Tag Archives: lightening bugs

Judy: The Blackberry Picking German Shepherd

. Family, Pets . , , , , , ,
shallow focus photography of berries

Photo by Thierry Fillieul on Pexels.com

 

 

Blackberry picking is a summer ritual for me just as catching lightening bugs, catching June bugs and sometimes trying to fly them on a string, listening to the katydids, and sitting somewhere under shelter while listening to a summer thunderstorm. I was mowing several weeks ago, and I hopped off the tractor to move a garden hose. Near our swimming pool fence where the hose lay were some blackberry bushes. I picked a blackberry, ate it,  and with its taste came 50 years of beautiful blackberry memories: Evenings when the whole family picked blackberries together, homemade blackberry cobblers, and my bud, Judy.

I love dogs, and I cannot remember life without them. My pet dogs are a part of my essence, and all of them hold a special place in my heart. I am not done with living yet, so I cannot say that Judy was .. THE ONE… that ONE CANINE SOUL MATE…. But she comes pretty close. Judy had many talents and gifts. Lord willing, I will expand on some of them in future blog entries, but this entry is dedicated to Judy the German Shepherd and her blackberry picking abilities.

 

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Judy & Haven: July 1986

 

Have you ever had a dog that could/would pick any berry: strawberry, blackberry, blueberry (kinda high off the ground I reckon), a muscadine, or a grape? Well, my Judy would blackberry pick with me. I have no idea when she started nor do I have any recollection of her watching me. However, my Judy surprised me one summer evening while I was strolling through our yard.  On the edge our yard near a pine grove, there were some blackberry brambles (bushes). In case you are reading from another area of the United States or the world, the OVERWHELMING majority of our blackberry bushes grow on thorny stalks/brambles. As a blackberry grows on its bramble, it begins as green, then turns red, then turns “black” (deep purple). When it is black it is ready to pick and eat. Well, Judy had been walking by my side, and she stopped to watch me inspect and eat some blackberries. When I finished, she took her turn at finding a blackberry to eat. She sniffed, inspected the remaining, unripe, red blackberries, sniffed again, then ever so delicately (remember there are thorns everywhere) nibbled off a ripe blackberry. After she swallowed, she nipped another berry. I laughed, knelt down, and gave my girl a big ‘ol hug. “You stinker! You sure are smart!” , I said… and yes, she was very intelligent. That was all she wanted that evening. She would eat blackberries with me in later years, and it always amazed me.

Friends and family, I love it when you post your comments in response to my blog entries both here and on other social media. Please share the summer antics of a special member of your fur family: Either past or present. We need some heart-warming stories to make us smile this summer of 2020 and post some pics if you can.

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July 8, 2020: While picking some blackberries for a smoothie, I snapped this pic in memory of Judy. 

Sophie Chose Us: Sophie Caylor-Brown (Dachshund) June 25, 2005-May 12, 2018

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sophie_ddays

 

Sophie Caylor-Brown (Dachshund) June 25, 2005 – May 12, 2018

 

Shophie Chose Us

Sophie Caylor-Brown was born in Jasper, Tennessee. When Sean and I decided to select a dachshund puppy in the summer of 2005, we found Sophie’s owners’ names in a newspaper. The small yard in Jasper was full of adorable, dachshund puppies on Saturday July 23, 2005. Sean had wanted a black and tan dachshund male like his beloved, “canine brother”, Paco, from his childhood, but a little, humble, and sweet black and tan dachshund girl followed us around for over an hour that day. I talked Sean into getting that black and tan dachshund girl, and the rest is Caylor-Brown history.

She was loved by every human she came in contact with. She even learned to get along with Madison our 18 year old Tom Cat this past year. They had always been household enemies.  Many times these past 12 months she could be found waiting patiently by their water bowl while Madison “tanked up”.

She could fit in our shirt pockets when she was four weeks old. She would run with coonhounds in the woods. Katie, the mama coonhound, protected Sophie like she was one of her own puppies. She traveled to Florida with Sean and me when I defended my doctoral dissertation in Sarasota, Florida. As we traveled to Sarasota,  Sophie swam on the quaint Fort De Soto Dog Beach: she was a natural. When Buddy our rescue dachshund came to live with us in 2007, Sophie took him in as her adopted brother. Buddy had never gone down steps, so Sophie had to teach him. After he could not bounce down 14 steps, she returned to his side, bounced down one step, turned long ways on the step, looked up at him, and bounced to the next step down until he followed down all 14 steps. She was also one of the few dogs in my lifetime that chose to chase lightening bugs.

 

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Sophie chasing lightening bugs June 12, 2012. 

When Carter and Ammon began to swim, she was so anxious and would not hush barking while they splashed. She would try to jump in to make sure they were okay. She fell in twice (she didn’t like it! LOL), so she resorted to running up and down the side letting us know her concerns.

Her number one vice that finally allowed her passage to the Rainbow Bridge was her love of food. What hound dog doesn’t like to eat? Her motto was, “If you can get up in the morning and eat, it’s a good day!” On Saturday May 12th,, 2018 around 8 PM she had a swollen belly and was lethargic. Earlier and with much gusto, she had eaten her evening meal. After the dachshunds ate, Sophie, Buddy, and I went outside, and I called my mother. Sophie lay on the step breathing heavily. Like so many times before during the past 12 years, I thought she had over-eaten.  I sat beside her, kissed her nose, and opened the back door. She jumped up and trotted in . 90 minutes later, she was flat and listless, yet still very conscious. We four immediately took her to the 24/7 vets.  She would raise her head and sniff, but she would not kiss us nor wag her tail. Vet Dr. Belt said she could see internal bleeding. We all concluded that Sophie, the scavenger, had eaten a dead rat that had been poisoned. That was 10:30 PM . By 11:30 PM, our beloved dachshund was dead from cardiac arrest.

Thank you, God, for allowing Sophie to choose us. She was such a good girl and part of the family. We were blessed to have her, and , yes, she was blessed to have us as well.