A Herding Dog in Cow Town

Howdy, everyone!  So I must begin this post by saying...

GO FROGS!

After a few heart attacks and some *rowdy* fans, my darling Frogs pulled out a win!

My mom and step dad came up (from Houston) for the game - but mostly to see what my mom calls "her grandpuppy."  Chad spent Saturday morning helping his dad out with a football game in North Dallas so I took Mom and Glenn (that's my step dad) to the Fort Worth Stockyards.  Chad had pointed out to me that morning that with Emma being in her kennel all night while we were at the game, we probably didn't want to lock her up all morning either.  I felt bad that I hadn't even thought about that.  Solution: take Emma to the stockyards.  

I wasn't sure if there was a policy towards dogs at the stockyards so I went to their website but didn't see anything about dogs.  I figured at least the street was (more than likely) public property, so we loaded up the car and went.  When we got there, I shortened her leash and tried to sneak past the guard at the parking lot (should he tell me, "No dogs allowed!").  Luckily, he walked away at the last second.  We walked down the street to the train tracks and just about everyone made some comment about how cute she was.  I never know what to do in those situations.  Do you acknowledge that they are talking about your dog or just keep walking?  It's awkward.  

Once we got to the "train area" (because I don't know what else to call it), I told Mom and Glenn to go into any store they wanted and I would happily wait outside with Emma.  Of course each time they went into a store, about 15 or 20 people would swarm around wanting to pet her.  Of course they were mostly kids.  When Emma gets excited, she tucks her ears back and wags her butt so fast it almost throws her whole body off balance.  It's adorable.  She would waddle over to the kids and just smile while they covered her with rubs.  I was shocked at the number of people who had no idea what breed she was.  I have learned that Corgis are not the most well known breed, but seriously.  Only about 3 people said "What a cute Corgi!" (and they were all men).  

*Side story* I took her into Discount tire a few weeks ago (I was leaving for Fort Worth from Houston - that's why I actually took her with me) and as I was waiting in line, a Father and his two daughters walked in and stood behind me.  Emma of course wanted to go play with them.  I told the little girls that they were welcome to pet her if they would like to.  They looked at they dad for approval as he nodded.  While the girls were on the floor petting Emma, their dad asked me, "What kind of dog is she?"  I answered, "A Pembroke Welsh Corgi."  He then proceeded to ask, "What's that?"  I wanted to respond, "It's a dog," but instead I stumbled out "It's a type of herding dog."  Honestly, I had no idea what to say! What do you mean, "What's that?"  Do you think I made it up?  Oh well... back to my main post....

As mentioned last week, Emma has a bad leg leading her to hop rather than run.  This gets her tired out pretty quickly.  She hopped all the way down the end of the shops (about 1/4 mile - maybe - I don't know) then sat and looked at me as to say, "Alright, I'm ready to be picked up, Mom."  I had her walk about half of the way back and then sat to take a short break.  My mom bought a bottle of water for her to drink out of, but she wasn't too sure about this new mechanism.  We got back up and kept going.  About a block away from the car, I decided that she'd had enough and picked her up.  At this point, she had walked about a mile and had been out and about for around three hours.  I have never seen a more exhausted dog.  The whole way home she kept dozing off then would wake up real quick if she heard a noise or something.  It made me relax a little knowing that she would be sleeping most of the time we were gone.  

She was a champ!  Not a single accident (she hasn't had one in two months anyways)!  She was a little slow getting to bed last night, but eventually passed out.  Every time I take her out, I gain a little more confidence in her.  I'm so glad I have a dog that everyone can pet and I don't have to worry about biting or growling.  Can I say I have the best dog in the world?  

I will leave y'all with a couple of pictures of Emma - some when she was younger (since y'all missed the first 17 weeks of her life).  Hope you enjoy!

Taken today - with toys in the background.

Waking up from a nap...

The day we brought her home...  What happened to my baby?  

Sleeping - still her favorite past time.

God Bless!

-Shelley