Before I went to meet the new arrivals on August 9, I stopped off at Deb's place to say hi to her crew... and her.
This group always makes me smile -- so many personalities amongst them. 
Calli, who I'd seen recently is so damn sweet and was first to greet me... with a big smile. I'm not sure if she's really 'smiling' so much as she's excited for a visitor... whatever, I'll take what I can get! Flashy I know has heard me pull up. And even though she won't take a treat from me (she did once a few years ago, but never again),  she stands where she's knows I can see her so I toss treats her way that she promptly gobbles up. Roo and Mary Kate - who I haven't seen for a bit - were a bit slower to the game, but once they remembered, they were ready to accept the cupboard love. And Apex... well he just does his thing knowing I'll come to him when things have settled down.
We also had a little brush session because it isn't always about treats. Apex and Roo LOVE being brushed and with the warm weather, there's a lot to brush! Then it was time to head out to meet the new arrivals, Cally + Ice.
Here are a few pics from a short, but sweet visit with Flashy, Roo, Mary Kate, Calli and Apex, including Apex taking a treat from me... while I was taking photos with my phone... a first in the 7 years we've known each other.
​Remarkable.

It seems like a lot of posts lately have been in memoriam. 
I guess it's part of what all this is- this project following the lives of a group of dogs over the course of many years- some for almost eight years now.
But amidst the farewells, there are successes and celebrations. Today was one of those days. 
My friend Deb has been involved in the sleddie group since adopting Question back in 2013. She then adopted Daffy, then started fostering sleddies. I have no idea how many she's fostered over the years but I'm guessing it's close to 20 or more. Along with fostering she's also opened her home to sleddie sitting on occasion. Currently she's got five sleddies in her care- adoptees Apex and Calli and her fosters Flash, Mary Kate and Roo.
I've met them all many many times over the years. We've been on walks together and they've come for photo sessions as well as to participate in I Was A Sled Dog, the project. 
Today they came to hang out at the studio- the whole lot of them. There was some initial fear because they don't often go visiting people in their homes, but they did splendidly! Once we sorted out the bed situation and made sure everyone had a comfy spot to chill out, they found where they wanted to land and that was it... until Deb had to use the restroom and then a few got concerned because she closed they door and they couldn't go in with her (it's a teeny room), but it all worked out. 
None of these dogs spent any significant time (or any time at all) in a home while they were working dogs, so we celebrate (on the inside, taking care not to scare them) when we see them settle into new indoor environments. 
Thanks for the visit gang!
I played around with some treatments on these photos. I don't usually process them much, but I think it's interesting to see how a filter or treatment can change the mood of the photo and can make someone look at that image differently.

The game is called "pick out the sleddies"!

An annual walk with some friends and their dogs- some being former sled dogs, some aren't... can you figure out which is which?
[Hint: the sleddies are named below the photo gallery- click on their names to learn more about them as part of the I Was A Sled Dog  photo project]
​
It was more of a forest bathing mud bath after a big rain and wind storm yesterday... but nevertheless, big thanks to ChiChi + Tica, Trixie + Penny, Niv + Cedar, Mary Kate + Roo, Sassy, Fiddle, Jasper, KC, Chester, Falen, and your amazing humans for coming out today!
​
Please click on the first photo and then scroll through the gallery- there are 70 photos including multiples of similar images so you can see the change of tail wags, facial expressions and what the dog is interested in. There's a photo bomb, some blurry ones and some of the dogs just standing and looking around (there's always some of that).
This is all intentional as I want to help you feel as close to being there with us as I can, because it's that magical!

Three of the dogs on the walk today are survivors of the Whistler sled dog cull and 2020 will mark the ten-year anniversary of that horrific event. And even after all that happened, there continues to be sled dogs that need help. Animal protection laws for working sled dogs here in British Columbia, Canada and beyond are atrocious and it's incredibly sad and unfair that working sled dogs are exempt from animal protection laws in Canada, just because they're classified as sled dogs. But sled dogs aren't a breed- they're a mix of any number of breeds, and you can see the diversity in the photos below as well as in I Was a Sled Dog, Part 1 + Part 2. The fact that, for example, "Dog A" is classified as a working sled dog on a Monday and therefore exempt from the same laws that protect the animals we share our homes with. But when "Dog A" gets adopted into a home on a Tuesday, suddenly- as if by magic- he's covered by those same laws he was exempt from the day before. It makes absolutely no sense. The dog is a dog is a dog.

I could go on, but right now I want to  enjoy the memory of today's walk with these remarkable dogs and their wonderfully compassionate humans who love to celebrate them as much as I do.

Happy New Year sleddie family!
​~wendy

The Sleddies in blue: ChiChi + Tica, Trixie + Penny, Niv + Cedar, Mary Kate + Roo, Sassy, Fiddle, Jasper, KC, Chester, Falen

Today, it was a reunion of old mates from Thunder Bay. TJ, who was adopted in 2017, got to visit with his friends from his old foster home - Roo (his almost twin), Mary Kate, Apex, Calli, Flash and his foster mom Deb! Things were a bit intense at first - especially since all the dogs were on leash, but there was some good sniffing and a chance to hang out in the cool shade.
It was hot day here in Victoria, BC so there were a lot of long tongues and not a lot of running around, but TJ had some off-leash time which he was pretty stoked about!

TJ was adopted by the Umbrella Society and lives in a group home setting with one of the residents as his primary caregiver - in fact you can see TJ pop up on some of their blog posts! - and it's a beautiful thing to see a dog who has been so wronged by humans, learn confidence and know that he can trust again. 

To see TJ's portrait from I Was A Sled Dog, please go HERE