Shaq & Shasta Update
9/10/00Copyright © 2001 Ray Hebert
Howdy All,
Shaq, Shasta and I have been in Montana resting and charging our batteries for the next adventure. Sure was pleasant to enjoy the splendor without having to worry about much of anything.
We drove out to Montana, which was a long drive. We did it in one day. Shaq was sprawled out in the back seat of the car, and Shasta was stretched out in the front with her head on my lap. Every 200 miles or so we would find a rest area so that they could get out and stretch and run a little. On the way back we stopped in Mitchell South Dakota to visit the Cabelos sporting goods store. Shaq and Shasta got a new set of dinner plates with Labs on them. Very stylish.
We arrived in Bozeman around 6pm and had dinner with Terry. While having dinner he inquired what our plans were. Well I thought we were going to go for a hike up to Castle Rock. Nope that was closed due to fire danger. No problem we will go up to Hylite reservoir and let the kids swim in the cool mountain water. Nope closed too. Hmmmmmmmmm Can we hike up to the M? (The M is the world largest block letter and sits above Bozeman) Nope close as well. Well what can we do? Terry informed us that we could swim at the ranch or go to the Bozeman ponds. So that is what we did for our stay. With all the fires in Western Montana all the forest service land was closed, which meant little opportunity for hiking and such in the mountains.
Shaq, Shasta, Geronimo (Shaq's Dad) and occasionally Missy and Choco (Terry's Chocolate Labs) went swimming. Shaq and Shasta loved it. Shaq's wish in life is to be able to wake up each morning and go for a swim.
Shasta really blossomed into a retriever on this trip. Normally, Shasta will let another dog retrieve if they have a step on her. On this trip, after a day of not getting much of anything she started to race for the retrieve with the other dogs and she found that more often then not she was the first one there. So good for her.
Shasta usually carries things back very softly. Once while bringing back her ball from a water retrieve Missy came up and grabbed it out of her mouth. She was pissed. Next time she got it, Missy tried to take it again. She held on tight and growled at her. She was not going to let it go.
Shaq showed everyone that he could walk on water. Choco is a great swimmer, but she will usually charge into the water and start swimming as soon as it gets deep enough. Shaq charges in and walks across the water for a bit then settles into swim when he can't run anymore. It is something to see, very hard to describe.
Having Shaq around means that you never have to bend over to pick up anything. He will be more than happy to pick it up for you and put it in your hand. All you have to say is deliver, and off he goes. Geronimo likes to chew on what ever it is he is retrieving. Shaq figured this out and would stand by until he dropped it for a second. Then he would dart in and grab it and bring it back so it could be thrown again.
Thus, that is our trip out to Montana. I am finally on my way to Austin to start work. Shaq and Shasta are staying in South Dakota until our house closes in Austin on October 3rd. I think that they will be happy in Austin. They will have a huge yard to play in, 3/4 acre with about half of it fenced. I will need to see about seeing if any of my friends from Montana want to have a nice vacation in the sun this winter and help finish off the rest of the yard.
We hope each of you had a good summer. Don't forget that the Summer Olympics are coming up. If you have access to Australian or Canadian television you will actually get to see the Games unlike us poor souls in the States who will see "highlights" with "Human Interest Stories" of the games. As soon as I get down to Austin I will have to find a sports bar with a real satellite dish that can get the Canadian broadcast.
Cheers,
Ray & Shaq & Shasta
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