Today the morning group officially welcomed our newest pack member Copper.  Copper is an enormous male yellow lab.  He is trained as a hunter but is the sweetest guy.  He is 2½ yrs old and will be coming out on both walks on a daily basis.  He came out for a trial run on Friday and did very well.  We hope he will be with us for a very long time. 

The morning group went to Southland.  It was muggy and not all that comfortable with the bugs buzzing around.  Fortunately these dogs didn't seem to be bothered by the bugs.  If anyone knows of dog friendly bug repellent please let me know where to get it as the thinner haired dogs do get bit sometimes and the bites can cause hot spots if the animal bites and scratches at the lump. 

When we first got to the park Riley, Ryder, Rover, Whistler, Everest and Copper split up.  They do this, I am sure, to drive me crazy as I run around cleaning up after them.  Whistler, Everest and Copper all wanted to go for a swim but as the river is still too fast I had to put the kibosh on that idea although I did let them go in the water to cool off a little about half way through the walk.  Riley thought he wanted to go in the water too but once he realized that he would stay relatively clean he did not think that was a good idea. 

The afternoon group was a bit more rowdy (as usual).  We hit Edworthy with a bang at the same time that Jen and Amy showed up with their groups.  It was quite a sight to see all the dogs walking together.  It was even more of a sight to see me making a spectacle of myself trying to keep my pack away from the mud puddles.  When will they ever go away? 

It was good for all the dogs to be together as Wilbur likes to play with Finley from Amy's group and Copper liked the bigger boys from Jen's group.  There was a lot of wrestling and good natured chasing games.  Taylor really liked Copper too and followed him around all doe-eyed.  Shea and Nina stayed together and I found them a couple of times off visiting with other dogs and people.   Gabby, Pina and  Bailey were desperate to play ball but I seem to be having a dry spell with the balls and need to concentrate on finding some for the dogs.  Sammy and Clover were my sweet girls today and wanted to stay close to me which is always nice. 

Good luck to Clover who will be spayed tomorrow.  We wish her a speedy recovery and we will see her in a week or so.