He claims that he can't read ....

 

... but I know he can.

 

Ace is MY Dog.

Ace and I have become best friends.  He watches me leave for work from the front door.  He waits for me to come home, and is excited when I arrive.  As I pull into the drive way, he pounds on the door, barking and wagging his tail. 

When I come in, he sticks right beside me.  If I move, he moves.  He watches and listens for instruction.  If I ask "Would you like to go for a ride?",  he bolts for the door and runs to the car.  When I open the door and say "Load up!" he leaps into the back seat.  If I ask "Want to go for a walk?", he heads for the door.  

The picture above was taken in a nearby park where we like to hike.  He is sitting on a rock in a stream, and I am sitting on a bench taking his picture on my cellphone.  Right after I snapped his photo, I began checking my email on the phone, and my attention was drawn to a work related message.  

Ace sat patiently, then stood up and walked over to me.  With one swat, he knocked the cellphone from my hand and onto the ground.  He stood their looking at me. I honestly think he was telling me that he'd been waiting all day, and this was his time with me.  I thought about it for a second and agreed, and I put the phone in my pocket.  

Ace is My dog, and he has chosen me to be his master.  That's quite an honor.  I plan to live up to it.  

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY ACE!

 

I hope your treats and toys have made you 

feel special today.

Ace comes home from the Doggy Spa

 

 

Here's the Tough Guy after his visit to the Doggy Spa.  He's had his summer cut, and and his "manny-peddy".  With his short cut, he's fluffy again, like he was when he was a puppy.   

 

Ace will be 3 years old in a few weeks.  What a great 3 years it's been!

   

Scroll up to the main photo, and compare it to the one in this post above.

 

What a special dog he has become. 

High Tailing it in Virginia's Grayson Highlands State Park!

What a blessing today was!  Here is my beautiful Ace, strutting along the road in the Grayson Highlands State Park, near Mouth of Wilson, Virginia.   Today was an incredible early spring day, and the weather and scenery could not have been more perfect.  Despite a few snow drifts that had the road closed, we walked out to the high meadows (in the background), and had the park to ourselves.

 

For a Golden Retriever that spends most of the winter inside, this was a wonderful opportunity for Ace to run, explore, and play. We sat on this rock for a while, enjoying the view, and soaking up the fresh mountain air and the warmth of the sun.  

 

 

From the top of this mountain, you feel like the whole world just unfolds out in front of you. Almost unbelievably, from a location not far from here, we could see all the way back to Beech Mountain in Avery County, North Carolina. 

 

It was truly a glorious day!  

____________________________________

Ace, the Deer Chaser

The Deer Chaser

One thing about this dog is certain; when his sense of smell takes over and he is focused on something, his brain and ears will shut completely off.

Here we are in the New River State Park on a mild February day.  Ace I and were walking down this path, when two huge deer jumped across the trail and took him for a cross country marathon.

He was gone for 15-20 minutes chasing them, with me calling and whistling for him.  And when he returned, his tongue was dragging the ground and he was as happy as he could be.  I wonder what he planned to do with those two deer if he'd caught them?

Shortly after I took this photo, two fighter jets came streaking across the ridge top at low altitude, - as if they were in a chase.  The screamed out around a distant mountain peak and circled back around, roaring right back over my and Ace's heads.

It was surreal that day with deer jumping around us, and thundering fighter jets swirling above us.  My first thought was that I really wished someone was here to witness these events with me.

Then I realized, ... there had been.