Espy (Espen Van Valkin) passed over the Rainbow Bridge 7/23/2015

Espy death was sudden and unexpected.  I don't have words to express how much we will miss him.

A wonderful version of the poem, set to music is here, thanks to Chandler Rudd for such a beautiful creation.

Stopped By Hooters For Lunch.

On our way back from Mom's brother/Sister-in-Law's 50th Wedding Anniversary (Wow), we stopped at Hooters for lunch, another dog friendly eatery in Florida.  As always Poppy & I made new friends.

Dad didn't check the back lighting before snapping the picture.

A Working Bouv, doing a Schutzhund Trial.

Here is a video of a Bouv doing his thing on the Schutzhund field.

From Wikipedia

Schutzhund (German for "protection dog") is a dog sport that was developed in Germany in the early 1900s as a breed suitability test for the German Shepherd Dog. The test would determine if the dog displayed the appropriate traits and characteristics of a proper working German Shepherd Dog. Today, it is used as a sport where many breeds other than German Shepherd Dogs can compete, but it is a demanding test for any dog that few can pass. 

Schutzhund tests dogs of all breeds for the traits necessary for police-type work. Dogs that pass Schutzhund tests should be suitable for a wide variety of tasks: police work, specific odor detection, search and rescue, and many others. The purpose of Schutzhund is to identify dogs that have or do not have the character traits required for these demanding jobs. Some of those traits are:

• Strong desire to work
• Courage
• Intelligence
• Trainability
• Strong bond to the handler
• Perseverance
• Protective Instinct
• Sense of Smell

Schutzhund tests for these traits. It also tests for physical traits such as strength, endurance, agility, and scenting ability. The goal of Schutzhund is to illuminate the character and ability of a dog through training. Breeders can use this insight to determine how and whether to use the dog in producing the next generation of working dogs.

One of my European Cousins, with natural ears and tail.

Three month old Loona of clos of the Uvula, with natural ears and tail, they don't allow docking in Europe.

Obviously a future champion.

After Mom & Dad visited with an old friend.

Mom & Dad met Tony at the Green Turtle, which was his family home as he grew up.  Afterwards we stopped by Fantastic Fudge, where we met Landon who is 4 and Jocelyn who is two.  Their dad said "Jocelyn, my little red head had always loved dogs and will make a B line for any dog no matter what size they are."

After the Farmer's Market and a walk downtown

Mom & Dad took Poppy & I to Bret's Waterway Cafe for lunch where we met Frances, she was at the next table and commented how nicely behaved Poppy & I were.  Thank you Frances.

Photo by James O.

We met Eva & Sofia downtown.

On our way back to the car, after stopping for cookies at La Torres and ice cream at Fantastic Fudge we met Eva and her daughter Sofia.