Meet the Dogs of BioStar! (Part 1)
Here at BioStar, we love dogs! They are our constant companions, confidants, and small shadows who love to keep us company no matter what we are doing. We love to get to know new dogs whenever we can, so we asked BioStar riders Abigail McArdle and Kelly Soleau-Millar, plus Tigger herself, some fun questions about their four-legged family members! Read on to be introduced to some of those cute personalities:
Kelso and Pepe
Tell us about your dogs! Do they have nicknames? How long have they been in your family?
Abigail McArdle: “Kelso has been with me for eleven years and Pepe is a new member, he is eight months old. They don’t have nicknames but they have their full names which are Kelso Jose and Don Pepone.”
Tigger Montague: “I have eight Australian shepherds and their names and nicknames are: Kemosabe (Monkey Boy), Thunderbear, Buckaroo (Mr. Schmoo), Crockett (Rockett Crockett), Wookie (the Wook), Eden (Momma Dog), Keen (Keeno Beano), Cake Walk (Cakey). Kemosabe is my oldest at 13.5 years old. The youngest is Keen at age 2.
Kelly Soleau-Millar: “Shorty is going to be two in a couple of days! I got him in January of 2019. He came from Michigan and Donna, who owns my grey mare Cacharel, picked him up for me.”
Keen and his ball toy
Do they have a favorite toy? What about a favorite treat?
Abigail McArdle: “Kelso goes crazy for antlers and Pepe loves any toy that squeaks. They both love pig ears as a special treat.”
Tigger Montague: “Kemosabe and Keen love tennis balls. Kemosabe also likes to carry my shoes around in his mouth. The others aren’t very toy oriented but Keen loves my socks. Favorite treats: cheese and BioStar K9 liver treats”
Kelly Soleau-Millar: “Shorty loves all toys! He’s a corgi so he loves all food, but one of his favorite things to do we learned this summer is visit the coffee lady, who was at the Winter Equestrian Festival as well as the Traverse City Horse Shows, and she has milk bones in her coffee booth. If I went up to get coffee in the morning and there’s a huge line, he cuts in front of everyone and waits in front of the window for his milk bone. He loves all sorts of food.”
Shorty, the gregarious dog!
Do they have any favorite barn activities? Perhaps walking with you on hacks, helping teach lessons, or “helping” pick out stalls?
Abigail McArdle: “Both dogs have a very busy schedule. In the morning they help build the course. During the day they keep an eye on the lessons and training and are sure to join in on any trail rides that happen. In the afternoon they patrol the aisle and make sure no horses are pawing or kicking. On the way home they herd the cows when we are in Virginia.”
Tigger Montague: “My dogs love to do whatever it is I am doing. That includes accompanying me when I take a shower. I take Keen and Kemosabe to the office with me, and they love hanging out in Production and trying to sneak Optimum bars from the production line.”
Kelly Soleau-Millar: “He is extremely social and he loves water. Anytime someone has the hose out he wants to play. He loves the hose and water! We always have a kiddie pool out, and if other dogs are playing in it, he’ll run in the mini pony’s paddock and jump in their water trough so he has his own pool. He’s very social with all the other dogs. He’s always there to greet anyone at the barn, he probably knows more people and dogs than I do.”
Pepe – Yep, he’s laid back!
Are they more laid back, or high energy? How do they fit into the “pack?”
Abigail McArdle: “They both are laid back but have plenty of energy to do the things they enjoy. Kelso is the alpha top dog and Pepe is more submissive and social. Pepe has lots of friends at the horse show but Kelso keeps to himself.”
Tigger Montague: “Right now Keen has the most high energy of the group. Kemosabe used to be quite high energy, Buckaroo is the most laid back. He’d be happy to lay on the couch all day and watch tv. Wookie is the chicken wrangler. Thunderbear practices a zen approach to life, Crockett is the boss dog and official Hall Monitor, Eden is the nurturer, and Cake Walk is the alarm bell. All of them except Wookie are great swimmers and love the water.”
Kelly Soleau-Millar: “He is very laid back and friendly, he’s never had an argument with another dog. He’s friends with everyone. He loves to play with labs and he’ll be high energy with them, but when he comes in the house he’ll lay on his back and pass out.”
Crockett loves to swim
What would their ideal day look like?
Abigail McArdle: “They would love to be out herding the cows all day!”
Tigger Montague: “For Keen it would be running and running until he can’t run anymore. I call him the Porsche. For the others it would be going to the creek and swimming. For Wookie it would be chasing Keen. For all of them, they would love to chew on raw bones every day of their lives.”
Kelly Soleau-Millar: “He loves to go everywhere I go. He wants to eat right away in the morning, then he goes outside. He loves going in the car for coffee, or at the horse shows, in the golf cart for coffee. At the shows he’ll hang out in the golf cart or with his friends back in the barn. Wherever I go he wants to be, but he’s not attached to me. As long as he is in his environment, he’s happy.”
Shorty (nom nom nom)
If they could only eat one thing for the rest of his life, what would it be?
Abigail McArdle: “Kelso and Pepe love anything from the grill. If someone is bbqing within a 5 mile radius you can bet you’ll find two corgis there.”
Tigger Montague: “Only one of mine is picky, so if they had to choose one thing I think it would be steak.”
Kelly Soleau-Millar: “He’s content with all of his food, so nothing in particular! He just loves food in general.”
Pepe (aka Danny Devito)
If they had human voices, what do you think it would sound like?
Abigail McArdle: “Kelso would have an upper class British accent and Pepe would sound like Danny Devito.”
Tigger Montague:
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- Kemosabe: an aging Han Solo
- Thunderbear: Graham Greene (Native American actor)
- Buckaroo: Kramer on Seinfeld
- Crockett: Bruce Willis
- Eden: Dianne Wiest (actor)
- Wookie: Hermione Granger
- Cake Walk: Miley Cyrus
- Keen: Keanu Reeves
Kelly Soleau-Millar: “I did a poll with my friends, and we decided he would speak and also act like either Seth Rogan or Chris Connelly! He’s just happy go lucky, friends with everyone, and everything he does is hysterical.”
Buckaroo after eating the delivery man’s lunch.
What is your favorite story with your dogs? Anything funny they have done that you have a favorite memory of?
Abigail McArdle: “When Kelso was a puppy he would love to dive into the manure pit and use it almost as a little kids ball pit. Pepe bites Kelso’s nub of a tail when he wants to keep playing. That makes Kelso very angry!”
Tigger Montague: “Recently we had some workmen doing work on the outside of the house. One of them left the door open in his truck, and Buckaroo climbed in and ate his lunch.”
Kelly Soleau-Millar: “Shorty interacting with the coffee lady this summer was just hysterical. The first time he did it, there had to be a line of twenty people waiting for coffee and I was at the back of the line talking to friends of mine. He went straight to the front of the line and just sat there and looked at the window. Ever since then that was his favorite place. Everyone in the line was just cracking up because he kept waiting there for his cookie until he finally got it. During quarantine we had lots of fun adventures together too. He would love to ride in the bike basket and love to be in front of the camera.”
Kelly and Shorty (aka Seth Rogan)
What celebrity would they be if they were human?
Abigail McArdle: “Kelso would be Sean Connery and Jim Carey.”
Tigger Montague:
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- Kemosabe: a cross between Harrison Ford and Anthony Hopkins
- Thunderbear: the 14th Dalai Lama
- Buckaroo: Eddie Murphy
- Crockett: Robert De Niro
- Eden: Emma Thompson
- Wookie: cross between Beyonce and Queen Latifah
- Cake Walk: Kim Kardashian
- Keen: a young George Clooney
Kelly Soleau-Millar: “Shorty would be Seth Rogan or Chris Connelly.”
