My Miles

Sunday, January 04, 2026

My Border Collie, Miles, turned fifteen this year. Yesterday, he crossed the Rainbow Bridge. I cannot say enough about how special he was.

Miles was a big boy. His beautiful double coat made him appear larger than his fifty pounds—all of them slim, flexible, and fast across countless horse trails, with me and the rest of our entourage. He never passed up an opportunity to swim in water holes or wallow in mud.

He was an independent fellow. He didn’t push other dogs around, nor did he allow others to push him. During our many trail adventures, there were long stretches when I couldn’t see Miles, but I always knew he was tracking—and before long, he’d appear ahead of us on the trail.

The dogs and I often hiked a small BLM parcel alongside an irrigation canal. Miles adored that canal. He swam in it, snorkeled in it, and leaped from one side to the other. He also loved the area’s high, rocky peaks, his flexible body handling even the toughest terrain with ease.

Miles was a true Border Collie. His herding instinct was immense. The one thing that might have made his life even more complete would have been a herd—sheep, cattle, or any group of critters needing a decision-maker to help guide them.

Even without that, Miles had a lifetime full of joy. He fairly earned the arthritis that gradually overtook his once-extraordinary flexibility. His mind, however, never accepted those physical limits. Miles insisted on going everywhere with me—and always insisted on being off-leash. Eventually, his safety required otherwise, when his body could no longer support his free-ranging spirit.

I loved Miles. That big Border Collie was a gift for many years. I miss him now—and will forever—because he was one of a kind, irreplaceable.

— Diana

Toward Fall

Saturday, November 09, 2024

I have the closing shift today at my part-time job. I will feed my horses a final time this day in darkness. Nighttimes, I don’t feed them inside the barn, and I wear a headlamp while out among them. My horses are easy to get along with–infrequently spooky and running around; but dark-time feeding calls for cautious navigating among the large, hungry, and anticipating animals.

All that will become more so closer to Christmas, as the store will stay open until eleven in the evenings, and I’ll have to work on some late closing shifts. I’ll still be challenged to feed horses in darkness, but later, around midnight. And with my dogs barking.

I let my dogs be outside in their fenced area while I work with horses in darkness. I recognize routine barking, and if the barks become intense, I’m alerted of something non-routine. The barks often tell me a deer is crossing the property.

I dislike nighttime noises that might disturb my neighbors. However, my dogs help me feel safer.

I am starting to plan for transitioning to feeding my large animals on a schedule later, colder, and darker.

Dear Friends: Living on a property with large (and small) animals isn’t dull. Diana

Challenge

Monday, October 28, 2024

I’ve looked repeatedly to see where my dog Chase has repeatedly escaped from the dog area. I wasn’t watching the right spot until yesterday when he went over a seemingly inescapable fence section. I saw Chase climb the six-foot, all-wire fencing, perch atop, balance to position himself, and then leap a gulley to reach a supporting surface.

That’s how he’d been managing. Knowing eased some of my frustrations, but countering his escapes from there was challenging. That section of fence needed heightening, but it’s in a high, rocky area where my footing wasn’t stable.

“One does what one must.” “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

So, in the dusky evening, I dragged a leftover roll of fencing fabric from the barn to the needy area. While self-balancing to avoid tripping over rocky jumblings, I unrolled, laid out, and wired a foot of new height onto the original fence. My work wasn’t stable before darkness prevented completing the job.

Nonetheless, after letting the dogs outside again, I watched Chase. He stayed in their area. Later, around midnight, I let the dogs out briefly, and Chase re-entered the house with his buddies.

Today, I’ll finish that section of fence-topping and then do more fixing. I saw partially dug spots where Chase wanted to crawl under the fence. His innate sense of physics makes him a great natural engineer. If Chase learned to read and write, he’d teach much and provide income for me.

Dear Friends: He’s a never-closing chapter that resists containment, needs safety. Diana

Chasing Fate

Friday, October 25, 2024

Yesterday morning, the arrival of winter felt more real because ice was coating the waters for my chickens and horses. I got busy quickly, setting out heated buckets in the coop area and installing water heaters in the horse troughs.

High on my mind was that my dog Chase had been escaping, and very quickly. I couldn’t catch him in the act nor see how or where he was getting out. Finally, I saw and was again amazed by his strength and determination.

I watched Chase rush toward the six-foot fence. Getting close, he leaped directly at the fence fabric, his front feet grabbing high and rear feet grabbing nearly as high. He hoisted himself right over.

He accomplished that in four moves: running fast, leaping high, grabbing with front and back feet, and going over.

I put all the dogs inside my house and then worked, adding wire to heighten the escape area of the fence. Afterward, I fed the dogs before briefly allowing them outside again. Guess what? When the dogs came inside, there was no Chase.

He was invisible in the evening’s darkness; he wasn’t at the garage door where he usually appears after escaping. I checked and rechecked a sight of him. Finally, I gave up, went to bed, and left Chase in Fate’s unpredictable hands.

I worried all night.

When I let the dogs go outside before today’s first light, I saw Chase standing near the garage door. He came inside happy and no worse for wear.

This morning’s worries: Where might the fence need more height? Will more heightening help with containment? Or…?

Dear Friends: The AI-generated blog header is almost exactly Chase escaping. Diana

Daze Off

Tuesday, October 21, 2024

Yesterday, after feeding my horses and chickens, I spent a couple of hours raising the height of a section of the fence surrounding a large area where my dogs may be outside safely and in relative freedom.

I became intent on raising the fence section’s height. My puppy Chase had discovered a spot allowing a foothold that he could access, climb, and escape to freedom. He was freeing himself routinely, and I needed to interrupt his cleverness before he escaped more.

I found some unused fencing in a shed. I wired the extra fabric to the standing fence, lifting the fence top by a foot. I let the dogs out and watched Chase dash to the area of my fix, and he couldn’t climb.

I’d been working long hours at my part-time job in a large department store. I felt tired and decided not to work more on the property but instead go horseback riding. I’d take the dogs and they’d be able to run lots. Unfortunately, the area weather didn’t cooperate. The afternoon became very windy and cold, making me hesitate about physically being in the open and roaming on horseback.

Today is another off from my part-time job. If the weather cooperates this afternoon, I will gather the horses and dogs and head for the Great Outdoors.

By the way, today’s header photo might seem AI-generated, but it isn’t. It’s a photo of Sunni from my camera. It illustrates similarities between “constructed and real,” suggesting how much AI imagery has developed. It also illustrates how images on social media and other sources may confuse and manipulate us.

Dear Friends: The outside temp has dipped to 37 degrees–good gravy! Diana

Doggone Dog!

Monday, October 21, 2024

I’ll finally have these couple of days off from work. The department store where I work part-time is short on employees, so I’ve worked alone in the Jewelry Department. The department has been busy with increasing Christmas shoppers, and I’ve worked long hours.

Last evening, after coming home dog-tired, I was out feeding horses when my dog Chase appeared unexpectedly. He had escaped the yard but not by digging because little Mitzvah would have slid out, too. Chase must have discovered a vulnerable spot in my mostly eight-foot-high fence.

I returned him to the fenced dog area and watched him dash toward the dark side before reappearing beside me, free. Although the evening was early, darkness prevented locating and repairing the weak spot.

Later, I let the dogs out briefly in the middle of night. When Chase didn’t re-enter the house with the others, I opened the garage door and found him waiting to enter. Early this morning, I let the dogs out again. Soon, Chase was missing–this time, not waiting at the garage door nor responding to my calls, and it was raining.

Chase showed up at the garage about a half-hour later. Right now, he’s sleeping; he won’t go outside again until I have located and addressed his escape spot.

Chase is two and one-half years old and started living with me when he was eight weeks old. My property includes a half-acre that’s fenced for my dogs. My others are happy, but Chase is another story. He’s always digging, jumping, and seeking ways to achieve freedom, not because he’s unhappy or wants to leave, but simply because it is “who he is.”

I constantly worry about keeping him safe.

Over the years, I’ve lived with many dogs, some bigger than Chase’s fifty pounds. None ever behaved in manners as strong, smart, focused, and determined as Chase. He wants to be my constant companion, 24/7, which is impossible. Luckily, he’s still safe, and I hope he will age out of escaping behaviors.

Dear Friends: Just another “Chase Story” and unlikely the last one. Diana

Worries To Rest

Friday, October 04, 2024

A considerable problem is solved: my puppy Chase won’t again escape a new “inescapable kennel” where he will stay when I must leave home. His driving instinct to follow me triggers escaping skills, which he specializes in.

Thanks to a bit of luck, and special thanks to my kind neighbors, Frank and Annette. They have sometimes rescued Chase, brought him home, and re-locked him into my big, sturdy kennel. (For many years, that structure was inescapable by dogs, but recently, Chase–super athletic and too-smart–managed to escape.)

The solution was a happenstance. Down by the barn near my chicken coop stood a wire structure where I occasionally isolated hens needing special attention. That structure has been unused for many months. It’s fully enclosed with wire, with a human-size walk-through wire door, and roofed completely by heavy wire. It looked perfect for safely and securely enclosing Chase but needed to be dismantled, relocated, and reset onto a concrete base.

That structure is large enough to accommodate a dog’s movement and would fit inside my larger standalone structure, which Chase escapes now.

My kind neighbors donated their time and turned the possibilities into a reality. Frank and Annette dismantled the structure, loaded its sections into their pickup, and moved everything uphill. They reassembled the new dog kennel inside the big standalone. We all viewed the result as inescapable.

The new kennel is set securely on a concrete base. Heavy stall mats laid over the concrete increase residents’ comfort. Finally, Chase will be secured; he’ll be in an inescapable smaller kennel within a safe and larger enclosure.

Dear Friends: I cannot begin to adequately describe my enormous relief. Diana

Still Chasing

Thursday, October 03, 2024

My puppy from hell, Chase, has figured out how to escape his escape-proof kennel, and he did that twice yesterday. I was at work when my neighbors let me know that Chase was running loose. They kindly captured the dog, returned him to his kennel, and repaired the spot where Chase had managed to exit.

Arriving home for lunch, I found my doggoned dog, again loose, bounding happily down the driveway and greeting me. A glance at his kennel revealed that he escaped by breaking through a “corner guard” opposite another corner guard he had broken through and my neighbors had repaired.

That escape-proof kennel is large—10′ x 20′. It is set on a concrete base surrounded by heavy wire fencing 6′ high, and its door is lockable. Over the years, I’ve kenneled many dogs there, and until now, none have managed to escape.

Chase is 2 1/2 years old and a mixed breed. When I adopted him, he was an adorable 8 weeks old. His rescuer promised he’d stay tiny because she’d seen his small parents.

Liar!

Chase has grown to 50+ lbs. and is visibly a Rottweiler/Shepherd mix (among other genes). His genes promote muscular strength and sheer-dogged determination. He specializes in leaping highly and digging unstoppable. Worst, he can climb up and over wire fencing.

As long as I’m at home, Chase may run loosely in the dogs’ sizeable common area but must go into the escape-proof kennel when I’m to drive away. My departures trigger his escape button. He has often managed to dig his way out of the common dog area, which is why he’s kenneled separately. For many months, the big kennel has kept him safely confined.

Finally, Chase managed to figure out a way of getting loose. I’m disappointed but not overly surprised because, clearly, he’s always thinking.

Today, I will try to out-clever this dog (again somehow) by escape-proofing the standalone kennel.

Dear Friends: I must keep Chase safe and never raise another puppy. Diana

LOL

Friday, April 11, 2024

Yesterday was National Dog Day, and I didn’t post photos of my dogs. Today is National Hamster Day, and I haven’t one of those pets. Years ago, I adopted a sweet Peruvian Guinea Pig from an animal rescue. His coat was very long and needed trimming regularly, or else, formed into rolls and grew into dreadlocks.

The guinea pig was a cute little fellow. He and my bunny, Speedo, were each pleasant pets. Speedo was a domestic white that turned up loose, hopping on my property and nibbling hay in my barn. Using an apple as bait, I trapped Speedo, and he became a house bunny. The sweet guy had been litter-box trained by somebody.

While I was thinking about interesting sorts of pets, George Rodrigue’s “Blue Dog” images began appearing in my FB feed. Years ago, I spent a week in New Orleans and I discovered The Blue Dog Gallery. Rodrigue’s sense of humor delighted me, and wow, still does.

Rodrigue, an excellent artist, snuck the Blue Dog into his larger, serious paintings. The dog always looking out of place and bewildered. This example is “Millenium 2000.”

Notice the dog has wings, is a butterfly out of place physically, and trying to process mentally.

Many Rodrigue paintings include his dog character, always out of place, trying to process.

I saw Rodriguez’s Blue Dog as representing elements of himself. Also, that dog represents an element of ourselves.

On a lofty side, we are that dog while viewing and interpreting works of art. Also, in daily living, we are that dog, for being in today’s world and attempting to comprehend the predictable vs. the unpredictable.

I enjoyed the art and that dog, but couldn’t afford a painting. Still, I barely managed to resist.

Rodrigue passed recently and that increases the value of his art. While value is a consideration, to me, his works represent more. They reflect much about ourselves.

Beyond the artist’s humor and insight, his Blue Dog is all of us, in all our whimsy.

Dear Friends: Here’s to enjoying a chuckle at ourselves. Diana

Evening Delight

Friday, March 22, 2024

Last evening in the darkness, I arrived home from work and saw my puppy, Chase, sitting in the big standalone dog run, on its concrete pad and waiting for me. The other dogs were safely inside the separate fenced dog area. Everything, as planned, was okay.

Before leaving for work, I had imprisoned Chase in an isolated big dog run because he had been in trouble with me the previous evening. That’s when I found he had dug a dog escape hole under the fence, and my littlest dog had wiggled through and was running freely. Experience with Chase teaches that he’s a compulsive digger and is proving unstoppable. My best hope is that next year, when he turns three years old, he’ll be more mature and much easier to live with.

After releasing the totally delighted boy and seeing him bounce happily last night, I invited him to accompany me to the barn. He dashed in large circles around trees and tracked me down the hill; he busily sniffed at the ground trails of visiting critters while I fed horses and replenished goat hay. In that scenario, Chase stays nearby, responds quickly to my voice, and is excited, busy, and he’s fun.

I’ve had lifelong experiences with dogs. Chase has been with me since he was eight weeks old, and my experience makes him nearly a great puppy, except that he’s a phenomenal escape artist. Maybe eventually, everything will come together, proving we’ve achieved some key objectives, that Chase (and the littlest dog) have remained safely contained, and that Chase is maturing visibly.

Dear Friends: Never again, another puppy, neither on a bet nor a whim. Diana