A Matter of Trust

We just got home from a week-long trip to Nebraska and while I have many highlights and stories to share I wanted take a minute to first address one particular event before I sort my thoughts on the rest of the weekend. It was Sunday night after the trial, the car was packed to come home complete with dogs and it was a cool evening so I made the choice to leave them crated in their familiar car rather than bring them back to the hotel and crate the in a strange place. Everyone was quiet and tired from a long day so I rolled down the windows a little and left them sleeping peacefully. A little while later as we were ordering dinner I lifted my head in reflex to visually confirm my car was still there and nothing looked amiss. I could see nothing. Literally nothing beyond the window of the restaurant for the rain that was sheeting down from the sky. I then heard the siren, the signal that a questionable storm was on it's way. Not thinking much beyond needing to see my dogs and rolling up the windows of my car which I was sure would be flooded at this point I ran out the door and was soaked instantly. When I got to the car, a mere 15 feet from the door, the dogs were howling, Sadie was hiding under some gear in the back and everyone was generally uneasy. I started the car, rolled up the windows, and turned on the radio to damper the sounds of the insistent siren. I then let my dogs loose and they instantly piled on my lap. A few soft kisses, a wary look or two outside, and they fell asleep content, feeling nothing but secure and completely safe now that "mommy" was here. It was one of those moments in life that really made me realize the bond that is shared between us. My dogs and I have always been close and have shared an eerie kinship that not many people can understand but in that moment it was made clear to me just how deep that bond goes. When I sat down in that car and they heard my voice the whole atmosphere changed. They went from stressed and scared to relaxed and secure, in an instant they believed with every fiber of their being that when I am present nothing bad could ever happen to them. I sat there with them for twenty minutes as 80mph winds rocked the vehicle. I watched the sky for signs of a funnel cloud and prepared myself for a potential mad-dash to the restaurant door with 5 dogs in tow. Thankfully the sky cleared and all went back to as it was withing the span of a half hour but the whole experience for me was deeply moving. It once again served to reminded me of the awesome responsibility we assume when we accept guardianship of an animal, and that true love is a matter of trust, a trust that is beyond merely taking a leap of faith, or doing something despite initial hesitation. Trust in a deeper, purified sense. A trust that does not waiver, or question, but truly believes that no matter the circumstance and no matter the cause that which you value most deeply will be protected and endure. This is the kind of trust we, regrettably, find so rarely in our human world. It is a trust that must be earned through our actions and fortified over time through reliability and dependence. It requires a benefactor free of misgiving and a recipient who will recognize and respect that which has been bestowed upon them. While I know beyond question that I am a better person for having my dogs it is nice to once and a while be reminded that their lives are better for having me as well.

Moose Jaw Mania

We spent last weekend in Moose Jaw helping to host our "home" tournament. Even though we live 2hrs away we love our teammates and can not imagine playing with anyone else. The tournament was held in the same building as we practice and Friday night set up went smoothly and most of it was done by the time we got there from Saskatoon. We arrived in time to set up our crates and help with a few last minute details before heading off to a teammates house for the night.

Saturday morning came all too early, as it always does, but the excitement of the racing erases the fog quickly. Kiwi's team got off to a bang running in the 17s right off the bat. This is our fastest team, our Div 1 contenders, and Kiwi filled the big shoes left by her sister Cali with ease. Every time I race this little dog I am amazed. Cali works hard to do the 4.6s and 4.7s she posts but Kiwi easily ticks off 4.6s and a few in the 4.5 range. By the last race on Sunday, a little worn from the weekend, she still managed to post a new personal best of 4.5 flat meaning 4.4s and better are not too far off! Sadie was a trooper all weekend and earned her FMX (10,000 pts) which is half way to her ONYX title, a major honor in flyball. Tov was, as always now, super consistent and ran a number of 4.9s with a pass. That little girl runs her heart out every time and gives you everything she's got, I could not ask for a more honest little dogs! By the end of the weekend Kiwi had her FDCh-G, Sadie her FMX, Riley his FM (not bad for a dog who was never supposed to run!), and Tov was only 100pts off her FDCH-G too. Kiwi's team also set a new club record mid Sunday of 17.095 - 16s are just around the corner for that group! It was a great weekend, but I have to say I missed my little Cali. Flyball is her thing and it was a little weird to be playing without her. Oh well, soon enough I will have her back in the lanes with me and hopefully a new little daughter who can watch and learn from mommy.

St Croix Terrier Trial

Event 2 of this past month involves the always exciting first trial of our JRTCA season. This year we chose to kick off a little early and attend the St Croix Terrier Trials in Lake Elmo MN. Structured a little differently than your typical terrier trial it was a JRTCA sanctioned trial on Saturday and an AWTA (American Working Terrier Association) trial on Sunday. The drive down was long but thankfully uneventful and we met up with old friends immediately upon our arrival. Being isolated up here in the "Great White North" I miss my American and Canadian terrier friends dearly over the winter and as such I am always very happy to have the opportunity to catch up with them. Friday evenings dinner was one of stories, cocktails, and good food - all the things a meeting of good terrier men and women should entail. Afterwards I unpacked the dogs, settled into the hotel, and was in bed at a shockingly reasonable hour.

With Kiwi now an adult I did not have to be at the racetrack quite as early as I had last year but for someone used to not having to have dogs ready to go until afternoon when conformation starts anything before 10am seems torturous. The weather as well was not entirely with us on Saturday as a little drizzle made for a damp start. Kiwi of course did not mind one bit, so long as there is a lure and a track she is happy to run in any conditions. She made her adult debut in style and won the Over Bitches flat race and then went on to take the hurdles race as well securing her a spot in the championship race. As an adult the initial races are separated by gender so the winner of the flat and hurdle races for boys and girls compete in the final. Like Kiwi the same dog won both the flat and hurdles so it was just the two of them for the Championship. It was a thrilling race to say the least as they ran neck and neck down the course, hit the hole together (an event that always makes me catch my breath) and ended in a dead heat! A rerun saw Kiwi come out victorious but I think that close match let her know the "big boys" will not be easy to outrun. We spent the rest of the day over at conformation where Kiwi and Robert took respectable thirds in their Open Conformation divisions and Robert won his suitability to Raccoon/Badger class. Sadie was the Veteran Terrier Champion and Patton took the Colored Terrier Championship.

There was no racing on Sunday so we were able to fall back into our old routine of sleeping in a little and taking our time arriving at the trial site. The day was much more inviting with near perfect temperatures and enough wind to keep any bugs that had been thinking about coming out away. While we waited for conformation to start I ran Robert through the Go-to-Ground tunnel and it did not take him long to figure out what he was supposed to be doing there. Cali and Patton both did a little trailing and locating work as I am hoping that Patton will take over as my tracking dog this summer once Cali has been bred. He did quite well on the scent trail, despite high winds, and as he matures a little more I think he will become a handy terrier to have around.

A cup of coffee and a little lunch later and conformation was ready to start. Cali was first in the ring and impressed me immensely taking the win in her class over some nice littler terriers and going on to take Reserve Champion Open Bitch. Robert repeated her performance in a little while later and took Reserve Champion Open Dog. We had a little fun and entered Cali, Kiwi, and Robert in the "Tool Box" class which they eventually won over some pretty handy competition.

All in all it was a great weekend filled with friends, of both the old and new variety, dogs, and pretty colored ribbons. What more could a girl want from life?

Warmen Flyball

As I have been a little negligent in my blogging I have 2 posts, from 2 different weekends, that each deserve separate billing. Here is the first. Mother's Day weekend, May 7th and 8th, saw us close to home in Warmen SK for the annual River Runner's flyball tournament. This year was a little extra special as it also marked our 1 year anniversary with Furry Flash. All our teams ran very well all weekend but there were a few special highlight moments that certainly stand out. Tov came back from a month break (due to a spay surgery) to run full time as the sole height dog on her team. She was solid all weekend and earned enough points to achiever her FDCh-S title. Kiwi ran part time with KAOS, a team from Regina, and never posted a time over 5 seconds. Her box turn seems to be coming along better and I am hopeful she will be ready to run in a more regular position soon. Sadie was great running full time once again and she even helped one of the younger handler in our club earn her Junior Handler pin for running her an entire race. Cali was once again my star of the weekend as she posted a new personal best of 4.65s on Sunday morning and then went on the achieve her FMX (10, 000 pts) title that afternoon. Considering she has only been running flyball for not quite a year and a half I am beyond proud of her. I will very much miss running her this summer once she has been bred as her enthusiasm and love of the game is infectious and always brings a smile to my face.

Spring has SPRUNG

With winter slowing releasing it's grasp on Saskatchewan and the snow receding for another year we can finally take the dogs outside to play a little. While the tans and browns of spring do not set the ideal backdrop for photography I was never the less anxious to get some action shots of my new addiction, disc. We have been fiddling around with a frisbee here and there in the upstairs training room this winter but I need a larger area to really test out the dogs, so I was on hiatus until my yard was once again usable. A little damp still, and sacrificing some lawn to do it (I will certainly have to reseed this spring) I got the opportunity I have been waiting for all winter, to really throw some discs for the dogs. They were all outstanding in their first practice and it soon became clear that it will be my throwing skills that hold us back not their catching! I look forward to having the opportunity to improve my skills and theirs this summer, and who knows maybe we will even make it to Alberta for a competition or two...

The best gifts come in small white packages

Through the generosity of my friend Diane of Pinnacle Terriers I am proud to welcome Dig It Obsession (aka "Robert") to Inseguire for the summer of 2011. As a rule I don't normally keep JRT males here at Inseguire since we are a small kennel and I prefer to move forward exclusively through my female line and not limit my stud choices in any way. On occasion though we are pleased to be able to welcome a "visitor" for a few months, especially when that visitor is a sweet and kind as Robert!

Robert is by one of my very favorite terriers, Shelmar Double Dose, and out of a JRTCA National winning bitch Little Eden Sassafras. He is a lovely individual and has many characteristics that remind me of his father, one of which is his super sweet personality. His littermates and siblings have been doing amazing things in the show ring the last couple of years and we are looking forward to having Robert out with us this summer.

So far he is fitting in well to our kennel and has already figured out where all the best lounging spots are around the house. He gets along very well with all our dogs, terriers and otherwise, and is becoming more comfortable initiating play with them. We look forward to getting to know this boy a little better over the summer and look forward to having some fun with him in the show ring and hunt field!

Flyball Season Opener

Last weekend was our first flyball tournament of the season and the very first tournament ever for Overdrive Dog sports. We drove to Edmonton AB with Sadie, Cali, Riley, and Kiwi listed on a team with Utah and Sarge from Wild. It was a bit of a hail marry team as it was Kiwi's first tournament, Cali was being handled by my friend Tiffany (she has never been handled by anyone but me), and Riley has never been asked to run full time but we figured whatever happened we would have a great time. The girls from Wild have always been very fun to run with and we were meeting our friends from Good 2 Go there as well so it had the makings of a very good weekend yet I was nervous and excited at the same time. The debut of my new dogs combined with the debut of my flyball team was a lot of excitement.

As Saturday got underway and the dogs were running near flawlessly I was able to relax a little more and just enjoy the game we all love. Kiwi debuted like she had been doing this her whole life. Her turn needs a little work still but she LOVES the game and that enthusiasm is infectious. Cali ran super for Tiffany and Riley never missed a beat. Even Sadie, a year to the day from her accident, was pumped about the racing. Utah from Wild earned his ONYX on Saturday and Sarge debuted and earned his FD and FDX like a pro. The whole teamed gelled amazingly well and the full time dogs earned over 500 points apiece. What more could a girl ask for? The only down side of Saturday was a friend's dog got injured, thankfully only a minor injury, but it would preclude her from racing for the rest of the weekend. They had traveled a very long way to attend this tournament and had not brought any extra dogs which meant they were going to be a dog down for Sunday. After talking it over with the rest of the team we decided to lend them Tov. It would be her first tournament run but they had another very green dog she could share the spot with in case one of them had trouble.

A little power shopping at West Edmonton Mall with Tiffany Saturday night and a good night sleep, facilitated by now tired dogs, had us up early and recharged for Sunday. Once again I was thrilled with my crew, they ran their hearts out and had very few unclean runs. Tov was the real star though. She had very little time to warm up on Sunday before being asked to run her first race but she never missed a beat. She earned her FD and FDX handily and put up some pretty good times. As I sat on the floor, eating my lunch that day, surrounded by my dogs and friends I couldn't help but think I am truly blessed to be able to do this. What a fantastic weekend, I cant wait for the rest of the season!