” Then he entered quite nonchalantly as if that was what he intended all along.

Jack had other annoying habits, some comical enough to make an English Cheshire cat grin – but most just annoying or downright embarrassing. He persisted from time to time in trying to hump all the other dogs. You can imagine what Sam thought of that.

We never worked out what was his pleasure in licking the air. He pestered the rest and if they let him, Sam was too scared not to, would lick the wax out of their ears. It’s too delicate to mention where else he licked. 

When swimming in the lake Jack became quite manic, snapping at the water surface. He couldn’t really think could he, that he had a hope of catching fish? Sam, of course standing in the shallows with water up to his knees, was bemused by this behaviour. To him anyone in the lake was mad anyway.

Once when diving in to fetch a stick Jack let out a yelp as he hurt his back. It wasn’t really funny – he might have drowned if his owner had not dived in to rescue him. Then, for a while, whenever Jack went swimming he had to wear a harness that made sure he wouldn’t sink. There was a length of rope attached so that he could be pulled out if he got into difficulties. He would have looked more macho than usual – if it hadn’t been for the rope.

 Jack had a nasty habit, mind you Gem did too, of eating any deer poo he can find. He and Gem often played outside with a Frisbee and then they were good mates. Outside the corral they often wandered off together to explore the neighbourhood and Jack developed selective deafness to all shouts to come back. It has been known for them both to have to be fetched. Gem didn’t not like being scolded. Jack? He didn’t seem to care and gave the impression he was coming back anyway.

 

However Jack’s love of food had its advantages for the others as you will see. But no-one could understand why he tried to chew a can of ravioli before the can was opened.

Jack could tell the time and each afternoon when anyone was at home he barked to let them know that it was time for the dogs to be fed. If shouted down, he proceeded to nudge whoever it was with his head or play with their feet. Oh, and he had a foot fetish by the way.

His persistence usually worked and the food routine came into play. Jack had to stay in his room while Sam, Maxie and Gem sat patiently in the garage while the food was shared out in four separate bowls with water added to Jack’s. On the command OK they set to with a will. Jack’s bowl was carried back inside for him. Why did he have water added to his? This was to slow him down and to give the others the chance of finishing before he burst out through the dog flap to lick their bowls, just in case they had left a scrap.

Peace reigned while all four dogs went outside to deposit more poo for us to clean up.

Poor Jack had to be put to sleep after developing a problem with his throat which made it very difficult for him to eat. His ashes were spread around the property and as a special tribute part was distributed in the centre of the lake in which years earlier he had nearly come to grief. 

The Man Who Talks to Dogs

A-Z Challenge – ‘D’

Because of my interest in dogs I started to write about the dogs in the village where I live. The outcome – I suppose I now know as many dogs as people and I’ve heard people call me, “The man who talks to dogs.”

The first dog I remember was when I was very young, I’m not sure that I was old enough to go to school. The only photograph (now lost) that I saw of my father was him kneeling on the front lawn with Punch. Punch was an Airedale with a simple attitude to cats – he hated them. Mind you he took it to extremes when he killed the landlord’s cat for being on his lawn.

The first dog that I was allowed to take out for a walk was a white Labrador/Lurcher named Laddie, the gentlest dog you could imagine. He kept us in rabbit meat during WWII. Poor Laddie came to an untimely death when he was chased out off an alleyway behind a village pub straight under the wheels of a lorry.

Flick, the Whippet, came from South Wales. She covered herself in glory in a very short time by catching a hare almost as big as herself. I once wrote a short story based on this event called ‘The Chase.’

Major the Springer Spaniel had a demeanour to match his name. I’ll swear he sat to attention while his photograph was taken. Major was owned by my future wife’s family in Stamford, Lincolnshire.

 Major

My wife and I have never had a dog. One of my sons and my daughter have made up for this. Milly and Cara were the last two Irish Water Spaniels owned by my son. Milly was the most intelligent dog I’ve ever met and not a bad footballer either. She craved chicken bones and was the scourge of the neighbourhood raiding refuse bins for the remains. (You may read about Milly and Cara at http://bobscotney.blogspot.com/2010/04/irish-water-spaniels.html).

Milly and Cara

My daughter who lives in America had two golden (yellow) Labradors, a brother and sister, named Sam and Maxie. They are the stars in my blog post ‘Dogs of Troy’ at http://bobscotney.blogspot.com/2010/09/dogs-of-troy.html

Gem, Sam, Jack and Maxie

 When my daughter moved house, the pack increased to four with the addition of Gem, a black Lab mutt, and Jack, the chocolate Labrador know affectionately as the ‘Brown Bomber.’ Jack is my Lucky Dog (http://bobscotney.blogspot.com/2010/12/lucky-dog.html)

 

Jack

 Only Gem of the ‘originals’ is still alive and she has been joined by the elder statesman, a Retriever named Cody – the most obedient dog I know. He loves fishing in the lake.

 Cody

Scout and Lily are the younger Retrievers in the house. I have been told that it’s my job this summer to train Lily to behave. Wish me luck when I talk to the dogs.

[Posts and photos on North Yorkshire Village Dogs may be found in my blog archives in December 2009, January, March, June, July, September, October and December 2010]