Coping strategy, number one

Getting through last 15 months with a son in Iraq wasn't easy. To help us get through it, we devised a couple of "coping" strategies to keep our minds off what we were seeing on TV. Here's the first one:
Her name is Olustee and she is a three-year old border collie (much younger in this picture). If you know anything about border collies, you know they are very busy dogs and not the best fit for everyone. But she is perfect for us. She is always eager for a romp in the yard. Because Gayle and I both work out of the house, we are always here and she is ready to play at a moment's notice. She is a great distraction.

Of course, when we got her, we were with the 99 percenters and the war was over there. She was the runt of an 11-pup litter and my oldest son has her sister, Bodie. Both dogs were so small when they arrived in Florida, we had to keep them in a covered pen for fear that they would fall prey to our neighborhood broad-winged hawk.



My airborne trooper is partial to our older pound puppy who never learned to play with people. She was two years old when we adopted her. She is very friendly malumute-German shepherd mix with a ferocious bark.



At any rate, whenever we felt a bit down, a thirty minute frisbee toss with Olustee would cheer up all concerned and we could move on.





Both dogs like to ride in trucks, especially new ones. But I don't think they were so lucky this time.