This dogs' nose just blows me away...this is Blast! In the middle of June we had been returning from a walk and he had the "long" hose in his jaws. Something drew his attention and he took off at a run, through the bushes towards the east fence. He 'flushed' something, I never saw, and came back without the hose. I called him out, not wanting him to chase. He had covered such a distance and the growth was so thick, I didn't think we could find it again. I thought I had a "good idea" of the area it might have been in, certain he dropped it when he spied the "prey". We left it for a couple of weeks as it was too hot, too difficult to plow through. When we did go back, darned if we didn't flush a mother grouse and babies just barely able to fly. He was still close to me, and I stopped him quickly. So much for the hose again.
One day last week, I attempted to go into this area with him after a long walk. We were both already hot and kind of beat, and by now, the growth was nearly to my waist in places and very thick and difficult to get through. I tried to direct him into the area I thought it would be, but it was so hard for him to even get through. I lost interest, called him off, and we went home.Well, we just tried once more this afternoon, last time, I figured. It was now a good 6 wks. and you couldn't see even part way to any ground out there...bushes, vines, berries, ferns, weedy stuff. With David here, he said he'd come along, we would spread out a little. Blast "humoured" me by searching in the same, but larger, area. But then he ran WAY off at an angle, I figured we were done and something else caught his attention. But then...I saw him a long ways off from where "I" thought we may find it, and he had begun a tight circle. As I walked towards him, up came his head with the darned rubber hose and I swear, a big grin on his face! I'm so stupid and he's so smart!!! These pictures are after we came out of the bush on a pathway; he's very hot and very tired. David was trying to move the raspberry canes back in this area as they kept smacking poor Blast in the face. He was just happy!
