Wild Saturday with Joni

   Today I woke up early & headed over to the east side of the city, to do an evaluation on a Shiba who is going to be surrendered to MSIR, so we can find a new home for him. Kenobi's owner made him sound like quite a handful, but he was exactly how I hoped he'd be: sweet and friendly (what a relief!). My dogs joined me, so that I could see how he behaved with strange dogs, and it was interesting: Kenobi almost completely ignored them, and even Aki, who puts *everyone* in their place when she first meets them didn't mind him, because he didn't challenge her alpha status.

   On the way home from the eval, I decided I'd reward my guys for a job well done, so we visited Stoll Dog Park for a while to get some exercise. It was around 80 degrees... SO much more comfortable than it has been lately, so there were tons of people & dogs there.

   Then I met Joni at her house (aka "Wild Kingdom") to meet her new puppy, Asher, and her older rescue dog, Kip, and to greet my old friend Wager. (I've always loved his look... possibly because he looks like a huge Gypsy.)
   We had a fun lunch at Jose Pepper's (mmm... fresh salsa & shrimp tacos!) and then hung out at her house with the dogs, the goldfinches and woodpeckers, and her friend Torch, the white-tailed deer. Many bucks visit the fence behind their home to use their mineral lick and get an occasional treat of corn. Joni gives them all names based on their racks (Shark, Broad Beams, Spike, Twisty, and more).

Here's Torch coming in for his little treat:

 

   And the birds—mostly goldfinch and woodpeckers:

   And the dogs. Mr. Wager:

And the new guy, Asher:

Thanks, guys, for such a fun day!