Fall Dog Days 2018

Surveying My Estate

It's the most wonderful time of the year!  No, not Christmas (though that is a lot of fun with all the food, wrapping paper, and toys).  This last weekend was Dog Days at Old Westbury Gardens (AKA my estate) and while I wasn't able to hang out with my pals Mecki and Bastille (their mom is vacationing in France), I did have an absolutely wonderful time.

The day (Saturday) started as any other day that promised an outing would; basically, I was crazed.  As soon as I realized that I was going somewhere, I started running through the house, pacing back and forth, eager to get going.  I barked loudly when either Ma or Sister slowed us down by doing such pointless things as packing my traveling bag, checking the weather on TV, and putting on shoes (I don't bother with shoes, why should they?) and when my collar was placed around my neck and the side door opened, I bounded out toward the car.  I even huffed, drooled, and paced in the backseat of the car during the twenty-minute ride to the gardens!

Sister and Me

Ma, Sister, and I spent nearly an hour wandering through the gardens that morning.  I stopped to sniff random plants, I posed for pictures, I bunked noses with a couple of pups, and even showed off my prowess by jumping over the cement bench Sister wanted to pose with me on for a photo. I even stopped long enough to sniff the tree that Mecki and Bastille are routinely photographed in (and yes, I did thank my lucky stars that I'm too heavy to be picked up and put in that tree).

Liberty, Me, Baxter, and the Rest

Eventually, Ma, Sister, and I made our way to the great lawn out back behind the house where I was met with a fun surprise:  three Golden Retrievers (two under the age of one and the other eight years old), a big fluffy black dog, a German Shepherd, and their humans.  I was first greeted by the big fluffy black dog who was off leash and made a bee line straight for me.  He was obviously the welcoming committee.  Anyway, the black dog and I bunked noses then the three Golden Retrievers ran over to say hi.  The two young-ins (one was named Liberty) ran straight to Ma and Sister and began begging for pets and belly rubs.  The older Golden, Baxter, walked over to me to say hello.

The final part of the trip was perhaps the best.  I got to see my Old Westbury Gardens pal Emma Rose.  My readers might remember Emma Rose as the Golden Retriever “cousin” I first met all the way back in 2011.  Since then, Emma Rose and I have run into each other, always unscheduled, at every single Dog Days weekend.  My pal is eleven years old now and had had a serious health scare a couple of weeks ago, but I was happy to see that Emma Rose was feeling better and acting like her old self; calm, quiet, and reserved.  Emma Rose and I bunked noses and hit up each other’s humans for pets.  Then our humans came up with a spectacular idea.  We needed a picture together.

Emma Rose and Me

After saying goodbye to Emma Rose, Ma, Sister, and I made our way back to the car and headed home.  I was completely and totally exhausted, but it was so worth it!