Pets

Farley’s Friday: A Dog’s Reflections on Travel

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 10 Comments

Farley here.

I’m in Florida. The land of leashes, poop bags, thunderstorms and dark water.

My reflections . . .

I don’t mind the leash, but Kristina thinks I don’t get enough free running time.

Poop bags? Well, that’s Kristina’s duty. I barked, “duty.” Ha Ha 🙂

Thunderstorms scare me. They’re too loud and shake the boat. I pant at Kristina to make them stop, but she just smiles at me and says, “You’re fine.” Easy for her to say when she understands what’s going on and to me, well I’m a dog so how could I know?

The dark water . . . That’s where my reflection comes in.

Reflections in Flat Water
Reflections in Flat Water

I look in the water.

“Come here,” I bark and wag my tail.

“Hang on,” Kristina says, but she’s obedient as usual and is at my side in seconds.

I look at her, back at the water and at her again. She does well with visual signals and gets my meaning.

“There’s a dog in there,” I bark like a crazy dog from the Canadian wilderness. “Get it out! How can it breath underwater?”

Kristina laughs.

I’m getting a little scared now. “Don’t laugh,” I bark. “That dog needs help.”

“That’s you, silly.”

“Me? Me?” I bark. “Am I really that handsome?”

“Of course,” Kristina says.

So now I’m obsessed. I stare at my handsome reflection every chance I get. Who knew I was sooooo good looking?

Me handsome!
Me handsome!

Okay, I’ll admit it was fun watching fish and dolphins in the clear Bahamian water, but now I have a new hobby to entertain myself.

As we motor north on the Intracoastal Waterway, I sit on the bow and check myself out!

Woof Woof.

Farley’s Friday: Dog Walking or Human Walking?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 9 Comments

Farley here.

So I go for a walk with my humans. They have shoes on, meaning I should have known it was going to be a tough walk. They don’t wear shoes often and I don’t own any. Go figure. I’m a dog.

We get halfway across the island, we’re in the Bahamas, when I stop.

“My feet hurt,” I bark.

“What’s the matter, Farley?” Kristina asks. She always notices first when I’m in trouble. I’m beginning to think she has a soft spot for me.

I hold out my paw to her and look as pathetic as I can.

“My feet hurt. These rocks are too sharp,” I bark and then wag my tail, just to make sure I’m being cute.

She understands and gives Matt her most pathetic look. He laughs, and I know I’ve won.

Matt picks me up and carries me across the sharp bits. Do they love me or what?

Dog Walk

Woof Woof.

 

Farley’s Friday: Wheaton Terrier Chases Windsurfer

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 6 Comments

Farley here.

No matter how hard I try I can’t catch my human on his windsurfer.

First there’s the problem that I’m afraid of deep water, so I try the beach approach.

Farley Chasing WS

“Wait,” I bark, but he doesn’t.

He gibes and I have to go running the other way.

Farley Running

“Wait,” I bark again, and still he ignores me.

“So don’t wait,” I bark. “I’m going to roll around and get sandy.”

Farley Rolling

“Good luck getting this off my fur before I get on board.”

Humans are soooo easy to drive crazy.

By the way, did you notice how crowded the beach is – not!

Woof Woof.

 

Farley’s Friday: Wheaten Digs For Crabs

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

Farley here.

I love to dig. I’m a wheaten. That’s what I do. So what’s up with the crab that doesn’t get that?

I dig, dig, dig, and then . . .

“Ouch,” I bark.

“What? I’m supposed to chase the crab. It’s not supposed to bite my nose!”

Farley and Crab

Farley’s Friday: Dogs Getting Sandy

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 6 Comments

Farley here.

I’m a happy dog. I found my friend Jasper. I never know when I’ll get to see him, but I’m sure happy when I find him.

We were sailing in the Exumas and ended up at Compass Cay. I went for a walk and there he was.

Dogs getting dirty

The first thing I did – – – stole his stick.

Jasper plays the tough guy, but all I have to do is growl a little, and he drops it.

He barks at me. He barks at the humans as if he expects them to help.

I play with the stick until I get bored and then I let Jasper have it for a while.

His tail wags at very high speeds, he’s never grumpy that I stole his stick, and he keeps playing with me.

What a great friend.

Woof Woof.

 

Farley’s Friday: How a Dog Beats The Heat

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 8 Comments

Farley here.

Cold fronts, warm fronts, what’s a dog to do?

Some days it’s just to hot to bear, and other days, I love the cool weather. The cold front passed through and we’re back to high temperatures.

The first thing that happens is my owner cuts my hairs. She’s always worried about me overheating, I just wish she’d taken classes on how to groom a Wheaten Terrier. I need to look my best when I head to the beach to meet the girls.

bahamas 2010 112

I don’t like to swim in water over my head, but there’s nothing like a cool walk in the water. So I have a little sand on my face. What’s the big deal? This shot was taken before Kristina ‘groomed’ me. I’m too embarrassed to post the after shot.

Woof woof.

Farley’s Friday: Dog Friends

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

Farley here.

Is it possible for a dog to have too many friends? No way.

I run free with Labs, Springer Spaniels, Jack Russels, mixed breeds, Poodles, Retrievers, and Australian Doodles. My best girlfriend is a mix of Pit Bull, German Sheppard and Coon Hound. Her name is Holly, and I go gaga every time I see her, but don’t tell Cali (Jack Russell), because she thinks she’s my girlfriend.

This is my best bud, Jasper. He’s crazy and always gets me into trouble. We were playing on the beach and look what happened to him.

Jasper

I’m the smart one, and I know I have to go for a swim before getting in the dinghy, especially if I look like Jasper does.

He makes a run for the dinghy.

“No, stop!” I bark.

“Are you kidding? They’ll make me get all wet if I stop,” he barks back.

“My alpha human is going to get mad. Don’t jump,” I bark.

Too late. He’s off and leaping. Sand is spraying everywhere. Kristina and Jasper’s human are laughing. Matt is trying to head him off, but alas, Matt missed him.

Into the air he flies, his toes touch the pontoon, and he lands in the bottom of the dinghy.

He turns and looks back at me. He’s laughing. “Matt’s not looking at you. Go for it,” he barks.

I whip around Matt’s leg, bound from the beach, and I’m in too.

Now if only we knew are to start the dinghy . . .

Woof Woof.

 

Farley’s Friday: Sharks Go Bump On The Sea

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

Farley here.

Man, I’m a brave dog. The shark came at us, and I got aggressive.  Got to protect Kristina. That’s my job! I could’ve taken it if Kristina had let me. But let me back up a bit.

I like kayaking with Kristina. She likes to paddle me around, and let’s face it, I like to sit and watch the scene slide by.

We paddle (and by we, I mean Kristina) from deep water to shallow water. I know this to be true because the water changes from dark blue to light blue and I see the sandy bottom.

I see a ray and get distracted for second, but not for long. Another shape is to our left.

Shark

The shark aims for the ray but then sees us at the same time I see it. It hunches its back and turns on us. Here is where we get lucky. Going from deep to shallow water causes the water to bunch up and create big waves. A wave hit the back of our kayak right when the shark hit the front. The kayak turned sideways and the shark glanced off the bow.

I jump out of the cockpit and onto the bow. It’s a bit slippery up here, but I don’t care. I’m on a mission.

“Get away, get away,” I bark repeatedly and am surprised when the shark doesn’t listen.

Kristina grabs my harness and she yelps – not me. I’m too brave to yelp. I guess I hurt her leg when I jumped forward, and she was yelping at the pain (not in fear – she says).

The shark turns at us and hunches its back again. This time it doesn’t bump us. It swims in a circle and does its dance one more time. I growl to let it know I’m serious. Mr. Grey Suit swims about twenty feet away and stands off. I scared him! Ha!

Kristina is holding my harness and having trouble paddling. She keeps telling me to sit. Eventually, I get the message and settle down. She paddles us to safety and away from the beast.

What type of shark? I don’t have a clue. Big and grey.

Happy New Year.

Woof Woof.

Thanks for reading . . .

 

Farley’s Friday: Iguanas Bite Dogs?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 5 Comments

Farley here.

My title was a little dramatic, but I got scared by a big old iguana. I think he was a grandpa protecting his gang.

Let me set the scene.

I’m in the dinghy leaning my head out into the wind, my paws are getting wet, and I’m excited about getting to shore.

I can see it, smell it, almost feel the sand on my feet when . . .

“Oh, there’s a sign posted,” Kristina says. “Maybe the island is private.”

My heart sinks.

“Let’s land and go read it,” Matt says.

Yay. As soon as the bottom of the dinghy hits the shoreline, I jump over Kristina’s legs and get to shore (just in case they decide we’re not going).

Now, I’ve never seen an iguana before and this one was pretty big.

Iguana

As Kristina read the sign, I heard her say, “No pets allowed. We better go.”

Too bad. I’m already out of reach. I’m going to have some fun.

The iguana charges me and tries to bite my nose. What’s up with that? Lucky for me, I am stellar quick and got out of the way. But does that stop me from chasing the iguana into the bushes. Nope. I’m off.

I can hear Kristina and Matt yelling for me, but my brain has turned off. I swear I’m not ignoring them, but I’m too excited to listen.

I stop abruptly in my tracks. “Wait.” I hear the dinghy engine start then fade away. “They’re leaving me?”

I bolt to the beach, my heart is pounding. “Don’t leave me,” I bark.

Too late, I realize it’s a trick. Kristina is in the dinghy, but where is Matt? I turn, and there he is standing behind me, leash in hand. I run to the left, then the right, but darn, he gets me. On goes my leash and Kristina comes back for us.

I should have known they wouldn’t leave me. I watch longingly as we drive away. I can see Grandpa iguana laughing at me.

Woof Woof.

Thanks for reading.