I Am Maggie

By Debbi Preston

Mama helped with the typing, but these are my stories about my puppy years. You will read about animals I befriended, happy times on the trails, and times when I was in trouble or scared by lightning, rattlesnakes, bees, and rain beetles to name a few. I have left the fence line unguarded too long now so I have to take off. Mama can continue from here.

When Maggie joined our family, we hoped she would fill the void left by the loss of our first dog, Toots. We wanted a dog to be an ambassador on the trail, to love snow and water play, and to get along with other animals and people. At first, Maggie and Toots seemed like polar opposites. Ultimately, love proved to be the defining similarity and Maggie was so much more than a replacement.

It has been an honor to share Maggie’s first years, and now with the arrival of two grandchildren, there is so much joy seeing her welcome Eve and Eli into our pack and our lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Oct 10, 2023
• ISBN: 9798823015332

Debbi Preston

Debbi Preston started hiking with her dog Toots in 2003 and together they enjoyed exploring trails and looking for new places to visit. Toots taught her to read the trails, explore, and enjoy the journey. These experiences led to the publishing of 48 Dog-Friendly Trails in California’s Foothills and the Sierra Nevada and Dog-Friendly Trails for All Seasons. After losing Toots, Preston decided to write a book to honor her. This coincided with the strong desire for a new four-legged hiking partner and the search was on, ultimately with the arrival of Maggie into the Preston’s family. After finishing Toots’ book, “Tails” from the Trails, Preston started to keep a journal and write a book in Maggie’s voice. Preston also realized that with the new puppy they were exploring trails not in the previous books and not doing some older ones, resulting in 57 Dog-Friendly Trails in California’s Foothills and the Sierra Nevada, with Maggie on the cover. Maggie’s book, I am Maggie, explores a dog’s need to find her place in a family while forming her own unique personality. With the announcement of a new baby girl’s arrival, the story had to continue into the next chapter. Little did Preston know that not only for Maggie would there be a new purpose in life with the birth of Eve and then with Eli, but for Preston now as Gramma a completely new adventure awaited. Preston says, “I never imagined the wonderful new experiences ahead for me. Always live life to the fullest, embrace the opportunities that come your way, and enjoy the journey.”

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© 2023 Debbi Preston. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or

transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse   10/05/2023

ISBN: 979-8-8230-1534-9 (sc)

ISBN: 979-8-8230-1533-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023918433

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in

this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views

expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the

views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Front cover photo by Jeff Preston

Acknowledgements

My biggest supporter of my work and companion along the trail with Maggie and me is my husband, Jeff. I am extremely grateful for your encouragement and for helping me to remember the details of Maggie’s puppy years. I also wish to thank Linda, Maggie’s breeder who trained Maggie and her brothers for 3 ½ months, exposing them to 90 people in 90 days and multiple surfaces. Linda was always available for advice and support with any issues. Finally, to all the hikers and dogs that have been friendly to us on the trails I am sincerely thankful. We hope to continue seeing all of you on future adventures.

Contents

Acknowledgements

My Forever Home

Family Days

Worst Day Ever

Home Alone

Our Mornings

Puppy Kindergarten

Curry

Fast as a Bullet

Road Trip

Maggie-Poops-A-Lot

My First Holiday Season

Fritz

Bear

Squirrel!

Umpa Lake

Father’s Day

On a Break

I am a Poker

Winter Fun

Spring Fever

Summer of the PCT: Mile 652 Walker Pass

PCT: Mile 1016 Sonora Pass

PCT: Mile 1076 Carson Pass

PCT: Mile 1195 Sierra City

Albany, Oregon Aussie Nationals

O Canada — Stehekin, WA PCT: Mile 2569 to Manning Park, Canada PCT Mile: 2658.9

Epilogue

Map Index

About the Author

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My Forever Home

I am Maggie. Everyone says that I am cute. That is nice, but apparently, my predecessor, Toots, was pretty. She had a wolf-like appearance, a masked face, and fluffy hair behind her ears giving her a full-faced look. I have an unruly right ear that likes to flop inside out. I can accept cute. I am scruffy and cute. Social media says I have big paws to fill. We will see about that.

I met my forever humans a few weeks before they actually came to pick me up. I was at a local dog show at the fairgrounds in Placerville with my three littermates. We pups were not in the show, just accompanying some of our elder Australian shepherds that were in quest of the coveted ribbons. We stayed in our motor home while the elders were in the ring, and then we enjoyed an outdoor playpen for the remainder of the day.

My registered name was Tye-Dyed’s Trisi, or just Trisi for short. My brothers, Gofer, Dagger, and Spin, were my best friends and we played together constantly. When we shared a crate, I was usually with Gofer, while Dagger and Spin roomed together. Dagger was a tri-colored like me, black with copper and white accents, except he was missing his copper markings. I guess that makes him a bi- rather than a tri-. He had a white stripe down his chest in the shape of a dagger. Like our mom, Elki, my stripe is a straight line down the center of my head (well almost straight). The other two brothers were both merles. I was the only female, but held my own with the boys. I had one other brother as well. I really tried to help, licking him and keeping him warm, but Blackie did not make it.

A friend of my breeders, Linda and Bruce, had her granddaughter with her and she would walk each of us around the fairgrounds so we could do our business and get a little exercise. That is when I first saw my future humans. The couple was talking to my Linda and Bruce, while Spin was giving the female of the pair a good face licking. She was sitting down on the cement edging along the lawn area so she was politely down at our level. The male seemed nice too, bending over to pet Dagger and give him a good shoulder hug. It was my turn for the walk, but I returned quickly and walked along the rock wall across the roadway in plain sight for them to see how well I maneuvered on the ledge.

elki%20001.jpg

Elki, with puppies Trisi, Gofer, Dagger, and Spin

(Maggie, Gofer, Diggs, and Dylan)

Photo courtesy of Maggie’s Linda

My balance was great and my gait quite lively. I admit that I was showing off a bit, well a lot. Then it was finally my turn for the meet and greet so I came over for a head rub and kisses. The male wanted a female pup and I was the only one, but my Linda and Bruce wanted to keep me. I was so popular. My mom, Elki, tore her uterus when we were born, and she was not able to have any more litters. I was going to replace her to keep our bloodline alive. I was cute, popular, registered, and very important it seemed.

The prospective couple kept on talking with my breeder long after it was clear that I was not available. They concluded the meeting by giving my Linda a card with a number and an email address to contact them if she heard of an available female puppy. It was sad to see them go away, but then it was time to return to the playpen and to straighten out the boys so I totally dismissed the encounter.

Imagine how surprised I was three weeks later when the couple appeared at my home in Sonora. I was the only loose dog inside the house, as my brothers were outside playing in the enclosed patio area and the elders were in crates. I ran up to them when they came in, and was so happy that I peed on the tile floor. My Linda wiped it up quickly, and I peed again, and then again. Sorry, but this was so exciting. I jumped up to give kisses and get some head rubs, and welcome them to our home.

What a great day. My breeder had been telling me that I was going to a new home, but I had no idea that it was to the couple that I had already met. Something must have changed her mind about keeping me. I do not think that I was bad or anything, it was just that she liked them and thought it was a great opportunity for me to have a good forever home. I happily agreed with the plan and looked forward to the journey. Later we learned that I carried a mutant-mutant gene and could not have a litter of my own. I am just a pup myself, so having a litter was never in my thoughts and I was happy for the change in everyone’s minds.

First, there was a lot of discussion and papers to be signed before we left. I was getting a little bored with all of that so I just wandered around the living area jumping on things. I was very curious about everything. Finally, they were ready to leave. They borrowed a leash and my breeder gave them a new yellow toy bird and a chew bone for me. Score! We walked out to the front where I was to go potty. Linda ratted on me that sometimes I faked a go potty just to move along. This time it was for real, however. Where did that come from?

After being a good girl, it was a quick goodbye to my breeder and the start of the long drive to my new home. Sure, I was leaving my brothers, Elki and the other elders, and my beloved breeders, but it looked like I had a great future in store just like my brothers. Dagger was leaving on a plane in another week, with a name change to Diggs and a new home in Ohio on a farm. He was actually going to be a true herder. Gofer was staying with Linda and Bruce and had responsibility for our bloodline’s future, and was to Go ‘fer’ ribbons. Spin did not have any plans just yet, but he was the best at giving kisses, so certain to find a great forever home soon enough.

It was going to be a couple of hours in the car and they were expecting me to stay in the back seat the whole way. I kept reminding them that I was there, in case they forgot. I tried repeatedly to make it to the front seat to be closer, but there was a barrage of No’s and pushes backwards. I did not give up easily, but their minds were set, so I finally settled in and stretched out across the back seat. Sweet!

Mid-way on the drive home, we stopped in the cute little town of Sutter Creek for a walk down to the namesake creek and a nice picnic area. I drank some water and got my paws wet before peeing and returning to the car. That was a pleasant break and very thoughtful. We had another stop on the way home at a winery where my new humans wanted to show me off. The people they were looking for were not there that day, but I did meet Colleen instead. She was sweet and let me give her kisses as she squatted down to my level. She also had a little chew treat in the office that she gave me, and another person got me an actual bottle of water to drink. It seemed they were having a plumbing problem so the tap water was not available. They were treating me like a princess, and I loved it.

After we left the winery, we finally drove to my new home in Rescue. The floor had carpets except in the kitchen where the floor was slippery and fun to slide on. I quickly learned to run to the edge of the carpet and then slide across the kitchen and into the cabinets with a toy in my mouth. In addition to the yellow bird toy I brought with me, I already had other toys in my humans’ bedroom, probably some of Toots’ old ones. I liked them all and took turns playing with each one. Along with my toys, I had a crate (I later learned it was borrowed from Aunt Pamela) with a pillow inside. Outside, there was a lawn in both the front and back yard to run on. I liked the front lawn the best and peed on it. I figured that it would make a great spot for pooping as well. My breeder had also provided some of my kibble, so I had a normal dinner my first night. When my female kneeled down in the pantry to fill my dinner bowl, I ran in and jumped on her back to supervise, but she was handling it just fine.

My humans set up their dinner on the coffee table in the living room, and my dinner and water bowl were on a nearby mat in the same room. When they brought their food over to the table, I just jumped up to take a look. Apparently, that was not a good idea, as I was scolded and told, No. They had to tell me a few times, however, before I realized the undesirable behavior in question. I pouted a little, and tried to crawl under the table instead. Also undesirable it seemed. I had a lot to learn from these two-leggeds. Eventually, they brought out my crate and had me stay inside while they ate. I cried a little, but they were firm.

I slept well in my crate that first night in the same room with my humans. A comfortable, velvety green dog pillow lined the floor of the crate. I could hear their breathing and smell their closeness. It was very comforting and I never whimpered. I was tired from the long, exciting day, so sleep was easy and I was a good girl until 6:00 am the next morning, my standard waking time. My female two-legged took me outside and walked around the yard with me for a long time. I took the opportunity to sniff the ground, inspect the horseshoe pit that a neighborhood cat was using as a litter box, and pick up pinecones to run and play with. I also did what I was suppose to before we came back in to play with the male two-legged on the bed before we all got up for breakfast.

The day would turn out to be as busy as the first one, with a trip to the river after breakfast. I was not looking forward to another car ride, but a little walk sounded good. I also did not like the purple harness they made me wear for the walk, as it was too big for me. The trip seemed questionable, and I did not know what a river was, but my female made it sound fun. She called herself Mama and I figured that would catch on with me as well.

It was a warm day, and the walk was getting a little long for me, so I just sat down on the dirt path and looked up at Mama with my cute, I want to be picked up look. It did not work, and after a little break, they pulled me forward. There would be no quitting and no being picked up in this family. We finally made it to the river, and it was just a big swimming pool for getting ones paws wet. The beach was a little rocky, but I made my way to the water for a greatly needed drink. After getting my paws cooled, my Mama announced that we were going to another beach. We just got here though I thought. I followed dutifully, nevertheless, and in just a few minutes, we reached the second beach.

Now this is what I would call a beach, full of sand and with plenty of shoreline to run along. There were a number of other humans here, young and old, as well as other four-leggeds. The first dog we encountered already thought he owned the beach and started to run at me, but my male human that Mama called Papa protected me from the beast and walked me safely to a more secluded area. Papa went out in the water and encouraged me to join him. There was a rock mid-way between us, so I ventured onto it. We played here for a long time, but the water was rising and soon my rock was fully covered. I slipped off and had to swim the short distance back to shore. I did not particularly like the swim, but I did not hate it either. Another dog with a ball in his mouth swam around the bend from yet a third beach. He was a lot bigger than I was, but very friendly. We wanted to play, but my humans did not know me well enough yet to trust in my social skills so I had to opt out of playing. I was having fun with Papa anyway, so we played with his foot splashing in the river instead.

The fun that day was not over yet. After the walk out from the river, we drove to the feed store for a bag of kibble and some treats. They bought a small bag of dog food, the same size they were accustomed buying for Toots. I was a bigger eater, however, and this bag would only last a week with me. They would not listen, so we did it their way this time. Later in the afternoon, we had time to drive down the hill to meet some people in an office. It turns out that one of the happiest ones there was my new sister, Andrea. The other girls, Kelci and Brittany, also doted over me. They all called me cute – it was confirmed.

For our evening pleasure, we went to Cielo winery. Mama laid out a sleeping bag for me and brought my chew bone and yellow bird, along with my water bowl and kibble dinner. We had a large lawn area for our picnic, a table for the humans, and a great spot for viewing the other people setting up. My humans loved picnics ever since their trip to New Zealand. Their guide prepared a number of picnic lunches during the two-week trip and hosted picnic-styled happy hours. In New Zealand, they saw herding dogs in action working with the scores of sheep (I might love sheep). Some of the dogs were Aussies like me, eager to work the animals. Also in New Zealand, they admired the Australian Magpie and its lyrical song of quardle, wardle, doodle, oodle. That is how my name evolved from Trisi to Magpie to Maggie. I like Maggie.

Some children showed up, looking like they needed herding. Other dogs arrived as well, but all went off to their own areas so there was little interaction. Then Andrea came along with her husband, Chris, and joined our little group. They had been on the New Zealand trip as well and loved picnics too. It was a lot of fun. We were there to listen to a band play outside on the grassy hill covered with delicious shade. They started to tune their instruments and I let out a little woof indicating they needed a lot of work before show time. When the band started playing for real, however, the sound was good and I settled peacefully to my lawn party of goodies and friends. The only thing that disturbed me other than the unruly children was the time when two Chows (looking like sheep) separated from each other and I felt they should be together. Their human got the message from my woof and fixed the problem adequately.

Over the next days, I divided my time between Mama and Papa in the late mornings. They separate after breakfast to different areas of the house. Not a perfect situation, but I had to adapt to give them each a little quality Maggie time. Papa goes upstairs to his man cave, and Mama sits down at her desk in our bedroom typing on her keyboard. I learned that