Such a good dog...

Vanya has been a real champ lately. Last night, our kayaking group came over for a bonfire after a sunset paddle around the point, and Vanya reacted to them with his usual unbridled enthusiasm (minus the jumping up, mostly). When he realized that two guys were already down at the fire pit, he ran off down to greet them and he did launch himself into the first guy's lap for a cuddle. "Strangers? Who's a stranger?" Vanya asks.  "I'm licking his chin, so how can he be a stranger?"

A few times throughout the evening, he hopped up onto the table for a treat (no, Vanya, you're not a lapdog. You're not even a table-top dog.) But mostly he lay on his bed chewing on his kong, with occasional jaunts around the fire to greet everyone all over again.

Otherwise, he's been entertaining himself by barking at the waves down at the water, chasing chipmunks, snoozing in the sun, scrambling over rock falls, and tracking down his treats. I had to go down to the Twin Cities for my friend's funeral, and he handled the 12 hours alone in the cabin calmly.

Good dog, Vanya! We haven't seen any other dogs for a while, which contributes to his calmness, of course. He misses the farm, the gophers, and playing with Tiva--but Tiva's getting a bit to old to play in the summer heat anyway.

Winter play