Black = Fun!

Do you see what I see???

Three black things..... 

Which one should I go for first???

Crow then those squirrelies!!!

Ooops mum... those were bun buns... not squirrelies.... (mum: we have a lot of black squirrels here, so Sunshade thought those black rabbits were them. Once she realized they were rabbits, she had no interest in chasing. She does hate those crows! Won't chase ducks or geese, but yes to crows and seagulls. Won't chase guinea pigs or rabbits, but yes to squirrels, mice, rats, raccoons, cats. Very selective!)

House Swap!

This morning, mum had to groom a 6 year old English dale named Tilly. She moved to Vancouver all the way from England!

This was how we met..... With our raincoats on, 

After mum finished grooming Tilly, we went for a walk in this glorious Vancouver weather, 

Vancouver is a wonderful city with many places to go for walkies. Yes, my SuperFEET were under water!

We have beautiful beaches, 

Famous movie grounds. Take here for example, here, the Jericho Pier was where part of the TV show Alcatraz was shot, 

I was actually on the beach when they were shooting the swimming scene!!! 

Really!!

 REALLY!!!

So!!! Does anyone, living below the 40th parallel north want do a house swap for the next 6 months??? You get our house and STINKY too!! 

What do you say???

(mum: Someone asked me if Sunshade was a puppy. Actually, his exact words were, "is she an Airedale? (I said yes) She must be almost a year now??". I was so happy because I thought someone thought she was THAT young. As it turned out, this was an Airedale savvy person. He thought Sunshade was still a pup because her face and ears were still black/dark! I have no idea why her face has gotten darken as she got older! It is especially obvious when she's wet.)

Jericho is my love......

It's so much FUN!!!

You like my boots?? These are my front legs btw, not centaur legs.

Hind boots, 

Happy face!! 

Then mum said I had to stop hunting because we had to go.....

I said NOOOOOO!!! I don't want to go home yet!!! Don't SuperFORCE me to go!!!!!

Diary of the Day

Dear Diary,

I wore my pink PJ's to Jericho beach today because mum said it was a cold day. When I got to the beach, I did this,

Then, I met a Big Bird, one that I had met before,


I said BYE to the Big Bird,


I said HI & BYE to Big Bird later on during my walk at the beach. For some reason, he always seems to say a very loud BYE to me.

I watched as Mr. Crab's life flashed before his eyes,


Dear Diary, I know I really should be watching my gurrrlie figure, but please look, it says Wild Bites - Love At First Bite!!!


How was I suppose to refuse buffaloni bits?? I'm sure you'd understand, Dear Diary :-)


I will start my diet TOMORROW!

Animals at Jericho Beach

We live less than 10 minutes (drive) away from Jericho Beach. It is one of my favouritest places to go for walks. Not only is the beach bootiful and all, it also has all kinds of wild life that I absolutely love!!!

Animal 1: (Video taken on 08-23-10)

This was inside the sailing school where all the sail boats, canoes, and kayaks were parked. I smelled something inside one of the old, rusted storage units that was on the ground and nudged it open with my SuperNOSE (mum: and a fat, black rat ran over the top of my foot. I was wearing flip flops.), and mum SCREAMED (I have no idea why).

Oh, and mum made me trim the video. She said we shouldn't really show the public the rest of the clip.... *BURP*.. excuse me.

Animal 2: (Video taken on 01-28-11)

I have had 3 encounters with this animal, today being the 3rd.

This video is actually very boring, but it shows the animal. It was taken the first time I encountered the animal. Mum had finally caught me after chasing me (chasing after the animal) all the way down the beach, up the field, over the parking lot. She hooked me up onto the leash after she caught me. I guess that was enough exercise for her for that day. (mum: it's amazing how fast an 11 year old can still run when she decides something is worth her energy.)

(mum: We were walking on the beach one morning, and all of a sudden, there was a little grey head that popped up from behind the drift wood pile. The head disappeared almost as fast as it popped up. Sunshade right away started huffing and puffing, tail held straight up, and she started tracking with her nose. She ran towards the drift wood. Nowadays, she doesn't really go out of her way to greet dogs. She would have a sniff or two if she crosses path with one, but that's about it. So there I was thinking to myself - Why does she want to meet that Shiba Inu so bad?

It wasn't until I saw their side profiles running up the field did I realize the Shiba Inu was the same height as my Airedale, and it held its tail low...... Needless to say, I was relieved that Sunshade was the one doing the chasing instead of the other way around. Yes, I finally figured out what it was.... Somehow, I always expected to see yellow Coyotes.)

Our second encounter with this Coyote came just a few days after the first. We were back at Jericho Beach, and I was inside the sailing club looking for rats and bunnies. All of a sudden, through the mesh fencing, I saw IT chasing a big black Lab who was looking very scared & confused. The Lab's owner was trying to shoosh it away, but he wouldn't leave them alone.

So being a SuperDALE, I went to their rescue!! (mum: She saw the Coyote before I did, I had no chance.) I ran all the way down to the exit of the sailing school and then all the way back up the path behind the Lab and the Coyote. The funny thing was that as soon as the Coyote caught a glimpse of me, he changed his course. He went the other way, away from the poor Lab. Based on his reaction, I was pretty certain it was the same Coyote I chased just days ago.

Unless............ ALL Coyotes are scared of the SuperDALE?

Anyway, when he went the other way, towards some tall grass, I followed him. I could vaguely hear mum yelling, but this was SERIOUS business you know? (mum: as in she ignored me) He entered behind some heavy bushes trying to get away from me, but I was in heavy pursuit..... until I sorta got stuck inside those tall, heavy bushes, and came out the way I went in..... Except mum didn't know, she was waiting at the other end where the Coyote had come out already. (mum: By this time, I really wasn't too worried about this Coyote after seeing the way he'd responded to Sunshade.)

When I caught up to mum, she was talking to a man with a heavy fresh-off-the-boat accent. Apparently, he saw the Coyote come out from behind the bushes, and then saw mum running towards those heavy bushes. In an attempt to help, he pointed at the Coyote and told mum - YOUR DOG!

Mum *almost* laughed, but she didn't. She pointed at me (I had caught up to mum and was continuing my chase) and told the funny man - This is my dog, that's a coyote!!

The man had a very puzzled look and said - NOT YOUR DOG?? (mum: I don't think he knew what a coyote was. Afterall, we don't have Coyotes in Asia!!!)

Our third encounter was today, when I saw him casually strolling down the beach. MY beach!

I again, made a B-line for him before mum had realized what was happening. I chased him away from the beach, down the field and OUT of MY park for the first time!!! No, I didn't go out of the park myself. I stood in MY park and glared at him to make sure he was OUT and stayed OUT! He kept stopping and looking back at me, but would always decide to keep moving AWAY from MY park. Smart, I'll give him that.

(mum: Sunshade has always been very protective and intuitive. I'm sure somehow she knew the Coyote was up to no good the first time she caught a sight of him. From her body language, I could tell that she was in her protective mode. She was not chasing him because she wanted to meet him, she was chasing him because she wanted him AWAY. Maybe the Coyote could tell and that's why he would chase a Lab that is much bigger than Sunshade, but would run at the sight of her approaching. Or maybe she's just that big of a B*TCH!)

Animal 3: (Video taken today, AFTER chasing the Coyote out of the park)

Being the protective SuperDALE that I am, I went and warned those bunnies about the Coyote. Told them maybe they shouldn't eat out in the open, and made sure they went home.

Isn't Jericho Beach just the most wonderfulest place???

Note to Jaspa: Can you leave us your e-mail in the comment section, we won't publish it ;-)

STUPID log

I went to Jericho Beach today and met a gigantic log,



It was lying on something, something goooooooood! (mum: I don't even want to know what it was....)


So I tried to DIG it out,


From all angles as you can see,




I used my SuperPAWS and dug a deep hole under the gigantic log,


The hole was so deep that my head disappeared,


(mum: Sunshade has been an excellent digger since 7 weeks of age. You should see our yard!!!)

I didn't give up even when I got tired. I just laid on my side and continued DIGGING!



I must have been at it for at least 40 minutes. Then I was losing patience with this big fat log who refused to move. Thought I could chew it to pieces,



But this was as far as I got, see the chew marks?


So I just really want to say.........

OUT OF MY WAY YOU STUPID LOG!!

Today, I watched.......

A bunny eat his breakfast,

Then I watched another bunny eat his lunch.

I think mum wanted to chase the bunny more than I did as she was so intense that she didn't even realize a little poodlely dog was sniffing her! She's more of a terrier than ME!! (mum: oh no no NO WAY!) See what I mean?

I didn't feel like chasing them "today" because they reminded me of my Giant Georgie (RIP)...

Jericho Beach + Sunshade Report

During the 2010 Winter Olympics, there were many free attractions around town for people to attend. One of which was a Zipline that spanned across Robson Square in the heart of downtown Vancouver.



Mum wanted to try it, but the line up wait was anywhere between 4-7 HOURS during the Olympic period. Can you believe it?? 7 hours for 30 seconds!!!

Then mum saw on the news that the Zipline was still open during the Paralympics, and the line up wait was a lot shorter.......


So she decided to go do it......

Since mum'd only have to be in the shorrrrrrrt line up of 3.5 HOURS, I made sure she worked with STINKY on some much needed leash manners, and took me to the beach before she went off to wait in the shorrrrrrrrrrrt line up!!

We went to Jericho Beach, where the first thing I did there was POSE for pictures,


I can SMELLLLL the ocean already.....


Can I go now mum??? (with a tilt too)


FINALLY!!


Heading towards the beeeeeeeeeeeeeach!


Alllllll the way down!!!




Mum got a stick for me, what a good gurrrrrrrrl!


Now THROOOOOOOOWL it!!


Got it!!


Thank you, here is your reward - a pose from Miss Sunshade,


Now THROOOOOOOOWLLLL again!


Getting my paws wet.... in the freezing cold water....



I found a big stick,


And I asked mum NICELY, to throw it,


But she threw it so faaaaaaaaaaaaaaar out.......


WHY DID YOU THROOOOOOWL IT SO FAR OUT MUM??? The water was FREEEEEZING.....


I watched as the waves carried MY stick out further......


I saw a chocolate lab (blue arrow) that looked like he was carrying around some extra layers, he must like chocolates a lot. I thought maybe he would get MY stick (red arrow) for me, extra exercise you know?


But he seemed to think he was very fit and did not require more exercise as he completely ignored MY poor stick, leaving it floating in the freezing water all by itself.....


That's me giving him the "Geeeezus, you're such a terrible retriever!" look. Bet all the chocolates are ashamed of him!


SuperDALE to the RESCUEEEEEEEE!!




I successfully rescued MY stick, and I did not turn into a popsicle!


You are safe now dear stickie.....


Can't count on anypup except my SuperSELF!


I shook off all the freezing water (with the lazy chocolate in the back!)


Mum threw another stubby stick for me,


And I reminded her to not throw too far,


No more than wading depth please,


That's about the right depth,


Don't get me wrong, I love to swim during the warmer months, just not when the water is freeeeezing cold!


Got my stubby stick,




Time to go dry off now!!


After I dried myself with a sandbath, I headed up the beach and ran into a speedy man,


Notice something extremely MUSCULAR???


He did!


I'm not sure why he was wearing a mouth cover, maybe he had a cold??


Off to the blackberry bushes,


What's hiding in these blackberry bushes??


Well I'll show you when I find it,


There it is!!! A BUNNIEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!


Bye bye Bunnie!!!


You see me standing way way waaaaaay back? That's because I was waiting for mum's que.


You see, my mum has very good eyes for bunnies even tho she wears glasses. So nowadays, I have realized that instead of looking for bunnies myself, I would just reserve my energy by standing in one spot and let mum look for them. Once she finds them, she will whisper bunnies and point in the direction towards them, and I start stalking!

(mum: This is the funniest habit that Sunshade has recently developed. If there are no rabbits in sight, instead of looking for them, she will "stare" at me. I'm talking about one of those Border Collie waiting for a job, or hand signal kind of intense stare, right into my eyes. As soon as I whisper or signal, then she starts her stalk. A lot of the times, she'd actually stop and wait all the way behind (like the picture above) and let me go ahead to scout out the area. She'd wait until I give her some kind of que.)

I spotted something.....

(mum: Sunshade likes to stand there and watch the bunnies quietly. She doesn't make any noise, and is very careful with how she moves. Sometimes if she turned her head to look at me, she will move her head back very very slowly over a period of time while watching the bunnies from the corner of her eyes. It's like she's worried that if she moved her head too fast, she'd startle the bunnies and they would run away. )

I came back from a good chase,


Time to get moving now!


I came to a Wall of Shepherds......


I broke the Wall of Shepherds with my SuperDALE power!


I followed the shepherds for a bit,


And then I saw a pawty going on a little ways up,


I went to check out the pawty,


It wasn't a pawty worth crashing tho as there were no BOYZ with lovelies.....



Sunshade Report: Zipline

After mum abandoned me at home and gave me the prestigious job of STINKY-sitting (yes, I sat on him), she went downtown to Robson Square,


Her journey in the shorrrrrrrrt line up began,


1 hour later....... they were at the 3 HOUR mark....


Volunteers gave out Paralympic pins to keep hoomans happy,


Zipline Safety Rules


Things to keep hoomans entertained while they waited in the shorrrt line up,


They hit the 2 HOUR mark,


They watched as hoomans line up for hours to get to that platform, and then they chicken out and take their sweet time before stepping off the platform. This lady on the right, doesn't she look super scared???


(mum: in case anyone is interested, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 camera has 12X optical zoom!!)

20 mins later........


Good job lady!!! Don't let those heels fall off, they can kill someone below, and yes, hang on to the bag too!

Only ONE more hour to go.....


They watched more hoomans zoom by, and cheered for hooman pups who were scared to go, (mum: I didn't talk in the video.)

Half an hour......


Finally, the zipline tower came in sight!!



They went and signed the If-You-Die-We-Are-Not-Responsible form,


Stepping into harnesses,


Getting hooked up,


Helmet on,


All dressed and ready to go! I think she was giving mum a treat here for being such a well behaved gurrrrrrl,


Going up the tower,


Mum watched as each person in front of her leaped off the platform and disappeared into thin aire....


Looking down at Robson Square,



Mum's turn! Does she look scared?? (remember, she's part Airedale)


Mum's good friend who is also MY good friend, Raul,


Maybe we should call him Raulina??

Here they go! BTW, watch Raulina, he was ALL OVER that pretty Aussie gurrrrrl (the hooman kind) who was receiving him on the other side!

(mum: he's almost as bad as you are with un-neutered male dogs Sunshade!!)