Game On!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  The other day, I was just hanging out in the living room, minding my own business, when ...

"Oh.  Uh ... hey, Mom.  What's shakin'?"
"Maggie?  Where's your brother?  Are you playing the 'Don't Let Ragnar in the Living Room' game?!?"

Can you believe that accusation?!!?

Well, OK.  Maybe she was right.  Let's take a peek into the kitchen.

"Is it safe out there?"

He LOVES this game.  No, really!  Every time he tries to leave the kitchen, I 'BOOM!' him - no matter which way he tries to get out.  It's great!  Then I finally let him out and we race around the living room, dining room, and kitchen REALLY fast!  Here's a blurry action shot - we're too fast for the camera!

"Gonna get you, Ragnar!!!"
"I don't think so, Mags!"

And then ... have I mentioned he's really fast?!?

"GOTCHA!"
"Errrfff!"

"BOOM!"
"Ack!  You got me!  Help, I'm being attacked by a Viking!!!"

Then I jump up and we start the whole thing over again.  Wow, is it ever fun!  Isn't this a great game?!?

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Long Road March

Hi everybody!  It's me, Ragnar!  We had a wild, crazy storm during the night that brought us a much cooler morning today.  To celebrate, Maggie and I decided to take Mom and Dad on a super-long road march today!

We headed up into the hills:

"Check those skies, Ragnar!"
"I'm glad Mom and Dad looked at the radar before we left!"

And then went way down the big road:

Sorry it's blurry and crooked; we were moving out smartly!

Mom always likes to stop and shoot wildflowers along the way. Here's one of her shots:

Black-Eyed Susans

We usually turn at this one road, but today we decided to keep going!  We turned eventually and saw these hugs gates:

"Check it out, Ragnar.  The 'M' is for Mags!"
"Really?"

She was joking with me.  I kinda thought so.  She actually hadn't walked that way before, either.  It was fun exploring a place that was new to both of us!

Mom wanted to get a shot of us so I did a nice pose for her:

"Hey, puppies!!!"
"Hi, Mom!!!"
"Hey, Mom.  Check it out -- Daisies!"

Maggie reminded me we shouldn't always look at Mom when she asks us to.  I told her I'd try to remember.  Maggie knows these things!

Anyway - since Mags pointed them out ...

Daisies

There were lots of great smells up in that area; we really had a blast.

Mags walking past a hacienda 

We finally looped around near the golf course clubhouse, and we were back on familiar turf.  Golf course ... turf ... good one, huh?

Me, leading the way!  Gnarly skies, huh?

When we finally reached the "it's all downhill from here" point, Mom held our leashes while Dad made a deposit in a nearby trashcan.  You know.  I mean ... yeah.  We all know what he was putting in there, right?  OK.

Anyway, Mom asked us to sit together and pose for her again.  Remembering what Mags told me earlier ...

"Oh, Ragnar!  I'm so proud of you!"
"Thanks, Maggie!"

Then Mom gave a sad, "Oh, you GUYS!  Please!?!"  Since she asked so nicely ...

"Just this once.  But you owe us!"
"Hi, Mom!!!"
"Such good puppies!!!!"

And then down a couple hills and we were home!  That was our nice, long road march!  It was tons of fun.  Thanks for coming with us!

Sköl!

Ragnar

Wordless Wednesday

Ragnar and Mags

Strength Test?

Hi everybody!  It's me, Ragnar.  Last week, my mom made me my very own new collar!  Check it out:

"Here's my right side!"

"And here's my left!"

"Thanks for the cool new collar, Mom!"

I really like it - can you tell?  Mom had that webbing in her "stash" (she has all KINDS of interesting things in her Studio!!!) and decided to order more so I could have a matching leash.  That order came in really fast and she made the leash yesterday:

Mom decided to do a lot of heavy-duty reinforcing on my leash

After she was done, we took it out for a little test drive.  That actually turned into what she thought would be a strength test when ...

"SQUIRREL!"
"Uh-oh."
"Oh ... my ... uh ... on by, Ragnar!  On by!"

I didn't pull, but I did want to stop and stare for a while.

"Lemme just stare at him, Mom, OK?"
"E-E-E!!!"
"Good boy, Ragnar.  Calm.  G'boy!!!"

I was very calm, so Mom let me stand there and stare at him for a while.  He was teasing me something fierce, shaking his tail at me and yelling at me and stuff, but I was a good puppy.  Check it out:

To view on YouTube, please click here

I love my new collar and leash.  And I'm sure they're both very strong ... I just haven't pulled real hard yet to check them out.  I did say "yet".

Sköl!

Ragnar

Very Strange!

Hi everybody!  It's me, Ragnar!  The other day Maggie got all excited when a man in a loud truck brought something to our doorstep.  It was called a "box", and once Dad emptied it, Maggie did something VERY strange!

"What in the name of Thor are you doing, Maggie?!?"
"I'm BOXING, Ragnar!  Isn't this a beaut?!?"

I mean ... she was just sitting there.  IN the box!  It was very strange.  THEN she asked me to join her.

'Uh ... not gonna happen, Mags.  Wait.  Do you get treats for doing this?  I can't even look at you."
"The box IS the treat!  Maybe next box, Ragnar.  I mean, we ARE related!"

I'm pretty sure I won't be boxing with Mags, but who knows?  Things I didn't want to try a couple weeks ago, I'm tackling whole-heartedly now.  But boxing?  Very strange.

Sköl!

Ragnar

Sassy Sunday

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  So there I was the other day, mentoring my little brother during a zoomie session, when ...

"Margaret Thatcher!  You are NOT allowed to sit on the furniture!"
"Watch and learn, Ragnar.  Yeah, Mom ... I'm not really 'sitting', I'm more like 'leaning'."
"Woo ... good one, Maggie."

Am I right or am I right?!?

Have I mentioned how fun it is to have a little brother lately?

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Independence Day!

From all of us here at Ao4 Headquarters, we'd like to wish all of you a safe and happy Independence Day!

Ragnar and Mags

Exploring

Hi everybody!  It's me, Ragnar.  Every morning, Maggie and I have been taking our mom and dad on real long walks -- or as we like to say "exploring".  There's always something new out there!

The other day, we walked on that Hudson Trail again, only we walked and walked and walked all the way to the very end of it!

"Pretty cool, huh, Ragnar?"
"This is tons of fun!"

Mom said once the weather cools off, we could try walking the wild part of the trail! That sounds like great fun!

"I'd love to do that, Mom!"
"Me, too.  I've only gotten to do that once!  It was super muddy and hilly and SUCH great fun!"
"Oh, yeah ... wait a minute ..."

We walked back through the neighborhoods, stopping in a cul-de-sac to enjoy the view.  You can see forever up there!  I asked Mags if we could see our homeland of Missouri from there, but she said we were facing the wrong way.

"Maybe Colorado, though!"
"Oh, OK."

Maggie's really smart and knows all kinds of cool stuff.  She's teaching me a lot!

Anyway, thanks for coming on our walk with us!

Sköl!

Ragnar

Getting Started

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  This having a little brother thing is SO AWESOME!  In addition to having a buddy and playmate, I get to teach him all kinds of cool stuff.  I'm going to back up a little bit and show you how Ragnar and I got started.

As I showed you the other day, we really hit it off out at Polargold HQs.  I loved everyone there, but I seemed to know that Ragnar is my brother and ... well, the rest is history, right?  Mom wanted to get some pictures before we left.  Here's my favorite group shot:

Me and Ragnar doing nose bumps in front
Our breeders (Cecile and Lisa) and Dad in the back

Don't we all look happy?!?

When we got home, I showed him around the neighborhood and house.  He's not used to being a house pup, so we're doing some training there.  So far, he's been really good.  He's also really good at zoomies and wrestling.  Mom cheers us on a lot, using funny phrases like, "Be gentle!" and "Careful, you two!", but we pretty much ignore her.

The next day, I started my walk training.  He walks very nicely, and we do great together.  He has a lot to get used to, though - he's not used to being in a neighborhood where there are a lot of people, cars, trucks, etc.  He's adapting super well!

"This is a side walk!  We try to stay on these, OK?"
"Got it, Maggie."

We walked all the way to the far side of the park that day, which meant we had to walk over the Trippy Trap Bridge.  It's wooden and makes noises when you go over it.  Ragnar hadn't been on a Trippy Trap Bridge before, so I offered to go first.

"See, Ragnar?  Nothing to worry about!  I don't even see any trolls down there!"
"I'm not sure about this ... "

Fast forward about a week to the next crack he had at the bridge ... and check him out:

"C'mon, Mags!  This is a piece of cake!"
"Go, Ragnar!!!"

I was so proud of him!  He even looked over the side of the bridge with me to check for trolls!  What a brave guy!

We've also been teaching him about parking lots and shopping centers.

"Stick close here, Ragnar.  There can be a lot of traffic!"
"OK!"

He handled it like a champ!

Near the end of that first walk, we hit the Hudson Trail.

"It's nice and cool and shady here, Maggie!  I like this!"
"I do, too, Ragnar!"

I'm really proud of my kid brother.  He's such a fast learner - and is willing to try anything new we toss his way!

I feel a round of zoomies coming on, so that's it for today.  Stay cool, everyone, and stay safe from those firecrackers/fireworks!  (He's doing great with those, too!)

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Wordless Wednesday

Mags and Ragnar

Sköl!

Hi everybody!  It's me, Ragnar!  Maggie said I should try posting to the blog today - I hope I do this right!

First, thanks for the warm welcome!  As Maggie said, I am Polargold's Einherjar -- Ragnar!  I'm Maggie's half-brother on our mama's side, and I just turned 4 years old last month.  Our mom and dad wanted to adopt someone who could keep up with Mags and I think I'm the perfect pup for the job!

As Mags said yesterday, we go on lots of long, long walks in the morning.  Here we are with Dad on our first morning walk:

Dad, me, and Mags.  Dad's the tall one.

Sometimes on our walks, Mom tries to get us to pose.  Maggie says I've still got a lot to learn there.

"Hi, Mom!"
"Oh, Ragnar!  Not without treats, buddy!  No smiles without treats!!!"

She's teaching me all about politics, too.

"That's another Matta sign.  We're pulling for him!  Get it?  Siberian Huskies ... pulling ..."
"Huh!  Good one, Mags!"

Maggie said Mom made her say that "pulling" part.

On our second big walk, I finally saw the famous Kansas Ocean!

"There it is, Ragnar!  Isn't it beautiful!?!"
"I thought it might be bigger than this."
"BIRDIE!"

(Apparently Mom gets to comment on the blog sometimes.  I'm supposed to point out that there's a Great Blue Heron on the peninsula.)

ANYWAY, the Kansas Ocean is cool, but I'm not sure about sailing a Viking ship on it.  We can still go on raids, though.  We'll find a way.

That's probably enough for today.  Thanks again for the welcome!

"Is he cute enough?"
"Aw, shucks!"

Sköl!

Ragnar

Testing ... Is This Thing On?

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  Before I get to a very important announcement, I wanted to thank everyone on behalf of all of us here at Ao4 Headquarters for your kind words about Cammie.  We all truly appreciated your comments, emails, FaceBook messages, ETC.  The loss has been hard on all of us.

I don't want to say it's been especially hard on me, but wow.  I really need to have a pack mate.  Badly.

Anyway, Mom and Dad were so concerned about me that they called my breeder and had a long talk with her.  They had spoken before about adding to our family, but the timing was such that it wouldn't have been fair to Cammie.  Mom and Dad wanted to have lots of time to devote to her.  But now ... even though it was early after losing my Cam, they all knew I needed someone.

We drove out to Missouri - to my homeland! - to Polargold Headquarters.  I got to see EVERYONE - to include my biological mama and daddy!  My daddy is going to be 16 very soon, so it was really cool to get to see him.  And guess what?!?  My mama remembered me!  She really did!  I remembered her, too.

I loved everyone I saw there (especially my breeders, but they aren't up for adoption) and especially hit it off with this guy:

"Are you my new mom?"
"Hey.  Don't look at the camera unless she gives you a treat!"

That's Ragnar, schmoozing up to my mom, me, Maeve (one of Cammie's granddaughters -- a grand champion!), and dad. To make a long story short, out of the field of candidates to adopt, I chose Ragnar. He chose us, too. 

We've been taking long walks together:

Me and Ragnar

 

We like to relax on the deck together afterwards:

"BOOM!"
"BOOM!"

And we relax in the evenings together:

"Ha roo!"
"Got your footy-foot!"

Sometimes, we even settle down together!  Say "hi" to everyone, Ragnar!

"Sköl!"
"He's such a Viking!"

Let me make a proper intro, now that I've shown you what a really cool guy he is!  Ladies and gentlemen, I give you my new little brother, Ragnar!

Polargold's Einherjar -- Ragnar!

That's right - he's my little brother!  Not just adoption-wise, but we have the same mama!!!  OK, technically, he's my half-brother, but to me he's my brother!

I just love him and he loves me and I've been such a happier girl since he joined the family!  We'll give you more details in the days to come, but for now, please help me welcome Ragnar!!!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

D'Azul's Girl From Ipanema

Cameron - D’Azul’s Girl From Ipanema

7 January 2008 - 5 June 2020

In 2017, she fought and beat adrenal cortical carcinoma (cancer).
In 2019, she fought and beat breast cancer.
In 2020, she fought and beat the adrenal cancer once again.
Through everything, she remained strong, loving, and kind.
Today, due to liver failure, we had to let her go.
Godspeed, sweet Cammie. You will always be so very loved.

Maggie - and Maggie's Mom and Dad

Blog Break

"So ... we're all in agreement, right?"
"I think so, Mags."
"Yes.  I think so, too."

"We'll be taking a break from writing the Ao4 Digest for a bit."
"I think this is the right choice."
"❤❤❤"

Thank you for understanding!

Mags, Cam

... and our mom

What's That!?!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  Yesterday, I had a little one-on-one time with my mom.  She let me choose what we were going to do, so I suggested a walk.  It sounded good to her, so off we went!

We didn't really see or do anything too exciting until we were passing by a neighbors' rock garden ...

"Wait!  What's that!?!  Hold up, Mom!  There's something in there!!!"

It really captured my interest!  I saw it move fast, then it dived between the rocks!  and ... was it a sneaky snake?  A mole?  A vole?  A skink?  A lizard???  It could have been any of those things and I needed to investigate!

"C'mon, Mags!  Let's go!"
"But ... but there's something IN there!!!"

I don't know why she wouldn't let me catch it!  Moms sure can be funny some times!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher