The New Year brings some fond memories!

As I sit in my comfy chair surrounded by my incredible and awesome dogs in the living room of my very cozy home in Arizona, I cannot help but think about how incredibly lucky I am :-) I have been a bit dismayed of late as to how fast time really does go and how it seems to speed up with each passing year! A wonderful agility peer that I have known for many years named Maureen Robinson who just happens to be battling cancer right now, (all prayers and positive thoughts welcome!!), posted a picture on my Facebook wall that really reminded me just how much time has passed since I have embarked on this life journey of agility training, handling, and, teaching. I was so touched by the photo, but, at the same time a little freaked out that I barely recognized the youngster in the picture. I was at USDAA Nationals standing alongside one of the greatest dogs that ever walked the face of the Planet, my Secret! This picture really made me think about all that I have done in this sport and because of this sport! I have made countless lifelong friends, been to places I would never have gone, and, most importantly, done things I never would have done. it is actually a bit surreal at times to look back on the accomplishments, adventures, and, amazing dogs I have had the pleasure of being their best friend. It seems like only yesterday that I drove to Northern Illinois to pick up my very first BC puppy Jack :-) What a teacher he was! Jack came along at a time when we really had no idea how to train for this sport, how to handle a dog, what to do in general. Jack made me the trainer and handler I am today. Fortunately subsequent dogs came along and added to as well as tweaked that initial training. :-) Jack was WILD!!! He was a true pioneer of this sport and was well known by pretty much everyone as one of the great dogs out there competing, the irony is that in his whole career he probably had less total Q's than most of mine do by age 3! Boy how times change ;-) I was and still madly in love with that dog and miss him pretty much everyday... Next came Secret, thank goodness I had Jack first or I would have been screwed! Secret was from Day 1, well, PERFECT! I am pretty sure that she was psychic and she certainly made me look good! Secret had so many accomplishments it is not even possible to list them all, most notable however, she was the very first IFCS World Champion, pretty cool! I seem to be digressing, mostly it is a bittersweet trip down memory lane. I miss each and every dog I have lost and am in awe of how short our time together is. Jack, Secret, Buzz, Able, Blitz and others that maybe did not have a shining agility career but were part of the family none the less. It is not my mission with this blog post to bring anyone down, as hard as it is to be without these special pieces of my heart they bring comfort, fond memories, and, have led me to where I am today :-) There is a new crew of competitors all equally special for similar and different reasons. I am super excited to say that although I do not believe there will ever be another Jack, he lives on though his Grandson Wally. Wally is as close to being like Jack as any dog I have had since. My Journey girl sure reminds me of a black smooth coated Secret and Baby Rook has a whole bunch of Able in him! How incredibly exciting!! I also have new and exciting completely different individuals, can you say SoBe?? Maze has desperately tried to out do Secret in the perfect department and I guess on an awards level he has, but, some things just are not measurable by trophies and ribbons. I am one of those people that has a "pack" of dogs and I am deeply invested in each and everyone of them. You could easily say that my life has gone to the dogs, is all about dogs. I happen to love that about my life. None of my dogs are judged by their agility prowess, they all bring something very important to my life, and, our family. Each and everyone has a job, even if it is to keep the buffalo out of the garden. As we head into 2014 there are yet again advancements in the sport we call agility, new and exciting opportunities for me, and, everyone. As I enter into this new year I am only going to look back with fond memories of the incredible experiences I have had with my incredible teammates by my side, the adventures and incredible journeys they have taken me on, and,the amazing people they have introduced me to. Primarily, I am going to look forward to the new experiences, the new incredible journeys, (pun intended!), and, all of the amazing people I have yet to meet! So far 2014 has been amazing, I am blessed with fantastic dogs who I am excited to explore the future with, at this point the future is looking really bright! Now, if we could just add a couple days to the week or hours to the day that would be spectacular!! Happy New Year everyone!!!!