in 2003 from a foster home who had taken him in as a possible agility candidate. He was 9 mos old at the time and for whatever reason, his foster mom decided he wasn't the type of dog she could work with. Since she was leaving in 10 days for a season of trialing down in Florida, she was looking to find him a home fairly quickly. As soon as he was 1 year old I started agility lessons with Betty Belliveau at Collinswood K9 Services in Auburn, MA http://collinswoodk9.com/. We went through Beginner and Advanced Beginner and then took a break as I felt I wasn't "getting" it and neither was Mickey. Shortly thereafter I adopted Guinness and decided to give agility another try, this time with both dogs. I chose another training center this time (big mistake) and halfway through the 6 week session Guinness fell gravely ill and had to have surgery. He is totally fine now after 2 surgeries and is my cuddlebug.
Flashforward to 2007. I had been the regional coordinator for the breed rescue group for a couple of years and got an email from a woman surrendering her oversized pap due to aggressiveness towards her sheltie and nippiness towards her young kids. Against my better judgement I took this dog into rescue and brought him home as his foster mom. The meet and greet did not go well to say the least and I very quickly realized the dog was out of my league with all his issues. It took him 3 days to even approach me but once he did, I was his, no question (to this day he reminds everyone living in or visiting the house of this fact despite my best efforts to be the "pack leader"). His high energy personality didn't help matters . Hoping to find something to help me address all his issues, I decided to try agility one more time and contacted Betty to see if she would take us on. Luckily she was up for the challenge and welcomed me back. That was nearly 2 years ago, in November 2008 (I adoped Koby a few months after bringing him home). We have attended every 6 week session offered since then and this May entered our first CPE (Canine Performance Events-http://www.k9cpe.com/) trial in Deerfield, NH. I'll never forget the feeling I had when I found out we Q'd and placed 4th in our very first run!! But that was nothing compared to the feeling I had when we Q'd and placed 1st in only our second run the next day! In CPE that means we also titled and could move up to level 2. We're staying at level 1 for the time being as Koby doesn't have the teeter or weave poles consistently yet. We entered 3 other CPE trials and 1 Teacup trial over the rest of the summer, the most recent one being up in Bar Harbor, ME over Columbus Day weekend (hearty thanks to the wonderful folks of EMAC for putting on a fabulous trial and their great hospitality!!). We've done really well for our first season of trialing and have amassed a number of Qs and blue ribbons much to my never ending surprise. We'll be taking a break this winter while I try to recoup some of the money I spent acquiring all the accrutrements one needs to be comfortable at outdoor trials (thanks Chase!!). Most people collect these supplies over 1 or 2 seasons but not me!! Nope, I had to have it all by my 3rd trial!!
Here's a list of what I acquired this summer:
- A Subaru Outback
- A platform and underbed storage bins for the cargo area to create more storage (thanks Daddy-O!!)
- 27'X 12' sunshade (isn't bigger always better??)
- Clamps for attaching said sunshade to Easy UP
- Royobe rechargeable fan
- LOTS of bungee cords
- Easy Up canopy and weights
- Shade Tent
- Two 4' high X-pens
- Tarp
- HTC Evo (this wasn't really necessary for agility now was it!!)
- Cool folding chair with fold down side table and molded cup holder
- $100 sneakers to correct my pronation and help my back/hip problems
- Custom slip lead/martingale collar and leash by D Dog Designs http://ddogdesigns.com/ - Denise you rock!! Cooper loves his new collar!!
Now, if anyone has a part time work from home job for me, let me know!!
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