Did you see our “Tidbit” Post the last time? Let’s see if you can put together one of THOSE “tidbits” with this picture today to figure out my “Miss Mercy Mystery Monday” mystery. What do YOU think this is? Do you think you know who used this and why? The ones with the right answers will get to be in a Corgi Toss, and we will see who BG chooses to be the winner!
We DID it… We Kept the Secret! See Mr. Mango… we TOLD you we could keep a secret! Did we do good? Did WE!? 
GrandPaw picked me up and we watched it go over and then it circled around and came down for a landing, and out came the most hugest dog we’d EVER seen!
You guessed it! Mr. Mango, himself, had come to visit with us. We had been told about him and his visit to Corgi Country during Operation Wack-A Squirrel, but that was before we were born. 
He had come to personally invite Grandma OC to be a JUDGE for the 2010 Mango Minster Dog Show! He asked her to judge the Herding Class for him. She talked with him for a while, and said that she would let him know.
He talked to us for a little bit, and asked us to promise that we wouldn’t say anything until everything was finalized, and we DIDN'T, even though that was a BIG secret... (Aren't you proud of us?) Then Mr. Mango got back into his jet and headed back to Master Chew Sits. He said he was glad to get out of the snow for a while.
Grandma wasn’t sure, at the time, and had to think about it because of her health issues. Grandma has let Mr. Mango know that she has accepted the honor and responsibility that he has bestowed upon her. So now Grandma OC is really working a lot with Mama Dott so that she will be able to take care of the responsibility of running Corgi Country while Grandma is gone to Mr. Mango’s for the judging. She will leave at the end of January for about a week.
Grandma OC is judging the Herding Group, so she is hoping to have a fairly big showing of “herding dogs” of ANY breed. Her main criteria will be pictures that “show the action” of a dog “herding” something, be it bird, bug, livestock, kids, etc., like this one of our Great Grandpa, Buddy. Rules for entering are HERE.
To make it completely fair, and since this can’t be judged on looks, she will do two “corgi tosses.” Everyone who makes it through the original criteria (action herding shot) will have their names and/or pictures put on paper and tossed out into a specific area, and then she will choose seven to ten for her first cut (as in regular shows). This will be taped so that it can be seen. The final cut will be chosen from those and the results will be posted on the Mango Minster site on the Herding Dog Judging Day.
Because of this judging formula, we have been told that we can enter this class too, if we want… We aren’t sure if we will enter or if we will go for “Working Dogs.” We are just so excited… Pippin is just DANCING!!!
OC: Come on, you “Herding Dogs” out there, get your pics in! We’ve heard there are some pretty great prizes coming in for the winners! 
Twix gave a challenge to all her friends to post about their name/s and how they got those names. This is what she had to say: I am always curious as to how our parents come up with the names they give us. I would love it if all my furiends did a post talking about how they got their name, so, I decided to start The Name Game. I am tagging each and every one of you to post about your name and you can tag who ever you would like.
Since I’m the oldest, and head Matriarch of the Corgi Crew, I get to go first. Most of you already know that OC is short for Ornery Cuss, or sometimes Ornery Critter. Mom named me that because even when I was a tiny pup I used to tear into my brother’s ears and make him cry. (I'm the one on the left)
Other nicknames I am called include, but are not limited to: Ocsss (Long O sound and ess sound run together), OC Myers, Ocsss-moses (Sort of like osmosis only with a long O sound), My “O” Dog, Pretty Girl, Beautiful Girl, Love “O,” OC-Mo, Noisy Dog and “SHUT UP!”
I also am sometimes called OC Nose because I move so much that sometimes my nose does weird things in pictures. 
BG got his name because it is short for Bud’s Grandson. He was named by Mom’s son that was going to take him when he was a pup, and Buddy had made that son his person. They had been very close and so he wanted to name BG after Buddy.
He is also called Beeg (j sound), Beeger, BG-BG Boy, Boy Boy, and Chunky Butt (Bud was Butter Butt, so his grandson is Chunky Butt) by Mom. Dad calls him Little Man or Cute Little Man as well, and Robert calls him Goofy, Dawg, Butt Mutt, and Fat Butt.
Dott has a million names! She was called Dott right from the time she was a tiny pup because she had a little “dot” on the back of her neck. She was little, and when her book got written, she was called Little Dott. That morphed into Dorothy Joy Wigglebottom because people that are nicknamed “Dot” (including a very dear friend of ours) are usually “Dorothy’s.” The Joy was because she brings her Master, Robert such joy, and the Wigglebottom is the “Lady-like” form of Wigglebutt since she is from the “Butt” family. Her Daddy is a nutcase when it comes to his “Dotter.”
He is a Star Trek and Sci-Fi nut as well… Uh… Mom says I should say “Fan” so he won’t get upset with me… so some of her nicknames come from those sources, like: The Precious (in best “Golem” – from “Lord of the Rings”- impersonation), Low Cutest of Corg (Like in Star Trek Locutus of Borg), Dottie of Mine (From Seven of Nine… also Star Trek), and Wonder Dott. (Personally, I think HE is the one that is a little dottie!!... but I have NO doubt that he loves her!)
He also calls her: Sugars, Sweetness, Wiggle Butt, Baby Face, Sweetums, Cuddly Muffin, Sugar Dumplin,’and Big ole Slice of Sweetie Pie. Rather sickening sweet if you ask me! She says she can’t be blamed if she doesn’t come sometimes if she is busy because she can’t remember all those different names… That’s HER story and she’s sticking to it!
Grammy calls her Dott, Dottie, Grand-Dotter, Precious, Monkey Nose (Which drives Robert up a wall!) and Turkey Tush, while Papa calls her Dott, Dottie, Dott-tore, Pest, and Spoiled Rotten.
Ok… OK! MOM says I HAVE to put in Sadie’s names, too. (Grumble, mumble) I DON’T KNOW WHY!!! SHE isn’t a Corgi!!! OK, MOM!!!! I’m doing it!
The pups call her Auntie Sadie, but she is also called: Silly Sadie, Sadie Lady, and Shady Sadie Lady. She also gets called, Slap Dog, Nut Case Dog, Slap-Happy Sadie, and Super Silly Sadie (She is such a kiss-up and gets all goofy if I’m not around to keep her in line – like I’m outside or something - and Mom pets her).
Whenever Robert is trying to take a picture of her, she is called Shady or Absence of Light, and when she comes in covered in Horehound, she is usually called Horehound or Spike Tail… as in “Quit waving that ole’ Spike Tail of your’s dog! You’re getting Horehounds all over the place!!!”
Thursday OWAS ReportDott is very busy perfecting her liver treat formula. She field tested it on Mango, with his permission, as a WMD, though she hasn't told anyone her exact formula. She is trying to work out how to allow for the more compact members of OWAS, like myself, to produce enough gas to be an effective weapon. We will distribute it as soon as this happens, and may be sending out test samples to test potency among differing breeds. Consider this TOP SECRET, so only those directly involved in the testing will know the truth. (Hope their masters will be tolerant!)
While the rest of us get a little R & R, I thought I would catch you up on the history of our family’s 100 Dog Year War with the squirrels. Our battle started way back, in the days of cat –i– pults and tre-bow-shays, with Grandpa Buddy and Grandma Misty manning the huge “feline” flinging machines. As they had not yet mastered photography, here is a period drawing of one of their battles. You can even see JR, the cat that thought he was a dog. He loved OC as a grand-daughter and taught her a lot when she was a pup.
Time moved on, and they mastered new technology. First, gun powder, then the combustion engine, and finally the thing that all dogs have dreamed of for millennia... FLIGHT! This was perfected around OC’s prime and here we have a photo of OC in her old fighter... notice the string of squirrels on her plane. Even at that time, she was an ace pilot.
The Dog years rolled on, like they were putting on a new perfume. We got a brave and powerful ally, when Sadie joined the ranks. She had special training in tooth to claw fighting from her youth living by herself in the wild, and her coat made her the perfect Covert Ops member.
As you may know, there has always been tension between the Air Force and Covert Ops... one likes to make a big show of the battle and fly to the rescue, while the other likes to keep things on the "down low," and make precision strikes in the heart of enemy territory. This may be a part of what fuels Mama OC’s dislike of Sadie?
The fierce battle raged on. The squirrels kept trying to take us down and our grandparents pushed back. Our Grandma Mist took her trip across the Rainbow Bridge before we were born, but Grandpa Bud told us she was a fighter to the end. This is what we were born into... this life long battle with the squirrels. Our Grandpa Bud put us through our paces from the time we were old enough to walk.
So we grew up primed and ready for action. The battle was hard fought and I think it finally got the best of Grandpa Bud. He took his trip across the Rainbow Bridge, but we bravely fought on, now with Mama OC leading us. The main problem was funding. We had to make do with what we had, even modifying other machines into our weapons of war. Notice the modifications to this old tractor...
This type of ingenuity is what earned us the title of “The C-Team.” We did what we could, until Dott stumbled upon Commander Tank’s mighty effort. We joined as quickly as possible, for the support, and as we were already running low on supplies, and we LOVE having the new technology!
Well that about raps things up… Oh yeah, I almost forgot, because Doug is here we thought we could use him in the fight. I even gave him a special bullet RESISTANT vest.
BG signing out.
Last time, I started telling you about my Auntie Sadie, and today I’m going to finish filling you in. Mama OC doesn’t like that I’m doing this, but it IS MY turn, and she just went off grumbling something about young dogs never listening. She didn’t actually TELL me that I COULDN’T…not is so many words… and Auntie’s taught me that sometimes you can get away with things if you weren’t actually TOLD you couldn’t do it before…
Anyway, the man that had found her, loved her, but he had to move when she was about a year old. He advertised in a free group Grammy belongs to, and that is when Grammy found out about her. She had just lost her old Shadow after 17 years, which Mama OC tells me was HER hero from when SHE was a pup. When Grammy heard about Sadie, she decided to go meet her. Grammy’d had a Sadie before, that had died from snake bite.
Grammy fell in love with her right away. She reminded her of a mixture of Shadow, old Sadie, and a black Border Collie that Grammy had trained when she was younger. She could see that Sadie was very smart. They brought her home to give her a week’s tryout and she’s been here ever since.
Sometime around when Sadie first came, is when Mama got hurt by that mean goat. She had to stay in for a year or so to heal so that she didn’t re-hurt herself, so Sadie started going out with Grandpa Bud and Grandma Mist, who were getting pretty old, to work the goats. She learned fast, but it upset Mama OC to see her out there doing “HER” job. Grammy felt bad, but she had no choice, and tried to give Mama plenty of attention, but she was still mad at Sadie. That’s when Mama OC started calling her “That young Whipper Snapper…”
About a year later, Grandma Mist passed away, and Mama OC was very depressed for awhile. Everything poor Auntie did seemed to make her angry, even though Auntie always showed her lots of respect at that time. I learned all this stuff from talking to Grandpa Bud… he liked to talk… a LOT!
About a year after that, Mama ended up having us, and then she REALLY started getting upset with Auntie, and she just has never gotten over it. Auntie still “ACTS” like she respects Mama cause she knows that Grammy considers Mama the “Alpha dog” (after Grammy, of course), but sometimes she forgets when emotions are high for some reason, like when we are heated up.
Grammy is very careful to follow the Alpha Dog Rules and let everyone know (even me sometimes) that Mama OC is the queen dog around here. If Mama is outside or something, though, Grammy gives Auntie Sadie hugs, and loves, and treats. Because she is so much bigger than us, she can pick up heavier things for Grammy, too, so sometimes she gets treats for that even when Mama is around. Grammy always asks Mama to do something so she can get a treat too. (Actually, we all do… Grammy’s pretty fair.)
Well, that should give you an idea of Auntie Sadie’s life. I’ll try to fill you in, sometime, about all the things she’s taught me… some of them aren’t always appreciated by Grammy and my Master… like my passion for new perfume fragrances…
It’s my turn to write, so I’m going to tell you about my Auntie Sadie. She is my hero! She is so big and smart. She gets to go out and help Grammy with the horses, and used to help with the goats. She even gets to go out of the pastures sometimes, though I don’t think that is with permission. She catches all sorts of different fuzzies, and even birds!
I’ve followed her around and watching her since I was a little pup. She’s always gentle with us and takes care of us as if we were her own. I don’t know why Mama hates her so much. She is always in her face and gets upset whenever we play with her, but both BG and I totally adore her. She’s taught us a lot of things.
She’s really smart, too! I heard Grammy telling someone that Auntie Sadie had learned to do the herding and all the helper dog stuff just by watching Mama and Grandma Mist do it. I guess she had to be pretty smart just to live the first several months of her life.
Auntie Sadie told me that she was found out in the fields when she was about 4 months old. She doesn’t remember to much before then. She had already been spayed, but she had been dropped, or gotten lost, and was all matted and scrawny and starved. The people that found her, advertised but didn’t get an answer, so they took her to a vet, got her shots, and got her all taken care of.
I’ve got to go for now, but I get two turns to blog this time, so I’ll finish filling you in on my special Auntie Sadie the next time, ok?
One of Mom’s horses is turning a different color. Remember the “snow” picture of Tuffy, that big old palid- mino horse that Mom is watching for her son? He was a light cream color when he came and all winter long, and now, he is turning dark gold! It’s weird to watch! When we shed, we all stay the same color, but the horses seem to get darker. The red ones are just sort of darker red. Mom calls it chestnut, but that sound more like food than a color.
It was starting to get a bit cold with so much of our winter coats gone, but as of today, I don’t think we will have THAT problem for awhile. At least Mama is moving a lot better today. Last Sunday (not this Sunday, but the one before) there was snow on the mountains about an hour from us, and today, the temperature got up to the 90’s!!!
We were WIPED by the time we got back from our morning run to the mailbox! We drank a ton of water and then plopped and stretched out all over the living room and panted for half an hour. Mom said it was like running an obstacle course to walk from one end of the room to the other.
Robert had to make extra water runs with the big barrels in the truck to fill the horses’ water barrels because they are hot and drinking like “cam melts.” I didn’t know horses melted! They still look as big as usual to me.
When our people got back from their Bible Study, they said that there had been more snakes out on the road. They had that strange dog smell on them… again!) This is getting a bit old! They go every week and always come back smelling of a strange dog... sometimes, two! They call the usual one Daisy, but I know a dog when I smell one and that DEFINITELY is NOT a flower! 
Dott followed Dad all over pushing on his leg with her nose, and sniffing very pointedly to let him know that she was not happy with him. She refused to get into his lap for a while too. Oops, Mom says I have to stop now, so I will finish this blog tomorrow… its supposed to still be hot so we should be here most all day anyway.
