Dates

Yes, hello! Sage and I apologize it has been so long since we've posted...but as you will see, there has been a lot going on. Here's the scoop!

February 4, 2011: Sage turns 2! Happy Birthday Sagey!

February 21, 2011: These little munchkins arrive at my parents house...

February 22-24, 2011: I accidentally fell in love with the munchkins. Can you blame me??

February 25, 2011: Munchkins leave for their new foster home. I may have cried a little. (There will be more about the puppies soon...)

March 10, 2011: Sage is dropped off for her Spring Break vacation! I definitely cried.

March 12, 2011: I married the man of my dreams!

March 14-21, 2011: New husband takes me to paradise for a week honeymoon!

March 15, 2011- I get my Sagey back!

March 16-present, 2011: Settling into our new home with our new family...all 5 of us!

We Run, We Play, We Catch Things...

So lately I've been having a hard time getting this crazy dog tired! Just the other day I went to the park and ran 3 miles. I took Sage along thinking she would surely be exhausted after a mile or two. We passed many runners dragging their dogs along behind them, willing them to make it another mile! But, I was the one being dragged as Sage seemed unfazed by the distance or the pace.

Thus, I've been trying to be creative as to how to run down some of this pent-up energy. I even took Sage on a run/walk as I rode the bike along side her. However, I've found the best way to get Sage tired is simply a good old fashion Frisbee game...

 I've mentioned the ChunkIt Frisbee before on a previous blog post, but it's worth mentioning it again because Sage LOVES it.

 She can play for hours...

 Between throws, Sage very politely brings the Frisbee back and drops it at my feet.

 But most of the time, she very politely drops it ON my feet. Apparently thinks that's more effective in communicating to me that she is NOT done playing yet.

When she drops it at her feet, that means she needs to take a "breather." Trust me, these are few and far between, and when they do occur...they don't last very long.

 Sorry, time to go...I think Sage is ready to play some more! Frisbee and paw on my foot means business!

It's Been a Little Chilly Here...

So I'd like to let you all in on a little secret...

Are you ready?

Ok, here it is! Sage can walk on water.

Yes, I know that may be a little shocking to some of you, but it's ok. Sage may be a DOG and those letters rearranged may look a lot like another person who can do some miraculous things, but I'm not being disrespectful here.

You see, even though Sage and I live in Texas, there has been some pretty chilly weather lately. And well, I had to do what I do best...get the camera and make Sage do whatever I tell her to!

So since the baby pool was frozen over, I thought it'd be fun to see if it was strong enough to hold someone's body weight. That someone wasn't about to be ME considering I was in tall, wool socks and pajama pants feeling so very warm and snuggley. Additionally, I was not going to take the chance that the ice wasn't strong enough to hold anyone's body weight! So I politely asked Sage if she would give it a try.

She did and after sliding around on top for a few seconds she was over it. So I had to drag her back on in order to snap a couple of pics!

Stay warm!

Sage Says to Get Married Already!!

Well, I'm sure Sage has told you already by the pitiful whining at the backdoor and stored up energy seeping from her every movement, but she has been feeling a little neglected lately...

First it was the rain, then it was the cold weather, and now...well, needless to say Sage is ready for me to "get married already!!!" Despite all my distractions, Sage has been doing a really good job of getting involved in the process so we can spend time together...

 However, she doesn't have a very long attention span and often falls asleep quickly...

 But if you ask me, I think she's being a little dramatic...

I keep telling her though, 32 days will go by very quickly and she should enjoy having her own room (and bed)! Because once we move in with the hubby and his dogs, I can't make any promises...

Backyard Destruction

Say it with me..."awwwwwwww!!! Isn't she the cutest??"

Do you see this sweet, innocent-looking puppy dog? Doesn't she just melt your heart? Don't you just want one just like her?

Well, believe it or not, she has us all fooled! Sage may be sweet, she may even be really cute, but she definitely has a need for destruction. Please browse through the following pictures and maybe feel better about your own dog...and also feel a little very sorry for my poor dad's backyard...

The wire over the holes is supposed to discourage digging...

...and discourage biting leaves off small trees and bushes...

Remember her, well, she doesn't look so innocent anymore, does she??

R.I.P. Gopher

 Note: This post may contain some material that might be offensive to people holding strong feelings of closeness toward a particular animal species...namely gophers. If you happen to fall into this category, proceed with caution.

 If you are frequent visitor to our blog, you may remember a post titled, "R.I.P. Nutria" from last February. I must start by saying that Sage is not a cold blooded killer. This is only her second rodent mortality in her not quite two years of life. We are working on it...

 Anyways, here's how it happened. It was a VERY foggy morning and I could tell Sage was ready for an adventure. And, because I too was ready for an adventure, I came armed with my camera...which is a necessity for any great adventure.

It started off as a normal walk on the ranch. There was nothing out of the ordinary. The normal obstacles were present and stoically avoided. There were cattle guards that needed to be bypassed, sticker burrs that were plucked from tender paws, barbed wire that challenged unwelcomed visitors, and scary longhorn cows that protected the path.

 Sage and I were on a mission. A mission to make it to the end of the road (and then turn around and walk back). It was all very exciting.

Well, actually, the walk wasn't all that exciting at all! It was muggy outside and the air was so thick you couldn't see farther than 30 yards. I was worried that my camera lens would fog up and almost didn't bring it along. Not much was going on. However, things quickly took an exciting turn...

 Thinking I would get another neat picture like this one, I snapped a few before I realized that Sage's head was missing! Before I knew it, she was trotting over proudly with something in her mouth. "Sage, what do you have...?" As she dropped it at my feet, I couldn't stop shaking my head. So, being the caring and compassionate person that I am, I took the lens cap off the camera and got down to ground level to document the moment!

 The poor gopher was not amused and additionally, he wasn't completely dead. I will spare you the details, but Sage "played" with him a bit longer before the end came for him, which was probably not soon enough.

I was somewhat traumatized by the whole ordeal, but Sage seemed to get over it pretty quickly. Sage spent the rest of the morning checking out other gopher mounds while I tried to capture her on camera.

 I will try not to make too many excused for Sage, but I would like to say (for the record) that she is a very playful, adventurous dog that isn't too picky when choosing her playmates. This causes a problem sometimes when she chooses playmates that are too fragile to withstand the level of intensity she attains. Rodents seem to fall into this category, unfortunately for them. Especially because Sage is pretty fun to play with!

While these R.I.P. posts are quite entertaining, I hope Sage and I don't accumulate too many of them. Or at least I hope we stick to rodents...

The Daily Adventures of Sage and Erin: The Book

Well, we have almost hit the 1 year anniversary of The Daily Adventures of Sage and Erin blog. I started writing posts last January as an English project for one of my classes. The semester came and went but the Sage blog has continued...Thank you so much for reading and following us on our adventures (special thanks to JackDaddy and Khyra And Sometimes Her Mom for your continued comments and support for our blog).

For Christmas, my sweet fiancé printed my blog and created a neat book so that we would remember my blogging year and my crazy dog adventures. A couple of days ago, it arrived on the doorstep. It is hardback, 90 pages long, and complete with a table of contents. It was neat for me to flip through the pages last night and remember the stories I've written.

I found myself laughing out loud at the Water Dog post as it took me back to that day at the park. I got a little teary eyed as I read Happy Birthday Sage all about our first year together. In one post I wrote, "I hope that it doesn't take a birthday, holiday, or special event to let the people we love know how important they are to us; that they've stolen our heart and we'll never be the same again. Because in the end, that's what matters. So thank you Sage, for reminding me of what's really important in life." 

This is not just a blog to me. It's a place where I can come to look deep inside and try to put into words this journey called life. When I chose to write about Sage for my English project, I thought it would be filled with some good pictures and some funny stories (although I often find myself laughing out loud when recounting these stories). However, this blog has become so much more than that.

This blog is a story. It's not highly edited nor completely professional. It's raw and real. It tells of a girl who thought she was ready for a dog, but was completely and pleasantly surprised when she realized what she had gotten herself into.

You see, I didn't realize that having a dog was all that difficult. And for some, it isn't. There are so many dog owners that leave their pets in the backyard and rarely interact with them except for the occasional, required trip to the vet. For those people, their dog is just another thing you're supposed to have when you grow up. Well, this wasn't the case for me. After I met Sage, everything changed.

This blog is all about that change. To see how this all started, I invite you to start at the beginning.

Meet Sage.