Oscar and Holly Richard

LIFE WITH OSCAR AND HOLLY

Oscar, a ten year old Australian Shepherd/Springer Spaniel mix, and Holly, a two year old Australian Shepherd are an important part of our household. Most people would not recognize the Springer in Oscar; he looks like a gray merle Aussie with white markings and a tail. But if you look at him closely, you would notice that he has a bird dog's soft mouth.

Oscar is named after Oscar Madison of the "Odd Couple". My wife Carolyn named him that because his markings made him look a little messy and rumpled. Looks can be deceiving. Oscar's personality is more like Felix Unger's. He's very well mannered and has never been rambunctious, even as a puppy. While he likes to be around people, he hangs back on the edge of activities until he is invited to participate. Many of our friends refer to him as a refined, polite gentleman.

Holly on the other hand is an in-your-face kind of dog. She hasn't met a situation were she didn't consider herself the center of attention. After she gets the recognition she feels she's entitled to, she is content to lie at your feet while you carry on with what ever it is that you are doing.

Oscar is somewhat camera shy, but we did manage to get a photo of him which doesn't show his tail receding in the distance as he demonstrates his distaste for publicity of any kind. Holly on the other hand is quite content to show off for the camera at any time.

Holly has black, tan and white markings that add the appearance of cute little eyebrows to her face. As a baby, she looked like a honey bear cub, and for this reason, she has the nickname of "Holly Bear". She's mastered enough expressiveness with her gestures and looks to go straight into your heart. Her grandmother works herding sheep, and Holly seems born to that calling. She hasn't let the absence of sheep in our household get in her way, either. She spends a great part of her day bossing Oscar about. He takes it with a very good nature, but when we first brought her home the forlorn looks he gave us let us know we had somehow failed to meet his expectations.

When friends visit our house, their dogs are welcome also. Oscar enjoys canine visitors because it takes Holly's attention away from him. One couple we know brings their Vizslas over. I never knew what a Vizsla was before I met this pair - it's a Hungarian bird dog that resembles a mahogany colored Weimaraner. These particular dogs have all the apparent personality of the Wegman Weimaraners but not the costumes.

If you know Vizslas, they're very active and constantly moving when outdoors. Holly has taken it as her personal responsibility to keep them together and organized while they are at our house. (See photo) This means Holly is constantly on the move. Oscar, being older and wiser, will occasionally trot at three-quarter speed, some distance parallel to the swirling action in the backyard, and bark encouragement while Holly attempts the impossible. In his gray/black and white markings, Oscar looks very much like a football official following play action on the field. Otherwise, he is entirely happy to sit and listen to our conversation. Holly always gets a good night sleep after the Vizsla visit, and Oscar seems quite content.

I have some great stories about both dogs literally shoving me out the front door to go on their favorite activity, Saturday morning errands in the SUV; travelling to the desert or Lake Tahoe with them; or the Keystone Cops comedy routine Holly and I go through racing from the back yard to answer the phone in the kitchen, but that can wait for another time. I sense that some of my four grown daughters get somewhat jealous when I spend too much time talking about the dogs and I probably should pay some attention to them now.

- Rob Richard