Well, It's been a while since June, but not much has happened. That is if you don't count living through out the Georgia summer with out airconditioning. To those of you up north who have the occasional cool day and nights may not understand the panic at realizing that your AC is now a solid block of ice. Those of you who live in the south are saying OMG!!

I Went to bed one evening with my comforter, (the difference between winter and summer in my house is sheets and comforter with or without a thermal blanket). I awoke to a hot room with both Lotto and I spread out like an 8 day wash. The dogs were panting and I let them outside, which had to be cooler than inside! Another problem with our house is that the are no screens in the windows or door. Not to mention of course that any window less than 6' off the ground and open with or without screens serves as a personal invitation to Sunny to make a flying leap out of it. I went down into the basement and saw the AC was literally a block of ice. The ordeal of thawing it and diagnosing the problem will be dealt with next time.

it's HOT!!

Here we are in the Georgia heat. Georgia heat, especially Atlanta, consists of high heat, soft winds and high humidity. Dalmatians, as most fanciers know are indoor dogs, especially in the heat. The Doos are no exception. I have their crates in my sunroom which is actually the coolest room in the house, but being "velcro dogs" they have to be where I am. More often than not lately, that means at the computer. The computer is in my bedroom, which is one of the warmest rooms in the house. Therefore, all the Doos are in here with me.

Let me give you a current status of the layout of my room. My room consists of a high king size bed with dressers etc and my computer station. Right now, the bed is full. Three dogs, Siren, Lotto and Mira are stretched out on their backs with tongues lolling under the ceiling fan. Naturally this takes up most of the room on the bed. Riggins is hanging out on the leather couch in the living room., destroying a stuffed toy and staying cool. Sunny on the other hand is the problem. My computer station is at the foot of the bed where he loves to sit, resting his head on top of mine facing in the same direction and occasionally reaching over to give a big sloppy wet kiss, which often as not means sliming my glasses. Today however is an exceptionally hot day, 99+ and so Sunny is in his second favorite spot, laying on the air conditioning duct, sleeping with a smile. As you can imagine, while he is cool and comfortable the rest of us are not. I spend hours a day shooing him off the register. Someone suggested putting a table on top, but the duct is in front of sliding glass doors. I'm going to have to come up with a creative way, but in the neantime I have to go get Sunny off the damn duct!!

I'm Sunfire!!!

Well, Sunfire got his big black nose out of joint when he realized that I hadn't said anything about him. My Bad. Sunfire (JLS Dalaway Fire of the Sun) is the baby Doo. Sunfire is also known as Mr. Puppy and occasionally Damn-it D0g. He is 1 year old and full of himself. He is Sunny's son and that explains alot of his behavior. Right now Sunfire is in Kansas with his other mom and breeder Julia. He is learning to be a showdog. His mama Julia is a fantastic handler, tall and slender and moves very smoothly, as opposed to me being short, squatty and move like an injured bull moose.

Sunfire was born on 5/30/08 from a litter that Julia had planned for a couple of years. That was a spectacular litter! I went to a show in Tennessee with Sunny and Mira (09/08) to meet Julia and pick up Sunfire. First time he stepped out of his crate it was love at first site, not to mention that he looked just like his dad. Sunny gave a big smile and went and sniffed him. Okay, he was an official Doo. One thing I should mention is that all the Doos wear bright red collars and Julia had him all decked out with a red collar. Sunfire began to get into everything and run wild. Yup, that's Sunny's kid!!. Sunfire was accepted into the pack as soon as he walked through the door. Being a dog pack, there is a heirarchy. I let Sunfire into the back yard with all the other Doos and Lotto, Siren, Riggins and Mira promptly, one at a time, knocked him over and rolled him on his stomach and growled and snapped at him. This may sound cruel, but this is a pack's way of letting the new member know where his place is and his place was the bottom of the pack. Sunny never had to exert himself because he is the undisputed Alpha. Once this ritual was over, the girls started to mother him and clean him and teach him and Riggins took him on as best friend.

6/16/09

In some circles I'm known as a dog fancier, in others a breeder/owner of showdogs. To most of the world, I'm the "Crazy Dog Lady". My breed of choice is Dalmatians In the Dal world we refer to them as "Those Spotted Damnatians". My five Dals and I live in Georgia, cohabit peacefully in a nondescript house with overgrown yards. The overgrowth contributes to the dogs sense being in the wild. The overgrowth is actually kudzu. To those of you that have experienced kudzu enough said. To those of you who are lucky enough to have never been exposed to this menace, it is a vine with broad leaves that has the ability to grow 6" in one day. If you have lost a relative or dog lately go look in your yard for a large mound of kudzo.

Okay, now that you know something about me and Kudzo I'll continue. As I said, I live with 5 Dalmatians. To say that this is an experience is an understatement. My dogs are not humans, they would consider it an insult. They are 100% canine. Actually, I'm an honorary Dalmatian. they overlook my lack of fur, teeth, claws and spots, as long as I keep on bringing home the kibble, I'm allowed to stay. While they are all related, they are all very different personalities.
Collectively, they are known as the Dalaway Doos. Our kennel name is Dalaway Dalmatians and I invite you to visit our website http://www.dalawaydalmatians.com/

Let me introduce you to the pack. First and foremost there is Lotto, the Queen Bee. Her registered name is McDottie Diamond Lotto Scout. She is also known as Ah-Doo, Doo-Doo girl, Lottie, etc. Lottie is the mother of the younger dogs in the pack. Currently she is retired and spends her day watching Jerry Springer from the comfort of our king sized bed munching the occasional cookie and keeping the others in line.

Next is Sunny. His registered name is Ch. ChocoChip JLS Dalaway's Sun. He goes by Sunny-Bunny, Sun Man. Now this is a DOG. Sunny is the Alpha dog and Lotto's mate as well as the father of the younger dogs. He is a beautiful ripped Dal with beautiful Spotting. I could write books about Sunny's antics and I will in future blogs.

Siren and Riggins are littermates. Both have some quirks, but they are very sweet and loving. Mira is a full sister to Riggins and Siren but from a later litter. I call Mira "mouse" or "Monkey Girl" Riggins is known as DalawaySound of the Riggings, Siren is Dalaway's Song of the Sirens and Mira is known as Dalaway's Blue Water Mirage. As this blog continues you'll get to know the pack a lot better. For now, goodbye!