Gigi Goes AU-Current

Gigi is especially excited today. It's because yesterday she was interviewed by a very nice young man writing an article about her blog for the Northwest Current. For those of you who don't know, the Northwest Current is the newspaper of Northwest DC neighborhoods--AU Park, The Palisades, Chevy Chase, Friendship Heights, etc. He wanted to know all about her rescue during Snowpocalypse and alot about all of the escapades and adventures Gigi has had since then. The article should appear this Wednesday, or he said it might come out next week. Anyway, he was awfully nice to spend so much time with Gigi and her parents. Gigi is looking forward to the article with great anticipation.

Gigi and Lucy wish everybody a Happy Halloween!

Gigi is Scared of Balloons

Last night, I brought home a balloon given to me by one of my staff members for Boss's Day--a nice gesture on her part. I put the balloon in the kitchen, and tied it to my footstool so it wouldn't get away. Now Shelties are very superstitious dogs, one of their more idiosyncratic traits. When Gigi saw the balloon, she became very scared, started to bark at it, and crept away from it. I thought that was funny but Jim reminded me that Gigi may have been tormented, since we do not know the story of where she comes from. Jim released the balloon, and now it is on our kitchen ceiling. Gigi stares at it and is fixated by it, but goes out of her way to creep around it. Something happened in her past--and it just may have involved a balloon. We just don't know.

Gigi is a December Calendar Girl!

When we were at the Northern Virginia Sheltie rescue (NVSR) picnic, I wanted a few things to benefit the organization, so one of the things I bought was the 2011 NVSR Sheltie calendar. I was perusing all of the photographs of the beautiful 2010 adoptees, and to my delight, Gigi's picture graced the December page. It is the one Nancy T. took in the snow where Gigi looks like she has a hind peg leg. She is gorgeous, nonetheless. She shares the page with two other Shelties, and that's okay, but now, I refer to her as our 2011 "December calendar girl."

Gigi and Lucy Get Blessed

Last Sunday, October 3, 2010, we took Gigi and Lucy to the annual Blessing of the Animals at the Washington National Cathedral in honor of St. Francis of Assisi. It always happens the first Sunday in October.

I asked the rector to bless Gigi, as it was her first time. She stuck her laurel (I think) into the Holy Water and gave Gigi a big dousing. Water rippled down both sides of her snout. For Lucy, it was her second time. I asked the rector for another exorcism just like last year. She asked, "Why? Has Lucy been bad this year?" And I said, "Oh, yes, she has." We both laughed. It isn't that Lucy is devilish; she just likes to be mischievous once in awhile, and then she laughs about it later. Both dogs loved going and were very happy to be out and about with the other dogs and people at the festival.

The Cathedral is a special place. It even has a chapel for children with wonderful pillows in needlepoint of different kinds of animals. My mom used to needlepoint. What a lost art!

The Sheltie Rogues' Gallery

I thought it might be fun to share all of our Shelties with you. Our first Sheltie was Libby. We did a bad thing and went to a petshop and bought our first Sheltie there, based on looks and not research 30 years ago. Boy, was she cute. Libby lasted only two weeks. To our deep sorrow, she developed distemper and died during the holidays. But on Christmas morning before she got sick, she opened all of her presents. That's her above. Golly, she was a smart dog.

Then came Albie.



Albie was short for Albion's Angel. I always had a thing for the Romantic Poets--Blake, Coleridge, etc. Hence the name. Albie lived the longest of all of our Shelties--to 17 years. He loved to run in figure 8's with his buddy Brittany and could catch the frisbee just like a border collie--only faster. Albie developed dementia and one day could not recognize me as he came out from behind the heater in our basement in Evanston, IL. Then he took a chunk out of my hand. I did not want him to hurt anyone else, so we unfortunately had to take him to the vet's. The last day before he died he was the spryest he had been in months.



Brittany was a really sweet Sheltie and Albie's pal for 8 years. Brittany loved to be loved on. She also liked to herd Jim and me in our backyard when we played badminton. Both of them really enjoyed this. Brittany got a bone infection we thought when she was 8. We took to an orthopedic specialist and he plied her with antibiotics. A year later we were going to France--to Brittany of all things. We contemplated not taking our vacation with Brittany so sick, but our vet told us to go. We were staying in Pont Aven where Van Gogh painted. We were in a lovely old mill, the Moulin Rosmadec, by a babbling brook. It could not have been more serene and idyllic, and the hotel was renowned in Brittany for fine dining. I called the vet's to ask about Brittany's condition and found out that she ate that morning and then passed away from none other than vertebral cancer. It was not a bone infection as we thought. Of all the bizarre things--a dog named Brittany who died when we were in Brittany. We were heartbroken, but our vet told us she was better off, given the misdiagnosis by the specialist.

Lilah and Hannah came to us from Karen Munster in Joliet, Illinois, a small town out- side of Chicago. Karen is a well-known breeder of Shetland Sheepdogs and her Shelties are always happy and healthy Shelties.



We always referred to Lilah as our beautiful blonde bombshell, because she was outrageously pretty. Her mother was Madonna and her father was Ringo, so I guess being outrageous was in her blood. Lucy's kind of related to her, because Ringo was Lucy's grandfather.



Hannah was always sweet and very, very calm. Gigi's personality mirrors hers. Lilah and she were inseparable.


Hannah was very petite, but boy, she lived life in a big way. She ate the foam stuffing out of our sleeper sofa and was extremely fearless. Lilah, on the other hand, was a princess. But her claim to fame was hurling herself against the front door when the mailman came. I am surprised she never went through the glass.

Hannah died three years ago on November 1. She had hemolytic anemia, and we were fortunate to keep her alive through the miracle of cyclosporine, a cancer drug. When she did not have a quality of life as I was feeding her through a pipette and with baby food, we knew it was time.

Lilah became very depressed after Hannah died. Her most stalwart companion had been taken away. That's when we decided to get Lucy--again from Karen Munster. About a year after Hannah died, I noticed that Lilah occasionally coughed and appeared to have loud breathing. I took her to the vet's who recommended a cardiologist. We went to CCVA and learned that Lilah had congestive heart failure and that her kidneys were on the fritz too. Despite her beauty, she had always had awful teeth--like most Shelties do. Bad teeth can give dogs heart ailments. Lilah died on July 19, 2009. Her downhill slide was very sudden, and we whisked her to Friendship Animal Hospital. Jim said she died in his arms on the way.

What's Gigi really like?

People always ask, What's Gigi like? Well, I'll tell you. Gigi is very shy and reserved. She is demure and fawnlike, but she has the loudest, deepest bark. She sounds like a male dog. She remembers her life on the streets, and those were not pleasant memories. When we walk her, she crouches and becomes very alert and furtive. She hates loud noises--especially cars.

One really funny thing--Gigi loves her comfort and food. She has a special place on our bed on top of alot of comforters. She also loves to eat. Heaven forbid, we don't feed her by 6 pm on the dot. Then that bark starts. She also likes to go out and play with her buddy, Lucy. She loves her big yellow ball that Nancy T. gave her, and Lucy is teaching her to dig. Lucy loves dirt and likes to dig out all of her dad's plants in the garden. Sometimes the holes are so big I think she may just get to China yet. Lucy is the exuberant one, who adores people, and Gigi is more guarded and laid back. I am glad they are opposites.

Gigi meets other Sheltie Pals at NVSR Picnic

On September 25th, Gigi and Lucy attended the Northern Virginia Sheltie Rescue annual picnic. Boy, did they both have fun. There was lots to do and see. They met the Shelties up for adoption; they played games, they went to the Silent Auction, and they even reunited with Sam and Salsa from Pure Gold Pettrackers. They listened very intently to Sam's presentation on how to keep your Sheltie safe. They were the two who tracked Gigi to the Swedish Embassy during Snowpocalype. Gigi also got to see her dear friend, Nancy T. who was her foster mom. An NVSR member took a cool video of the NVSR parade. Gigi had a great time joining in the shibboleth of Shelties. Lucy barked the whole time on the sidelines, because she wanted to be in the parade too. To see the video, click here:

We have asked Martha Heisel, the NVSR Director, if she can think of some more fun events like the picnic for the holidays. Gigi had such a swell time; she wants to see her friends again. Lucy had a lot of fun too. They slept all the way home in the car, because they were so worn out.

Gigi gets invitation from Japanese Embassy

One of the really fun things Jim and I did this summer was go to the Japanese Embassy summer barbecue, thanks to Gigi. Jim and I both love Japanese culture, and we lived there. Well, when Gigi was holed up at the Swedish Embassy during Snowpocalypse, she used to travel into the Japanese embassy grounds just to take in a different venue. Because of that, we met Madame Ambassador, and she asked us to attend the picnic. The picnic occurs annually, and the grounds of the embassy are opened to government and AU Park residents by invitation. Well, it was truly a smash. The food was fabulous, and we met alot of nice people. We love Japanese food, and there was sushi, tempura prawns, kobe beef, grilled vegetables, yakitori, and other foods for the folks who didn't wish to try the Japanese food. We met the Ambassador and his wife in the receiving line, and they were most gracious and remembered us because of Gigi. Gigi hopes she can land another invitation for next year, because her folks had such a good time!

Gigi has a double

We we were at the Northern Virgina Sheltie Rescue (NVSR) Picnic a couple of weeks ago and Martha Heisel, the Director of NVSR, told us that she had once had a rescue named Skye that looked exactly like Gigi. Well, she sent us his picture, which is posted here. What do you think? I think he could be a deadringer.

We're reprising Gigi's blog!

Tons of Gigi's friends have asked us to bring back Gigi's blog, so we have decided to. Folks want to know how Gigi is doing and what she has been up to. So in response to those individuals, this is the first installment. Lots of things have happened to Gigi, since the rescue, and so as Gigi begins to grow up, we will be filling you in on all of the fun and exciting stages of her development.

A recent cool thing happened. PetsDirect in the UK gave gigishope a "best of blog" award for 2010. Criteria cited for the award were:

A Unique Blog From A Whole New And Interesting Perspective.
A Useful And Unique Blogger Resource
Great Literature And/Or Informational Quality
Helping The Preservation And General Well Being Of A Specific Breed Type.
Showing A True Love For A Specific Breed Or Pet Type

Gigi was very excited when she heard that folks in the UK liked her blog. She is still trying to recover from the excitement, and wants to thank PetsDirect for the award.

First, we will give you a glimpse of what Gigi now looks like. The photo is of her and her sister, Lucy. We will also mention funny things about Lucy from time to time, because she is a very important part of Gigi's life--being her lifelong pal and companion.