It’s A Crazy World!

 Wow! It has been an insane month so far! I will start by saying that I am very blessed! Some of you know I had my knee fixed in October and that surgery was amazing! I’m finally pain free in my right knee! It’s something that was just a nagging pain since I was in my teens. My orthopedic doctor who replaced my hip took care of it in October! Now back in September, I had a fall an broke and tore my ankle. My other orthopedic doctor was quick to say we will do surgery to fix it after your knee surgery. I was not expecting him to get to it RIGHT after my knee surgery but he was insisting to do it the week of thanksgiving! He said, due to deductibles and such we should just get it done! I am now 3 weeks post op from my ankle repair? I’m still baffled at what all was going on with my ankle as I have severely sprained it so many times in my life and it too was just a nagging ache. Evidently I should have had surgery done on it YEARS ago! I had several torn tendons and my ATFL was ragged so he put in an anchor for that. He said what should have been 5-10 minutes of work was more like 30-60 minutes! He expressed how mangled it was and was shocked that I had never had it looked at. Anyhow, it’s good now! I’m still in a cast and will have that removed on Christmas Eve! It is healing at a rapid rate and zero issues! I am so thankful for these two surgeons that have addressed issues that I have just been ignoring most of my life! My whole right leg has been fixed right up! My husband has been a total blessing throughout the whole ordeal! He has taken over getting our kid where he needs to be on a day to day basis and taken over most all of my chores! Yes, I totally miss taking care of my horses but I am determined to be a good patient and heal!my kid has also been great! He knows I cannot drive and has totally been patient with all of the changes. I did manage to handle all if the Christmas shopping and decorations pre surgeries! I am so looking forward to seeing my mom and Ken for Christmas and watching my kid open his presents! Just spending time with family has really kept my spirits up! 

Now for the insane part of this post! So I got a text from “my doctor” asking how my cast is doing and what not. It didn’t seem weird at first. He wanted pics and video of my cast and me walking. He then “released” me to walk. I thought wait….I will not be released even after the cast and will be in a boot for about 4-6 weeks. So my brain was switched on to this is weird…. Then he asked for me to try to use the pedals in my car? Ok at this point I was like um I can’t drive with a cast on my right leg. I said I’m sorry but I’m sore and I need to ice and elevate. Then my wheels in my brain started spinning. Then…I got another text from someone accusing me of faking my injuries to get attention? Then they threatened me? What the heck? So I called my orthopedic office and asked if it was normal for the doctor to text me. She was very concerned and said “NO, WE ONLY USE A SECURED APP” then we talked about it all and she said for sure a scammer. I also told her about the threat text. She took both numbers down and reported it to Management. I did tell them to stop contacting me and that I had filed a report. I did, in fact, call the police and two deputies came out to get my report. My brain is still swirling about why anyone would scam text about my cast? The officer said some people have weird fetiches. I’m still just in a state of red alert over it all. Well yesterday, I got ANOTHER TEXT from someone claiming to be my orthopedic doctor using his name. This time I was quick to say prove it. Then they got angry. I said if you want to know how I’m doing, call me. They did not. Then I told that person they have been reported to the police and to stop texting me. Yes, we called all of these numbers and they went to some weird voice mail. We being my best friends that are super handy! In fact, they both texted the threatening texter and got a response saying that they didn’t want any beef with them, only me. So weird. This person wanted to fight me? Y’all, I don’t fight. I am in my mid 40’s and I can say I have only been in 3 fights in my whole life and all 3 were before age 21. This whole ordeal was super insane! I did do some deep dives to see if this was a common scam and came up with nothing. That is actually why I am making this post! I don’t want anyone to ever be scammed! It’s a very weird scam! Also, the doctor texts didn’t ask any personal information. It was straight up asking how my cast was doing and if I had any pain etc. So very weird. A police report has been filed and my kid did some things to my phone to keep this from happening. 

On the flip side, I can tell you that I do not fake anything. Yes, I am very accident prone! But I do not need any sympathy and I have never asked for any money, outside help except for prayers and I do not want anyone feeling sorry for me! This is my personal health journey so I can get back to riding my horses! Addressing injuries that have happened and getting them fixed! I have been very blessed to have found a great team of doctors working together! I also love sharing knowledge about things! I could list all of my diagnoses but nah, it isn’t worth anyone’s time. I’m doing good! My husband has been a champ at helping me stay in a healing state and keeping the critters fed! I’m so excited about 2026 as I have a new pony and I have less pain issues so I get to get back in the saddle!

Anyways, I want you all to be careful about responding to texts from unknown senders. I do get texted by people wanting riding lessons. They got my number from so in so. My number is not publicly listed and all correspondence goes through email or Facebook. I do have protection on my phone, iPad and computer. So being harassed 3 times in 48 hours just blew my mind! So I pray that everyone stays safe out there! And for anyone meaning me harm, I’m not sure what bee got in your bonnet but God bless you. You have the wrong person. I will report anymore of this crazy to the police and the file will just get thicker! For everyone else, I pray you have an amazing Christmas and get to spend it with the family you love!

#doctortextscam #threatsintextscam #scamers

A New Begining of something Awesome!

 So if you keep up with my posts, you know that I got a new hip and I am retiring from barrel racing. life is a bit different now. I am still giving riding lessons. I still love my horses. I am just turning the page. Duke, my blue heeler, is now old enough to compete! We went to our first FASTCAT and he was super fast! We joined a disc league in Forney and he is doing so good! I taught him to go around me with ease. In fact, I taught it to him then just sort of forgot about it and realized he does it on his own!!! See, I am left handed. So my dog needs to be on my left side in "go" position! well he now drops the toy at my feet on my right side and goes behind me to line up on the left side. to teach this,I used a ball on the chuck-it stick and a barrel then swapped to my body with the same command. Its important for disc but not for fetch. We play fetch daily. Sometimes multiple times a day! I was playing fetch yesterday and realized he does it without me asking! When we went to Disc club on Tuesday, he did it without me asking! The head of our club complemented us on the "around" traiining! Honestly, since it is timmed, I didnt even ask. My job is to get as many throws in as possible in 60 seconds! So my focus was getting him to bring it all the way back and me throwing a roller as far as I can! My boy was throwing the disc at my feet and getting into position all by himself! Im super proud of this dog! 

Duke Flying Low

Duke Lining Up!

So we have been working really hard to stay in shape! Sadly, unlike barrel racing, I am not getting in shape but I can! My hip is doing better and I think we might start walking as soon as my new shoes get here! Tomorrow and Sunday, we will be competing in our second FASTCAT and Kolton will be my "catch person". I think he is enjoying our dog as well! Now, he wants to do more with Duke but I told him that he needs to work with him at home as I have worked really hard to get Duke to listen to me. In fact, Duke no longer needs his e-collar at home! His recall has gotten amazing! I can now call him off the water trough (Duke loves to dunk in the trough) with just a command! I still put it on him for disc as its in a big pasture and there are other dogs. I dont have to use it much but its a safety thing for me. Eventually we will get back to the dock diving (rain has been canceling our dog training sessions) and we will have our first dock diving competion at the end of May! 

So while I might not be competitive on my horses, I am still competitive with my dog! I so happy that I have a fetch dog again! I haven't had a fetch dog since Ruger. I missed it! We even invite Gunther out to play if its not too hot! Gunther is my lab/dachshund that is now 13. He only ever played fetch in the house! But now, he wants to play! Sometimes I feel bad for Cole and Slick. But Cole does not fetch and gets very aggresive. Slick does not fetch and just runs around like the village idiot. I can teach Slick but he has to listen to me. Maybe I will get more time with him this summer. Right now I am trying to keep up with Duke and his needs! So lets all enjoy my big Australian Cattle Dog doing his thing!

My whole right leg

 So it’s true. At age 45 I got a hip replacement after 2 failed repairs. I did have a successful rebuild back in 2013, but getting bucked off caused me to go back under and try to get it fixed again. That surgeon was cocky and a jerk. He tried. He failed, he tried again then I fired him. I found a new hip surgeon and he managed to get me a new titanium right hip for Christmas 2024! 

Of course, there were struggles. Nothing is ever cut and dry when fixing the human body. It seems that being straight in my hip revealed my old pain in my right knee. Go figure. Something that had been brought to my attention in 1993. So my surgeon went in to fix that on October 23, 2025. What was just a clean up ended up being cleaning up the crazy, damaged cartilage in my knee then doing a lateral patella release! Yay! My knee needed that! Seriously! Since 1993!!!! Well, some might recall that on 9/19/25 I broke and tore my ankle. You heard me!!! Six weeks before my knee surgery, I fell and broke my ankle! Chip fracture with ATFL tear. My other surgeon, Weido, the ankle surgeon wanted my knee fixed first. Zarling fix that knee right up! 

You should know that I take a lot of medicine for inflammation and pain. Nothing narcotic. I have to quit these meds ten days before surgery. I did that for the knee and holy cow Batman. All my pain came crashing in. The broken ankle, yeah it hurt!!! Three days after surgery I went back on my daily meds because they work better than my narcotic meds. Well I’m back on restrictions. My whole body hurts now. Sigh. I’m on antibiotics and I feel like I have been hit by a train. It will be ok. Ankle surgery will happen 11/24. Literally, my whole right leg will have been fixed in aYEAR. We started with the hip, then knee and now ankle! I have torn tendons and tears in ligaments in my right ankle. I will be in a cast for 3 weeks, a boot for four then sling until it is released! 

Yeah surgery sucks but I’m fixing myself! Just praying that all goes well and heals well! 

Protect Your Peace.

 Listen. I’m about to turn 47. I have lived a lot of life! I have experienced the drama of being a teenager. The growth of being a college student. The wonder of starting a new job. The awe of marrying the love of my life and the miracle of giving birth! I’m now watching my child go through the same cycles! (Currently the teenage angst) I have learned that sometimes you have to walk away to protect your peace. Sometimes you have to stand strong to protect your sanity. Sometimes you have to bow your head to ask for forgiveness. All of these things are part of life. 

Being a mom, I want to be a good example of a sane person for my child. I’m not one to scream and shout. I am not one to pick fights. But I do have strong beliefs and opinions. Just because I don’t shout, yell, or fight does not mean I am not passionate about my beliefs. I feel like you can’t fix stupid. No one hears the yeller. Fighting does nothing but ruffle more feathers and sometimes silence speaks louder than any words spoke. In this day and age, texting has caused more issues than any words spoken. Why? There is no way to hear the tone of voice in a text. Well, unless you do all caps. All caps is a definite “anger” text. I have lost friends over a miss read text. 🧐 Maybe they were not real friends…..but still. Teaching your child how to communicate using words is so important. I remember the first time I told my kid to call his grandpa. He was about 7? He didn’t have a phone yet. He had zero phone skills! So I had to walk him through it. He still struggles to make phone calls. We have had many talks about using your voice to communicate as it’s the best way to get your feelings heard. In fact, he and I have had a lot of deep conversation in the car. He is a smart, passionate, intelligent child of God. 

So what happened to make me write this? 🫠 I’m lacking. I’m falling behind. I have not been clearly communicating and that is causing some friction. Not with the people in my house! Nope. With others. See, I have a lot going on with my body right now. I am healing up from my “lateral patella release” surgery (2 weeks today) on my right leg. I also got a new hip 11 months ago on the same side. And, I have a chip fracture and torn ATFL in my right ankle 🫣. Pain alters my personality. I HATE pain meds. I actually only took my post op meds for my knee from that Thursday until the following Monday. I don’t like how they make me feel (think hyperactive rage) of how they trash my digestive system. If I am being honest, they give me a fake feeling of being ok enough to do too much. And I did way too much in the last two weeks. I can’t blame the pain meds past that Monday. Nope. I blame the fall air! I managed to buy a new horse, clean out my trailer, and organize my barn during my supposed to be down time. My brain fog has gotten so bad. I can barely hold a conversation due to the thoughts of what I could be doing. Sorry friends, I am trying! 

Thank God for real friends. The ones that say “whoa, we can fight but not cut ties”. I am so used to people walking out of my life the second there is conflict. It’s from a long list of poor choices in friends. So thank you to the real ones that say “hey, it was a bad day, let’s move forward”. You know whom you are! I recently had a texting conversation with someone that made my brain hurt. It got so crazy that I had to stop and protect my peace. When someone gets you so hot over something simple, maybe it’s time to touch grass.literally.  I had made a simple request that somehow turned into feeling like I asked for this persons first born. I had to block them yesterday just to protect my peace. Did they know they were blocked? Not sure. Do I still need that thing? Yes I do. Can I carry on without it? Kinda? 👀 But things would be so much easier if this person would just send this thing to me. Does t cost a dime. Not their first born, just need this one thing. See, my brain cannot let it go. I’m to the point where I feel like this person could not be in my life and everything would be fine.

Lucky for me, I married a very grounded man. He is quick to bring me back to earth when I spin out. We all need  a person like this in our lives. If you don’t have one, find one! He will listen to what is going through my head and stop me from spiraling. My brain gets going so fast. Swirling all around a text message, that has zero emotion because it’s a TEXT, and he will just say “hold on, maybe they did not mean it the way you think they did”. God bless this man!  Sometimes, I just have to block them and go touch grass. No conversation is worth your sanity. Protect your peace. Another thing I do and need to do more is PRAY. God has not let me down yet! Everything that has been sent to me by God has been a blessing, a lesson, or a wake up call. 

All of this, this stuff we have, these people in our lives, our homes, pets, livestock, vehicles etc are all a blessing for one reason or another. Do not let anyone steal your PEACE! Remember, a lesson, blessing or a wake up call! Some folks are put in our life just so we can restore our faith in humanity. Some to teach you humility. Some to remind you how to love. Some because your soul needed them. It’s ok to walk away from people that are stealing your joy. Anyhow, thank you to all three of you that read my blog! I’d love to hear how this post made you feel! Comments are open! 

It’s Been A minute!

 I’m not even sure where I’m at right now mentally! I’m super excited that I found my next horse! Midnight Cashman might be a paint, but he is QH legacy racing bloodlines! He is very very big! 16.3hh at least! But he is very chill! I had a few days left before my knee surgery and was praying like crazy to either find one or wait until after Christmas to buy. The market was all over the place. I made a checklist of what I was looking for and shared to several groups! Cash’s mama sent me a private message with a picture, a price and a statement! She said “I think I have what you’re looking for!” I asked if he happened to be registered and BAM… holy smokes. This horse had almost everything! Top of the list is Mr. Jess Perry! I wish I could remember to do these blogs on my laptop so I can share pictures 🫣! Let me describe him! He is a bay! But he has four, above the knees, white legs. Long black tail. His mane is black until the shoulder and that is where the white flows! Almost looks like someone dropped a bucket of white paint on his shoulder! He has a blaze! A very pretty head but big! The closest horse I have seen size wise is Kidd Curry Jr. my student’s horse aka Kiddo! He is also chill and HUGE. Also a Mr. Jess Perry! Cashman is a 4yo! Of course only a few months left before turning five! He was broke by a well known, for good training, trainer in OK. His owners bought him for a summer project with several others! She was honest and kind! In fact, I love the family that I bought this horse from as they are just great folks! 

I mentioned that I’m all over the place at the moment. Did you remember that I have a chip fracture and torn ATL in my right ankle? Yeah, it worse and will have to be repaired soon. But I had knee surgery scheduled for today so the ankle is “praying that it heals” but it’s getting worse 🥴. My surgery was successful for my knee. Zarling “released my patella” and cleaned up some torn cartilage. It’s big swollen now and very painful. Very very painful! But so is my ankle. Same leg. So I guess I really need to use these crutches! Which means… no playing with horses! 

I’m down to just Lynx and Cash. Of course we have the mini donkey, Evie and Cinnamon the mini mare! So for ease of feeding, Lynx is in the big field with the donkey and Cashman is living with Cinnamon! We are getting some rain, FINALLY, so I think this will work best for a few weeks! Cashman managed to pop a splint his first week home so he needs about six weeks turnout! So that is perfect! The good news is, he rides great! And typical for my style of horse, gets lazy with time off! He isn’t spooky and doesn’t have a mean bone in his body (cough cough LYNX) so I am just smitten! 

I’m looking at several weeks off for the knee. The ankle is still a mystery. Planning to fix it before Christmas if all goes well. It took a beating in the last couple of weeks and I’m a bit worried that my simple fracture is now a good break. Hurts to move my toes and zero rotation. Again, if I could add pics…. 

My kiddo is doing amazing in school and football! They are all undefeated! (9th, JV, and V) so if they keep this up, they go to playoffs! We are 8 games in! I’m super proud of this team! He is still growing and I promise, when you hear his voice, it’s his! His grades are good and he still loves youth night at the church! 

Jeff seems to be taking things in stride! He was willing to help in the horse shopping but luckily he didn’t have to pitch in other than food and fuel! My friend, Marybeth, grabbed me up Sunday! We had an amazing trip to Antlers, OK, got some good Mexican food then found out the Voss family had a blow out so we kept going north to meet them with my new best friend! We actually passed them on this long stretch of road with zero exits 😳 But we found one and pulled off in front of the John Deere house! Overall, I was super happy to get to hang out with her! Totally my kinda friend! She commented that it’s not a real road trip until we have a few detours! Yup! Exactly how I feel! She also 100% approved of my boy! But after like 10 hours on the road, my knee and ankle were toast. My knee has been having these issues since 1993. Literally had the same procedure they wanted to do to me when I was 14. 

Monday was a weird day. I hesitate to say a bad day because I got to ride my new horse! Also I got to see my neighbors (good folks) and love on their new pup! I’m just going to leave the rest of Monday in the dust. I did walk 6.9 miles and my ankle basically said some cuss words. So it was a painful day but I got to ride my new horse and he did great! 

So now it’s Thursday evening. I just took my pain pill to get me through until 1am. I won’t be missing that pill. It rained some today and crazy rain tomorrow. I’m very blessed that Jeff got to take off work to care for me as crutches in mud just flat don’t work and I’m a bit needy! 

If you have time, I sure would appreciate some prayers! My lesson program 100% depends on my leg. So I’m going to be broke for a little while. So prayers would be great! I sure hope you smiled while ready my post today! Getting a new pony is always a blessing! 

What is going on?

 So much to think about, so little time. I will start by saying, I’m on a “fix it” journey with my body right now! It all started with what “they” wanted to label as anxiety or panic attack. My doctor did a deep dive to figure out that I am hypoglycemic. Basically, my glucose likes to drop like a rock after I eat. It’s super fun. I managed to get some bloodwork done to find out I also have autoimmune type 1 diabetes. The good news is, no insulin yet! But down the rabbit hole we go! I have known, since my 20’s, that I had an autoimmune disease. In my 20’s they said RA. I took enbrel and I felt better! When it came time for us to try to get pregnant, I had to get off that medication as well as some others. But I had my diagnosis so I figured it would be easy to start back after my baby was born. I was WRONG.  In fact, I was told I do not have an autoimmune disease after I had my baby! I saw a Rheumatologist in 2011 and she ran all the tests, all the imaging and basically said I just have fibromyalgia and arthritis at age 31. Many surgeries and banged up joints later in 2015, I saw a different rheumatologist and he was a total jerk. He took x-rays and ran bloodwork to totally dismiss my concerns a month later. He said I have osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia (which he said fibromyalgia is mental and not real) and offered me zero relief. I have several doctors now. My ENT said i have shorjon’s syndrome and needed to see a rheumatologist but put me on a common medication for it that helps with my dry sinuses and all mucosal tissue. It has helped a lot but the immune system keeps flaring up! Well, I took the plunge and found a new rheumatologist today. He ordered imaging, MRI, as well as 7 vials of blood. He heard me loud and clear! He asked why I waited 10 years to go back and I told him that I was tired of the door being closed in my face. I also told him that enbrel worked for me. I was given a month supply of enbrel and promised answers in two weeks! Bonus, it will be a phone call! I think I will feel better having a label for what is going on with me.

About two weeks ago, I fell off the wheel well of my horse trailer trying to drop down my drop down windows. I heard a pop. I landed on my right ankle and it was BAD. I heard and felt something pop. Well, I finally made it to ortho yesterday. The ER said it’s just a sprain. Ortho took several x-rays and found the break! I have been walking around with just a sleeve or a light brace for two weeks with a broken ankle! No wonder it keeps blowing up! I have a chip fracture on my medial malleolus. Basically I ruptured a tendon at the bone and it broke a corner off the bone in the joint on the inside of my ankle. The x-ray was plain as day. 😣🧐🫣 But the ER missed it! Now I’m in a boot to walk, lace up stabilizer brace to drive and when I’m not walking. I have an MRI scheduled tomorrow to see what else I did to it! I have never broken a bone! I have been told “ you might have cracked ribs but we don’t see anything” same with my toe. But never a truly broken bone. So when this happened, I knew. It was a totally new feeling and HURT LIKE HELL! I’m sure it will heal fine. I’m also having a bone spur removed from the underside of my patella in my right knee in October! So I’m praying no surgery on the ankle!

Then….something new happened. About three weeks ago, the crest of my left hip started screaming! It got worse every day! Now it’s to the point of burning on my upper thigh. My orthopedic doc says that is my sciatica. Really!? Geez! It hurts like fire! I will as my physical therapist about some stretches tomorrow after my first round of MRI’s on my ankle. 🫣

Saying all this makes me question my addiction to horses! The only place I do not feel pain is when I’m riding. 🫤 There is no way I will give up my horses! My new hip has settled! I want to ride! But I have a broken ankle 😒 Perhaps I can just ride without a stirrup? 

Anyhow, I’m just a 46 year old train wreck that is addicted to 1200 pound animals whom might hurt me if they wanted too!

So where do I go next? I think that once a diagnosis is given from the Rhematologist, and insight from the endocrinologist as well as having my knee fixed and my ankle healed, I will be ready to ride again! In the mean time, I shall be my child’s uber, a slave to my four legged kids and still a riding coach! 💪🏼 

Summer 2025

 Hello world! Wow, I can’t believe it’s summer of 2025! That means I graduated with my masters degree TWENTY YEARS AGO! WTH? I’m not that old! Then my child was telling me that in six months he will have his permit to drive so he can drive me around in the dark. Holy cow! My baby will be 15 in six months! What is going on? How is time moving faster yet the days seem to drag? I guess this is my new normal? I will be married for 18 years in September! Jeff and I have been together for 26 years! Y'all, that is now more than half my existence on this earth! Time is just flat flying! We are even talking about where to live when we retire! In fact, we are taking about what we will do when our kid goes off to college. I’m not ready! Slow down! 

In this chapter of my life, I am, once again, trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. I had the same feeling 20 years ago. All I knew that I was 100% in love with my now husband. I knew I had two horses, two dogs and needed to do something. I snatched a job working in research at Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine. I only made $13 an hour but it was enough to live on alone. I was stuck. I should have taken some education classes to become a certified teacher. But, I was out of school money and wasn’t sure what I really wanted out of life. Well, except to get married, keep riding and keep my dogs happy! A year later, I jumped ship, moved to Pineland, TX with all of my four legged kids to move forward with our relationship. Little did I know, that was exactly what I needed to do. We bought a house on land. We got married. We had a lot of horses! I barrel raced. I worked part time and I finally got pregnant! When our boy was born, we moved up to East of Dallas area because Jeff took a job in Dallas! It was crazy! Moving with a six week old baby, 2dogs, six horses and all of our stuff! But it all worked out. I quickly got down to 3 horses and we quickly found a home to buy. In fact, we are coming up on living in our home for 14 years!!! Time has flown by! 

Recently, we have decided it’s time for a shop/barn. I have been dreaming of having a barn since we moved here. A real barn with stalls, a tack/feed room and a breezeway where I can play pretty pony, clean tack, or just sit and stare at my horse while my dogs play in the dirt. I think it’s fixing to happen!!!! I’m stoked!!! No, my horses won’t live in stalls but I can bring them up when I want or need and I will be able to take better care of them. For example- Bob is having issues with morning grass. Dew poisoning of sorts. I will be able to keep him up during the dewy hours and let those ankles stay dry! Lynx is always hurting himself. Now I will have a stall to put him in so he can heal! Have lessons? I can stall up the horse I plan to use and spend more time with my students discussing how to groom and saddle without standing in the sun!!! It will be epic! 

I’m still not barrel racing. I did jump ride a mare for a student last weekend and remembered why I am not barrel racing. I need to learn how to get along with my new titanium hip! I still enjoy riding but it is not a priority at the moment. Honestly, I feel like jerking shoes off the horses and just letting them be. But Bob has arthritis in his front feet and Lynx has his injury so I can’t do it. Bob still loves me. I don’t ask him for much. He hates to lope. No big deal! His long trot is amazing! Lynx wants to lope but it makes him sore. I try not to ride Lynx as when I do, he wants to workout! So horses are still a big part of my life. Just not the main event.

Then we have Duke! Duke is the Australian Cattle Dog that we adopted from the streets of our small town last year! He was about 9-10 weeks old when we got him. (Totally guessing as he still had shark teeth) This dog is everything I want rolled into one! I swear that my first heeler, Ruger, and my last heeler, Gauge, got together in Heaven and discussed what they wanted to send me to make me happy! Duke fetches like Ruger! Loves the ball! Will play fetch for hours! He swims like Ruger too! If there is water, he is in the water! He wants to be with me 24/7. Both Ruger and Gauge were with me all the time! He loves riding in the truck! Ruger was always down for a road trip! Gauge was great in the truck but more because she got to go with me. She was about the destination not the travel. Duke is just down for whatever we are doing together! He actually loves baths. I think that was more Ruger than Gauge! He loves people! Way more Gauge than Ruger. Gauge would tolerate anyone that I tolerated. Ruger was way more judgmental. He would bite one out of ten. But he had a reason for it. That one was usually aggressive towards me. He was a protector. Duke is a protector but does more things like blocking me from negative people/pets/objects. He is 100% chill. Totally like Gauge. She didn’t get rowdy about much of anything except loading up! He asserts his dominance over the other dogs with a look or body language. That was Gauge. Ruger would just take the other dog down. He tells me what he needs. If the door is closed and he needs out, he will rack the spring on the door. Gauge did that! I didn’t train either to do it!!! Ruger was more of a bark at mom kinda fella. So I have the perfect dog! The only thing I wish was different, I wish he would stay in bed when daddy isn’t home. Gauge would. Ruger would only stay in bed until I fell asleep then he was on the floor. I’m sure it was to keep an ear out for stranger danger. Gauge knew that I wanted cuddles. She would not be “on me” but she would lay at my feet. But only if daddy wasn’t there. If he was, she would stay until he came to bed. Duke will stay until I kill the lamp and tv. 

So this dog has opened some new doors for me. We compete! We do dock diving, fast cat, frisbee… I’m sure we will do more things as he gets older! I’m just not sure what to try next. He doesn’t like agility but I don’t either as I can’t run lol! We did get invited to a frisbee club called bite club! I think we will look into it! 

Then we have my human child! He is all over the place with sports and school! I swear he signs up for every sports opportunity he can! That is why I have to manage my expectations for the dog sports. I want to be there to cheer on my kid! I’m super proud of him! I love football! Not a fan of basketball. I do love watching him run track and do the high jump! And of course, baseball! But I think football is my favorite! 

So my current dilemma is… what am I doing? Before I could say “I am a mom, wife and barrel racer”… I can’t say what I am now except mom and wife. And that is ok! I love those two titles! Perhaps, once we are empty nesters, I can get into breeding dogs? Horses? Idk. Time will tell! I’d love to have a kennel of well bred pups! Jeff might go crazy though! He doesn’t like having more than one dog. We shall see! Right now I’m working on swimming Duke to build his skills. Slick, my corgi, Aussie mix still has zero idea about fetch. He is more of the annoying little brother type. Cole, the shelter heeler is for sure not one to play fetch as he gets stupid excited and bites the hand that throws the toy. It hurts and I can’t afford to hurt anymore! But Duke can do it all!

Check back in a few months and see what I find out about myself as my lesson program grows and my dog skills become a priority!