I'm a brown Bearded Collie boy.
My registered name is Birchwood's Oakengate,
but my family and friends call me Boogie!
It's been almost two years since I came to live with my new family, and I've changed so much that all the people who knew me when I used to be called Bif are amazed every time they see me!
This is my family: the humans are Diane and Bill, and the Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier is my "wheardie" sister, Scooch.
In my quiet moments, I sometimes think about the last couple of years and all of the changes in my life, and thought I'd share a few things with you in honor of my special day.
This is my special cookie jar. It barks when its head is tipped back.
Meeting it like this was a very big step for me, because I used to be afraid of almost everything that made noise except for my squeak toys. If something fell in the kitchen, I ran as far away as I could . . . sometimes I even hid in the shower! Now, if I hear something hit the kitchen floor, I run as fast as I can to see if someone dropped food!
The only noises that really scare me now are thunderstorms, fireworks, and the roar of the big red monster that Bill fights with in the yard. It eats all the long, lovely grass I like to roll in, and someday, I just know it will devour Bill. I check him over carefully every time he's been out there with it, and so far, he's won all the battles, but I still worry about it.
This is me snuggling Diane and Bill's oldest granddaughter, Reanne. I got to spend 3 weeks with her in our RV this summer. I snuggled with her every night, slept beside her bed, and woke her up every morning with a very special face-washing! I know she liked it because of the way she giggled.
I've always liked all the big people and dogs I've met, but when I first came to live with Diane and Bill, I wasn't very pleased to meet the little people who visited. In fact, I hid from their nephew, Eric, who was 10 at the time. It took me almost the entire weekend before I'd go near him even though he really wanted to be friends and was very gentle with me.
Now, children are my very favorite people! When we go walking in the park, I walk right up to them, wagging my whole back end and offering to wash their faces . . . they usually taste really good, you know! Diane makes me wait until their parents say it's OK, but they always do . . . after all, who could resist a cute fuzzy face like mine?
Well, OK . . . things aren't always perfect, but overall, life is pretty great!
I tried to be a champion, but the most I ever weighed was 47 pounds and I got really nervous around all the other dogs at the shows, so everyone agreed that I didn't have to try anymore. If I'd known what that would mean, I might have tried harder, but I still love Dr. Chassy, even after what she did to me! I'm really much happier without my "family jewels".
After I stopped going to shows, I tried a basic obedience class, and I loved it! I was the star of the class . . . I never took my eyes off Diane and I did everything just right, even staying where I was supposed to when other dogs walked right by me! All those treats that I didn't want to be bothered with in the dog shows sure tasted good in obedience class!
Diane is going to take me to a more advanced class as soon as possible when we're settled in Colorado, and we're also going to look for classes in herding and tracking. She thinks I'll be a wonderful therapy dog, too! Scooch can come along if she wants to, I guess.
We travel a lot in our motor home, and get to meet lots of new friends, and see and smell all kinds of special things along the way. When we have a regular home, lots of friends and family come to visit us.
I know I'll miss a lot of my special friends in Tennessee, but I'm really looking forward to the cooler weather in Colorado. I love to be outside, and I can't wait to play in some real snow!
Well, time to run! Hope you enjoyed sharing my special day with me!
