Ridin', Reinin' and Writin'

I'm spending a lot of time with my dog lately. Kirby, my almost-thirteen-year-old Samoyed is failing. This will be her last Christmas.

Samoyeds have been my companions for over 40 years. I bought my first one, Tanya, in 1967. At one time I had a kennel and raised puppies but by 1990, I had only one - Mandy. When I lost her a friend gave me a puppy. I picked Kirby up in Calgary in May 1998, at the same time visiting my new granddaughter, Larissa. Here is Kirby with Larissa's sister, Adara.

2010 will be the 12th Christmas Kirby has shared with me. Many of those Christmas mornings, it was just the two of us as it will be this year. The photo below was the first.

...and this one was taken last year.

Every spring Kirby has "helped" me foal out my mares. She sleeps in the barn with me, checks the newest addition from the door of the stall and later, herds the baby outside as I lead the mare. None of my mares mind. And she also plays with the babies in the field, although it annoys her when she's digging out moles and the foal pesters her to play. I don't think Kirby will be with me this spring. She certainly won't be herding or playing with the new foals. She probably won't be with the mares and I when they foal either. It won't be the same without her.

She has spent hours in the arena watching me ride... ...or, given the opportunity, would "lead" my horse...

Kirby lives with me, travels with me, sleeps beside my bed and, most of all, provides unconditional love. I could write pages about her - years of memories, dozens of pictures recorded in my mind along with those of Tanya, Tatum and Mandy, Samoyeds gone before.

If you're wondering why I titled this blog "The Dog Days of Winter", my answer would be, "It just sounded 'catchy'", but there might be more. There is just as much truth to my title as it's more common counterpart, "The Dog Days of Summer". It seems that phrase originated from the fact that Sirius (the dog star, the brightest star of Canus Major) rises and sets at the same time as the sun between July 3 and August 11. Ancient Romans believed earth recieved heat from it. That's not true of course.

In January, in our northern latitudes, Sirius can be seen in the southern sky - like far away. Is that why it's so cold in January?

My "Dog Days of Winter" consist of spending time with my dog - in winter. I used to be Kirby's favourite season, but now she has to stay in where it's warm. She does not walk well and she is blind. This year she couldn't go with me to get the Christmas tree and I know she misses that. Sometimes she tries to patrol the yard in the morning like she has done every morning for all these years. It's sad to see her insecure and dependent on me because she doesn't want to be.