A Tribute To Sabre

 On August 15th, we said goodbye to our faithful, handsome Beauceron, Sabre.  He was almost 13 years old and had a very good life here at camp.  Most every day he took walks with Joanna down our quiet gravel roads, played lots of frisbee in the yard, could run down to the lake for a drink or to cool off and pretty much had the run of the place. 

He would be your friend if you threw a stick or the ball for him since he was forever a play boy.  Even as old as he was, if I took a frisbee outside to throw for him, his teeth would chatter with excitement in anticipation of catching it midair and bringing it back.  He would often lay down on his back on the grass, holding the frisbee in his paws and alternately chew on it and toss it up in the air and catch it again.

Joanna especially liked his intimidating size and serious presence when she would take long walks as there are wolves and other wild animals in the area and she always felt safer with Sabre by her side. On one occasion when a bear came into camp, Sabre ran him up a tree and let that black brute know that he wasn't going to tolerate any mischievousness here.   He was a great guardian and protector, always watchful and vigilant over his family.

I still laugh when I remember how Sabre used to sit in the passenger side of John's old pickup truck when taking the garbage and fish remains to the dump.  He was John's companion wherever he went and whatever he did.  Before we purchased the riding lawn mower, John mowed the entire lawn with a push mower.  A lot of the time, Saber would walk ahead of him dropping a tennis ball for John to throw for him.  If John didn't stop mowing and throw it, he would have run over it with the mower.  Sabre knew how to force him to play with him.

I would say he was in pretty good health right up to the end.  On the day we had to put him down, he was having continuous dizzy spells that made him sick and throwing up.  The vet said this was a condition that only happened with old dogs and a sign that his system was shutting down.  There was no cure for it and he would become very dehydrated.  So we had no other choice. 

We miss our sweet boy, who was a faithful, loyal obedient companion.  He was our camp mascot and he left an empty place here and in our hearts.

Winter Has Spoken

We Welome You to our Winter Wonderland here at Agimac River Outfitter with 8 inches of fresh snow on the ground. I think it's beautiful to see the snow next to open water. Of course our dogs were having great fun running around in it too. We are taking care of Amarah who belongs to our son Jonathan and his family. Jonathan has been recently deployed with the Air Force and his family will be joining him for a few weeks, so we said we would take Amarah for awhile till he is done with his deployment. Amarah loves it up here walking in the woods everyday and playing with Joanna's Iris Setter, Scarlet. It is nice to have a Beauceron around again since our Beauceron, Sabre died this summer. Amarah is actually Sabre's daughter. 

Trip To Omaha

Cherish and I had a wonderful trip down to Omaha, NE to visit with Jonathan, Reseth and our two very adorable grandchildren, Aaron and Titus. Jonathan took a three day leave so that he could be with us too. We had such fun hiking in the wooded hills in Bellevue and experiencing the unique activities at an outdoor entertainment facility that is only open in the fall. I believe it was called Vala's Pumpkin Patch. It was like a mini Disneyworld, featuring live animals for children to pet and feed, a dog obedience show with border collies, bikes and trikes for children and adults alike, pony rides, cannons shooting pumpkins, multiple challenges of every kind and a large corn field with paths in which to run around.

We haven't had as much opportunity to be with Titus, so it was very satisfying to spend time getting to know him and for him to know us. Even to watch Aaron and Titus interact with each other was precious. They have their rough and tumble times, but also are very affectionate with each other. Jonathan and Reseth have done a tremendous parenting job, finding unique ways to engage their sons in communication and learning experiences. They are a family that loves adventure and a great time was had by all.
I also appreciated spending time with Cherish and her new husband Patrick in Ely for a few days. It fills my heart with joy to see how they love and honor each other. Patrick is an amazing young man and we love having him in our family.