Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier

Farley’s Friday: Dangerous Frothing Rivers

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 10 Comments

Farley here,

Hiking along Toby Creek, a dog gets hot. And when a dog is hot, he wants to go swimming. But…

Farley in Toby Creek

To my humiliation, Kristina only let me go in the baby pool. And you know I like share the moments when I get humiliated, so here I am standing in the shallows checking that none of my dog friends are in the area to make fun of me.

For some reason, Kristina thinks the current is too strong for me. And granted, I don’t like swimming, so I kinda see her point. She trusts me enough to leave me off leash and know the circle of rocks is my boundary.

I’ll leave the dangerous frothing river to the bears and the moose.

Woof Woof

Farley’s Friday: Footloose and Bear Free

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 8 Comments

Farley here,

I haven’t seen a bear in weeks. Not that I don’t like bears, but Kristina won’t let me off leash when they’re in the area.

The heat wave made the beasts uncomfortable, and they’ve plodded on up the mountain to cooler terrain. At least, that’s where I think they went.

So I’m chasing frogs through the flowers without my leash.

Farley in Flowers

This is dog happiness.

Woof Woof.

Farley’s Friday: A Proofreading Dog

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 7 Comments

Farley here.

I’m getting a bit jealous of Kristina’s writing. She spends more time “working” than walking me. When we lived in the Bahamas we were off the boat by 7 am at the latest, and would meet our friend for life, Debi. She’s a human, not a dog, but still my friend. We’d go for a long beach run. Then the ladies would do yoga or work out on the beach while I relaxed in the shade.

Now this is what I get to do.

Farley reading DESCENT

Kristina thinks I can proofread. If I wag may tail once, it means all is good. If I whine, I’ve found a mistake.  My day starts with an hour of reading while Kristina markets her book, whatever that means.

She’s hosting a Facebook Launch Party for her debut novel, DESCENT, on July 25th from 3-6 pm EST. There will be prizes – meaning authors are giving away books to the lucky people who are the first to answer a trivia question. I can’t tell you what the questions are because she won’t tell me. Come by and say hello to me, Farley, and you could win a book! Just click here to join.

Woof Woof

Farley’s Friday: Keeping Cool

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

Farley Here,

If you haven’t heard, British Columbia is having a heat wave. So how do you keep cool? You wade in the river. Now, I’m only allowed in the run off portion of the Toby Creek. The main channel is flowing at full speed and could carry me away, but the water is still cold and tasty in the shallows.

Farley In Creek

And yes, I’m still on a leash. We haven’t seen a bear in a week, but my humans want another week to go by to be sure the bears have moved to a higher altitude.

After romping in the creek, I head home for  a nap – in my favourite place. I’m not actually allowed on the couch, but I snuck up when Kristina wasn’t looking.

Farley on Couch

She loves me too much to do anything about it. Lucky for me, Matt isn’t at home, so please don’t tell him.

Woof Woof.

Farley’s Friday: I Have a Girlfriend!

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

Farley here,

My heart starts to pound. My legs turn to Jelly. I see the dog of my dreams. Tell me she’s not beautiful. I dare you. We met while out for a walk with my humans.

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Her name is Beans, because she’s – you know – full of them. I see her strutting toward me with a glint in her eye. Her fur is silky, her tail is wagging. She’s inviting me to play.

She has this cool human who throws food in the water. I offer for her to go after the food first but discover she doesn’t like to swim. It’s all about her beautiful fur. She’s just been to the salon.

I don’t want her know I’m afraid of deep water. I’ve just been bragging that I lived on a sailboat for five years, so in I go.

Kristina can’t believe it. She’s clapping her hands and giggling. She thinks I’m swimming, but my toes are actually touching the ground. There’s no way I’m going in over my head. Not for food. Not even for my girlfriend. Girlfriends are supposed to like you even though you may have a weakness, right?

Did I mention I’m crazy about Beans? I’ve gotta go find her again.

Woof woof.

Farley’s Friday: Happy Dog.

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 5 Comments

Farley here,

I was looking over Kristina’s shoulder as she was flipping through photos and look what I found. This is me, day one, with my new humans.

2008-10 FC Sleeping with Stuffy

Hard to believe that was six and half years ago. I knew I was going to be one pampered puppy!

Woof Woof.

Farley’s Friday: I’m Thirsty…

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

Farley here,

I don’t like getting my paws wet. I’m thirsty, parched actually, but my pads should always stay dry.  So I lived on a sailboat for five years. That doesn’t mean I love water. I love being on water, preferably in a kayak or a dingy. Fish belong in water, not me.

Matt’s wearing boots, He doesn’t have to put his feet in the water. Now that I think of it, he drinks from a water bottle, he doesn’t even have to put his snout in the water.

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Notice the leash. Still too many bears in the area that I might chase. My humans think they can’t trust me when a bear is around. I try to explain I need to protect them, but sometimes humans don’t understand dog language.

Woof Woof.

Farley’s Friday: Canadian Wildlife

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 8 Comments

Farley here,

Excitement in the forest. That’s an understatement. One buck and three bears.

I woke up to a misty morning, stretched my legs and headed for the back door. Staring in at me was this buck. His silky antlers are about the size of his ears but will grow. He’s a white tail and usually hangs with two others.

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I’ve learned the hard way that a buck will move away if I’m in the area. A doe will stand her ground, stomp at me and warn me to head the other way. I get the shakes when I’m around a doe and am smart enough to know it’s her territory. Bears are different. I need to get them away from my humans.

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Yesterday, I arrived home from my morning walk with wet paws. We  climb the steps at the side of our house, blissfully unaware of what’s  lurking in the forest. Kristina grabs my towel and squats with her back to the forest. I lift my front paw for her. We’re face-to-face. I lick her nose.

I glance over her shoulder. My body stiffens. My upper lip curls. I emit a slow growl.

Kristina tenses. Her adrenaline rush is so strong, I can feel it in my bones. She looks like Sigourney Weaver in Alien. You know the scene where Weaver realizes an alien is behind her but she doesn’t look back.

Inch-by-inch Kristina turns her head. I lunge, trying to get over Kristina’s shoulder. I need to protect her. She grabs my harness and stops me. Twenty feet away, the black bear stares at us. He doesn’t move.

Kristina slowly drags me into the house, all the while saying, “Whoa Bear.”

Matt explodes out the door with and air horn. After three blasts, the bear disappears. He takes his time, meandering through our backyard, not really caring we’re there.

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The day before, this guy was waiting for us at the side of our house.  He was smaller but still not concerned we were so close to him.

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The third bear I mentioned, I saw a couple of weeks ago while we were out walking. Maybe the rest of day will be calm.

Woof woof.

Farley’s Friday: When the woman is away…

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

Farley here,

Kristina left me for the week, so this is how Matt walks me… Just kidding. It’s how he’s keeping himself entertained. I’m just there for the photo.

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I know I look sad, but I really miss Kristina. I’ve been moping for two days now. I don’t know where she went, but she better come home soon. I’m one lonely Wheaten Terrier.

Woof Woof.