Whether you're a first time visitor or an ol' friend who decides to come back and visit with Presto Dog from time to time, you probably realize, after lookin' around, that we love Shelties. Actually, if you look closely enough, you'll also see pictures here 'n there of Douglas, a Collie. So, our love for genus canine is really for the herding group in general.

This particular breed is loving, devoted and fun to be around. They're playful and energetic, sometimes much too much so, to our dismay. Take for instance last weekend, when we were painting room after room after room in our house. The dogs wanted to do nothing but go outside and play, which is what we generally do on weekends. But the needs for the house overtook those of the dogs. We felt like we'd done the Sistene Chapel with paint brushes by the time Sunday evening rolled around!

The dogs did NOT like our antics one bit. Declan, our alpha boy, was particulary upset with our pre-occupation with various pigment choices. He performed his infamous "dive bomb" runs on poor Douglas several times. This is when he makes a bee-line for Dougie; if the latter doesn't clear the area, the former smacks into him and usually walks away with tufts of Dougie's hair streaming from his mouth. Of course we don't allow such antics; I merely state them to show that our pack was out of sorts due to other obligations previously mentioned.

Anyway, the semi-world famous Presto Dog photographer contacted me this morning and sent the following two pictures he took over the weekend to me via e-mail. They're of Lily, our sweetest Sheltie. Please take a gander:

We love our Pack!

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Sweet!

Whenever we got out-to the store shopplng, visiting, or whatever-we crate our dogs. Now, I'm certain that statement evokes two opinions from readers...one thinking it's not nice to crate dogs and the in its antithesis, meaning it's O.K. to crate 'em. Initially, I adhered to the former belief-that is was cruel to confine animals.

However, after living with our pack members for over 12 years (some no longer with us), I now believe that they love their crates. It gives 'em a sense of security and makes 'em feel content. Just so everyone feels at home there's a separate crate for each of the dogs: one for Lyric, one for Lily, one for Declan and one for Douglas.

So, the other evening when the bride and I were going out, I called the pack to get into their respective crates. This is a happy occasion because it means they're gonna get cookies! No sooner had I called to the dogs than a mighty trampling sound was heard, increasing in its intesity until the pack rounded the corner and quite literally flew into their respective "houses." Declan's crate is stacked on top of Lily's so there are times when I need to give our little alpha Sheltie a boost to make it up to the second floor. After doing this, I put the cookies for each of 'em into the crates and left the room, not goving my actions a second thought.

Imagine my surprise when, returning from our evening out of a couple of hours I opened Lily's crate and out both she AND Lyric came, flying out the door into the other room. Somehow, two dogs had occupied the same crate for the past few hours!

Here's a crate similar to the one our two Shelties were in the other evening. Although the two girls were O.K. after their "ordeal," from now on, I'm gonna be sure the crates are occupied one to a customer!