Update from Dixie (Amanda).

 

Hello to everyone in Cherryville!  I just turned 6 months old yesterday and thought I’d let everyone know how I am doing.

 

Last time I told you about the “Big-Hand.”  Well he can’t just pick me up with one hand any more…I weigh almost 45 lbs.  I guess I better not fall into the big water bowl in the middle of the yard again.  The female human who lives here, who the” Big-Hand” calls “Ur-Mommy,” says I am growing like a “weed,” whatever that is.  “Ur-Mommy” is great!!!  She stays with me all day, gives me hugs and kisses, which I give back, and seems to control the treats, which I really like.  I snuggle with her quite a bit.  Life is good!….I have had some adventures though.

 

I have had to go visit the people with white coats, who seem to stick me with needles whenever they see me, a few times.  I have eaten a couple of things I wasn’t supposed to.   The first thing was a bug, “Ur-Mommy” called a “scorpion.”  White coats and a shot.  They are off my “tasty” list.  Then I ate part of a plant, called a “Sago.”  The “Big-Hand” and “Ur-Mommy,” rushed me back to the white coats and shots, they made me throw up and eat some charcoal stuff.  The next day some men came and removed all 6 of the “palms.” Took them all day.   Now there are plants I can eat if I want, and some more new fences.  I was playing a game with “Ur-Mommy,” only I kinda snunk up on her and tried to go between her feet and snatch a shoelace.   She stumbled and hurt her upper left leg, she called it an “arm.”  This time she went to the people in the white coats.  They put a hard thing on her arm for a few weeks, it was fun to bite every now and then.   “Ur-Mommy” didn’t seem to have as much fun.

 

Now that I am so big I get to go to school.  I go about three days a week.  I am learning all sorts of stuff.  When I practice at home the “Big-Hand” and “Ur-Mommy” get all excited, and I get a treat.  It is pretty easy and they are kinda cute when they get excited.  The treat is just extra.

 

I have a couple of big beds to sleep on and a thing I really like, called a “crate.”  However, at night I know the “Big Hand” and “Ur-Mommy” get scared, especially when the coyotes howl, so I jump up on the bed, to let them know they are safe.   At first the “Big Hand” would put me back in my bed, but I know better, and kept at it, so now I have trained them to just let me do my job.  They train so easily.  I have plans for other stuff.

 

Things are going great here.  The food is good, just like I got in Cherryville with all of my vitamins.  But, I still don’t get any of the big feasts the “Big-Hand” and “Ur-Mommy” gets.  That’s one of the plans I’m working on and I am practicing my “sad-eye-pitiful-look.”

 

The “Big Hand” and “Ur-Mommy” says I am a wonderful dog….I knew that!  While I know they really miss the other dogs like me that used to live with them, Lester, Baxter and especially Marley, they sure show that they think I am a very special hound.  And they say I am the prettiest smartest girl they have ever seen, and the most affectionate (treats help there quite a bit).  Now that I am so big, I get to go everywhere with them.  They say they are so very glad that they found us in Cherryville.  They say they wholeheartedly agree with all of the great things people write about Kacie and us Evenstar-Wesridge hounds.

 

Well that’s about all, I have included a couple of photos, one with my favorite toy…it tugs great!!

 

I miss you all;

Dixie

 

Hey Kacie, I just wanted to give you an update on Luke “Shock Top”. First I have never had a dog where were we have bonded so quick. That dog is so loyal to me and is attached to my hip. I take him to show houses with me and the clients love him. He is super with my daughters and loves them to death.
I started training him mid August on tracking once I felt his obedience training was good enough. I started him out with liver drags at short distances and progressively got further and introduced more complicated scenarios along the way. The dog is a natural. By Late September Luke was tracking in layers. What I mean by that was he was not only identifying blood scent and organ scent but hide scent and earth scent. I had a friend during muzzle loader season call me because his wife shot a deer that she could not find. When Luke got on the ground, he took me straight to the deer with no hesitation.
At the end of October I took him up to Illinois with me. On November 1st I shot a deer directly under my tree. The angle was horrible and there was very little blood. I gave the deer a couple of hours and loaded Luke up. We started looking for the deer and he got on the trail. The dog was literally finding pin sized blood droplets in the middle of an 8 acre hay field. Long story short after a long 400 yard track Luke ran and jumped into my arms. I knew he was keyed up but wasn’t sure why. I shined my light to where he had just came from to see the biggest deer that I have ever shot laying there. If it had not been for Luke I would not have found that deer. What was awesome is his reaction when he found it. It was like he was so excited for me.
A couple of days later word had gotten to another hunter that I had a tracking dog and how he found my deer. He asked if I could come track a deer that he shot 3 days prior. To give the difficulty of this track some perspective, it was extremely windy and it had snowed the day prior. I put Luke on the track and he went to work. Long story short Luke tracked this deer for a mile and a half. His pull was consistent and strong. Strong enough to pull me through a briar patch and get me all cut up. At times the hunter wanted to give up but Luke wasn’t having it. He found the deer still alive bedded down in a creek. The hunter had placed a bad shot on him. There again, if not for Luke that deer would have had a slow miserable death. I cannot say enough about the dog that you provided. He’s a beautiful dog, and super easy to train. I love him so much and it’s so needed after the passing of my father last year. I am sending a few pics behind this text to share the tracks he has been on.

We couldn’t be happy with our new puppy. She is absolutely beautiful and loving!! EvenStar was great they delivered her right to our door and all we had to do was love her. They have kept in touch to make sure our new baby adapted well. Pepper our blue tick hound has adapted so well, she just came in and is a part of our family. Pepper is extremely smart and is unbelievably loving. She has done well with our other dog and they play all the time. Her markings are perfect, she is just beautiful!!!!! She is so good with our children, she loves them and they love her!!! I definitely recommend Evenstar!Thank you for everything Evenstar!!!!!

Amanda Grimes

Morris Alabama

So proud of Evenstar’s Jodi is now a UKC Bench Champion!
Congratulations to Owners Amber and Reacy

Hi to Everyone in Cherryville;

Thought I’d let you all know how it is going ”out west” where people talk strange. There is some weird things here. One thing is the “Big Hand.” The “Big Hand” is attached to the male person here. The “Big Hand” is the part that picks me up and carries me around. It is fun. The “Big Hand” picks me up and takes me out side all the time, even in the middle of the night? If I go “potty” when the Big Hand tales me out side, the “Big Hand” gets all happy and excited. Sometimes, when I feel like going “potty” in the giant kennel where we all live, because there is all sorts of stuff I may miss if I go outside, the “Big Hand” is not very happy. It is real fun to do both. Although I think making the “Big Hand “ happy is better than not. Especially since I decided to try and drink out of a giant water bowl they have outside. When I jumped in, it was real deep and scary. The “Big Hand” scooped me out, so I think it is best to keep the “Big Hand” happy and I think I will stick with my smaller bowl.

The food and other stuff here the same as I got in Cherryville. I eat it all every day. However, I just discovered that the “Big Hand” has daily giant feasts with every kind of ambrosia I could ever think of. I try every trick I can think of to get some of it, but so far. No dice. I haven’t given up and have a few ideas I may try out. I do have a bunch of toys and things to play and chew on. The “Big Hand” will sometimes help me play. He is strange, when I try to play nip and chew on him, he does not like it. I still try every now and then, but he is not getting it, so I may just quit. My food is really good, and the person in a white coat who always seems to want to stick me with a needle, while telling me how “good I am”, says I am now 20lbs. She’s ok, but I am getting tired of the needles.

The “Big Hand” take me out of the big kennel to what he calls “out front.” But he first puts a piece of cloth around my neck, and attaches a longer cloth to that. I try to pull him around so he can see stuff, then I take him back to the big kennel, so he won’t get lost. And if I get tired, or things start to be scary, the “Big Hand” picks me up and carries me, until he’s not scared anymore, or I see something I need to sniff and look closer at, and squirm my way back to the ground. I have found that if I run to the “Big Hand” when he says “Dixie”, I get a wonderful peanut butter flavored soft chew. The “Big Hand” gets all excited when I do that. He is so easy to get excited. I also will put my bottom on the ground when the “Big Hand” says “sit.” I get another treat, and he gets all excited. He’s fun to watch. The treats are a big plus too!

Well, that’s all for now, we are going to get into the big moving kennel and go for what the “Big Hand” calls a ride. Its ok and we get to hang out, which makes the “Big Hand” happy, so I guess I will go along. I have a bunch of other stuff to tell you all, but I gotta go for now. The “Big Hand” keeps saying what a great puppy I am…..I think he’s right.

Miss you all there,

Dixie (aka Amelia)