Otis had his birthday cake with lit candles and we all sang. Then the dogs lined up and each got a piece of this specially-flown-in-from-Florida dog birthday cake and there were no squabbles about food. It was truly a perfect day all the way around.

Milo, Otis & Bonnie: "Are you gonna finish those ribs?"

Otis gave up, but Bonnie, Hazel & Bailey didn't:
"Are you SURE you're gonna finish those ribs??"

"Hey! This doesn't feel like a 'Dale!"

Nan Hamilton with Hazel:
"Mummie, pleeeeeze tell all these uprights
and their goofballs to GO HOME!"

There are awards to be given out to yesterday's participants of the First Ever Boston ADT Listers Walk, eerrr Hike!:

The Good Sport Award is the first to be given out and it goes to John Sheehan for being the only man to join our group!

The first runner up is Shirley Sanborn for not punishing Otis when he dove into a mud pond while sporting his new coif and clean smell!

The second runner up is another Sheehan (I think this was rigged). It goes to Caitlin Sheehan who is only six years old and kept up with us old timers without one little complaint . . . WAY TO GO CAITLIN!!!

Then we have an award for Bringin' Up The Rear! That has the distinguished honor of going to Susan Metcalf . . . or should it be Roger for pulling her along!!

And Last but not Least . . . the highest honor is the Medal Of ADT Valor and that goes without question to our fearless leader Nan Hamilton who not only took us all on a wonderful journey, but then invited us all into her home for great food and even greater company . . . . Let's Hear It For Nan Hamilton . . . HIP HIP HOORAY!!!! Thank you all for making this journey a truly beautiful and memorable one.

SUSAN SHEEHAN writes:

It was a wonderful time yesterday! I think Lesley's Rottie, Karl should get an award too! What a nice dog he is! And to be such a good, quiet dog with all those crazy dales!!

Many, many thanks to Nan for everything! Thank doG she knew where she was, or we all would have gotten lost and would never be heard from again! A few days ago Kanako asked about what living in Boston with dogs is like and we mentioned how close to the city lots of good walking places are!! The Fells are only a few minutes from downtown Boston and they are SO beautiful!! Deep woods! What a great walk!

NAN HAMILTON writes:

It really was a great day. The weather was as good as it gets in January, positively balmy. At first, many walkers didn't want to let their dogs off-leash, for fear the dogs would take off and never be seen again. Thank you all for letting them go. I was pretty sure the crowd of dogs and love of their people would keep them nearby and no dog was ever went more than about 20 feet away.

There was a forward pack of five dogs (Hazel, Dinah, Kelly, Otis, & Cameron) always about ten feet ahead of us on the trail. Leslie's Cameron had never been off-leash before and she routinely dropped back just to make sure that Mom was still there. It was wonderful to see how responsible they all were.

At one point, there was a Mom and two boys coming towards us. The Mom said, "They were just asking when they would get to see some dogs!" There were two very happy kids being swarmed by Airedales . . .

Occasionally, we encountered non-dog people and while there was never any real problem, to be able to call off the more enthusiastic dogs would have been useful. All in all, the dogs were remarkably well-behaved and responsive to direction.

I was more concerned about what would happen with people waving ribs around and a crowd of dogs in close quarters. Wait 'til you see the pictures! I was amazed. The dogs were absolutely perfect! The living room was wall-to-wall dogs and not a single growl or tense moment. Most dogs focused on their owners (I'm willing to bet some of these dogs get fed at the table!) with soulful expressions waiting for a tidbit.

When their person(s) ran out of food, most would look around and concentrate on whoever else was eating. Mind you, these were hungry dogs after the long trek through the woods and it was supper time for most of them. What a good-humoured bunch . . .

It was wonderful to meet all the people who had only been cyber-people and just as wonderful to meet the dogs, no longer cyber-dogs to me. Big bad Bailey was just an enthusiastic youngster. Roger, Susan's puppy is a knock-out. Look for him in the conformation ring soon. Dinah & Kelly continued their on-going flirtation. Cameron looks like a big bear. Otis & Milo look so much alike - even their collars were the same - so I could never figure which was which. Both were mellow fellows. And thanks to Dinah & Hazel for being such good hostesses!

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Thanks to Jamie Hare for the Animated Airedale Graphics

dogs have joined Misha (@RB), April (@RB), Cari & Rico on the couch since 16 AUGUST 1996. We hope you all were comfy!!

 INTRODUCING MISHA (@RB), APRIL (@RB), CARI & RICO

Remember to bring along your virtual pooper-scooper!