The ear here is at maximum uplift- it went all the way up, and finally all the way over the top of her head. It wasn't like this for very long. It soon went back the other way, to its final floppy-but-perky configuration. That was simultaneous with her first serious ear infection, but I'm not sure if there was a connection. Maybe she just got tired of holding it up.
This is also one of the few pictures I have that shows the little white spot on her chest. That is not, incidentally, why she got her name. She would have been Blanca with or without the white spot. But it was just about the only way to distinguish between Blanca and Jett when they were very young. I remember calling Dawn and telling her, "I'll take the white-spot puppy, and her name will be Blanca."
Every dog deserves a noble portrait, and this is Blanca's. This was provided by our friend Dawn (M, not L). She didn't quite catch all of that right ear, but that's understandable. I think Blanca's a little over a year old in this picture, taken during one our many trips to Colorado Springs. She looks like a young strong dog (which she was) and, I think, very much like a Shepherd, for once.
From the AKC's website:
"The first impression of a good German Shepherd Dog is that of a strong, agile, well muscled animal, alert and full of life. It is well balanced, with harmonious development of the forequarter and hindquarter. The dog is longer than tall, deep-bodied, and presents an outline of smooth curves rather than angles. It looks substantial and not spindly, giving the impression, both at rest and in motion, of muscular fitness and nimbleness without any look of clumsiness or soft living. The ideal dog is stamped with a look of quality and nobility--difficult to define, but unmistakable when present."
Well, we'll see about that "soft living" part...
Another noble dog shot. Half noble, anyway; that ear kind of ruins the effect. I don't what she's watching so intently. For once it wasn't me- on the other hand, I didn't take this picture, so maybe she was watching me after all.
Blanca's size and teeth could be intimidating, but her nature was completely gentle. She put on a big show of force when the mailman came by, but a show was all it was. On many occasions on our walks through town or through the woods we'd come upon kids, who often were not much taller than Blanca. She'd stand patiently by while one pulled on her ears, and another pulled on her tail.
A Family portrait: Ebony, Jett, and Blanca. Blanca's kind of hanging in the background, which was typical when Ebony was around. Ebony's presence made Blanca attempt every submissive behavior known to Dog. I think it had something to do with being bitten on the head at a tender age. Ebony repeated the performance on occasion, just to keep Blanca in her place. That incident was part of the reason that Blanca's ears were floppy: the cartilage in her left ear was damaged, actually broken into two pieces. You could see it in the furless strip on the inside of the ear, and the little notch at its base. And you could feel it when you rubbed her ears. So the right ear went up, and came back down; the left ear never had a chance.
I don't know how many times I had people refer to Blanca as a Lab, or ask what her mix was: "Lab and what?" But a look at Ebony tells the real story. Ebony was a purebred, all-black German Shepherd. Blanca got her color, long body, height, and extravagant tail from Ebony. The father was just a neighborhood dog, who may have had some Labbish parts, but was light-colored. He was also evidently one of the laziest dogs ever, the type that would lie in the road and let the cars drive around him. He clearly had enough energy to hop a fence, though, with the right incentive...
Ebony had her puppies when she was three, if I remember right. She died quite young, at only about six, of a congenital problem similar to what killed Blanca's littermate.
Never a dull moment when the two sisters were together. Blanca's the one with the blue collar. I've got a whole series of pictures of this particular wrestling match, but this is one of the few in which you can tell that there are two dogs present, not just one dog with extra legs.
During one trip Dave & I took with all three of the dogs, the two puppies (who were at least 60-70 lbs each by that time) decided to play on the floor at the foot of my bed. Not much sleep to be had that night- they kept my bed shaking all night long. Dave had it better- Ebony was on his bed, very still, watching the pups, ears back, and growling almost inaudibly. She knew it was time for bed. Fortunately she never decided to enforce her will that night...
15-MAR-2007
The object of desire here is a gallon water jug, flattened by chewing. At the time it was one of Blanca's favorite toys, I think because of the crunchy noise it made.
At first glance, the two dogs looked the same. But they were distinctly different, in more ways than just the white spot. Blanca was a couple of inches taller, and longer overall- longer in the nose, body, and tail. Jett was wider though, and overall a more square-bodied dog that Blanca, so she wound up being the heavier of the two. Jett got ears that (almost) stood up, while Blanca got a fatter, more impressive tail.
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They were musc different in personality, too: Jett was much more exuberant, always coming up to greet people and ask (demand) to have a tennis ball thrown for her- or, just as often, a rock. Blanca was more reserved, allowing people to pet her, but seldom asking. She saved her greetings for good friends.
Almost every year, Blanca and I drove to Minnesota at Christmas. Those were long trips- about 1400 miles each way, which outbound had to be done in just a couple of days (I think our record was 30 hours). Blanca was the lucky one; she could sleep most of the time. We'd usually make some stops on the way back, although never enough for Blanca.
As typical in an unfamiliar place with unusual people around (that is, family), Blanca's staying right close to me. Later, when she was more used to the situation, she'd settle down and just watch me. Blanca won my Mother's heart the first time I brought her home for Christmas. She offered Blanca a scrap of turkey, expecting to have to count her fingers afterward. Blanca wouldn't take it, but just sat down and waited. My Mother finally had to place the turkey in Blanca's open mouth. Amazing that any dog, let alone a half-grown one, could be that well-mannered around turkey...
August, 1994
Redcloud Peak- Blanca's first 14er! That's a mountain that tops out above 14,000 feet, for the uninformed. Redcloud is a few miles outside of Lake City, Colorado. Blanca dutifully hiked up quite a few peaks with me; by my count, she summited Redcloud, Sunshine, Tabeguache, Shavano, Oxford, Belford, Massive, Huron, San Luis, Lincoln, Bross, Democrat, Yale, Columbia, and Handies.
Not bad for a dog with bad knees whose natural habitat was a couch!
Just another mountain picture, one of the few showing both our faces decently. She's wearing the orange streamers because it was hunting season, and you never know who's out there.
Her nose looks kind of off-black in this shot. She had a form of lupus at the time (at least that was the best guess; we never had it fully tested). Her nose went from black and pebbly to gray and smooth; her lips lost all their pigment, changing from black to pink. Some prednisone took care of the symptoms, but made her eat like a horse, so she went from weighing a little over 90 lbs to 105, or something like that. That didn't seem like a good trade, since the lupus didn't seem to cause her any problem. So, she went off the prednisone, and the lupus went away after a few more years. Blanca trimmed (?) back down to her 90-lb weight. Later, after we found that she needed thyroid supplements, her weight dropped to between 80 and 85 lbs.
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Blanca did me a favor by being pretty reasonable about food. She wouldn't eat to the point of exhaustion like some dogs; I could leave her food bowl full, and she'd eat as she needed. She wound up a few pounds overweight, but not at all fat. She'd usually eat at two different times, the first being if I was cooking something tasty. She'd get excited by that, and suddenly remember that she had food of her own. But her usual dinner time was late at night, usually around 11 O'clock or midnight. I'd be in bed, and hear toenails click across the floor, followed by generous crunching noises, and then loud water-slurping. Then Blanca would head off to bed herself, either with me or on the couch.
06-MAR-2007
For those familiar with Colorado's mountains, Blanca was not named after Blanca Peak. That was one we saw many times on our travels, but never climbed.
September, 1995
To be honest, she wasn't always thrilled about hiking up mountains. She mostly did it for me. But she never mutinied. Usually she'd be in front on the way up, almost always reaching the summit first. She'd stay beside me or lag behind on the way down, immediately flopping down to rest whenever I'd stop. A few times she'd look down an especially long, steep pitch and whimper and tremble. But all was well when we'd get to the bottom, where her spot in the backseat of the truck was waiting.
Tired but happy on yet another mountain top. She's squinting because it's so bright, and has her ears pulled back a bit because she's tired. I'm guessing about the happy part. You'd think she could have found a more comfortable pile of rocks to rest on.
