Parting is such sweet sorrow...

We said a bittersweet good-bye to Inseguire Memento last week. She left for her new home in the Yukon, via Vancouver, and while we will miss her terribly she is going to a wonderful family. Her new people got in touch with me a few weeks ago and went through our screening process with flying colors. They had previously owned a JRT and their idea of a vacation was a week long canoe trip with evening hikes. I am not sure you can find two people more suited for a JRT but to top it all off they were willing to fly to Vancouver and spend a weekend there just so she wouldn't have to endure a long plane ride alone.

Sunday morning arrived and we packed her up with a blanket and tug and kissed her goodbye. A few tears later, of mixed joy and sorrow, and she was on her way to Vancouver to meet the people she would be spending the rest of her life with. The flight from Saskatoon was a fairly short one but of course I was still not able to relax entirely until I heard from her new family that she was safe in their arms. Thankfully the plane was on time and there were no complications with picking her up and I received a phone call right on time to say she made it and they loved her! They reported she handled the trip well and was already handing out kisses as if she had known them her whole life.

Sending our little ones so far away is always difficult but seeing them in their new homes, so content, so loved, makes all the heart ache of saying goodbye worth it. A picture speaks a thousand words and seeing Mika, who is now Ripley, snuggled up with her new "mommy" on the couch without a care in the world lets me know we made the right decision for her. This is why we breed. Seeing the pure joy in our dogs and their new owners when they are together makes it all worth while.

Reasons to Celebrate

Despite some minor setbacks this week there is reason to celebrate here at Inseguire. Mazel Tov, our little Atresia Ani puppy, had her appointment with the surgeons at the WCVM. As always I was a little nervous, there are so many unknowns with her that it is hard for me to have any expectations as to what may be found. Tov on the other hand loves going to the college. She has a great time as everyone fusses over her and feeds her treats. We have spent enough time there in her short life that all the residents know her by name and all the girls at the front desk spoil her. It never ceases to amaze the staff how big she is or how well she appears to be doing.

After her initial exam she went for another set of radiographs. A few of the surgeons met and discussed the similarities and difference between the sets taken a month ago and her initial ones taken as a newborn puppy. Eventually we were called back and presented with a number of options and a difficult decision. As she is today Tov is considered an "acceptable" pet. She is continent, happy, and relatively healthy. Doing anything may jeopardise this and while there is a chance that constructing an anus for her may improve her quality of life there is also the risk that it may diminish her current quality of life substantially if she does not have any sphincter muscles or she gets an infection. The surgeons discussed in depth what our spectrum of options are but in the end we all concluded that minimal interference until we absolutely had to was the best way to proceed. Tov is really such a medical marvel that we are all a little hesitant to interfere with what appears to be a pretty good thing.

With this diagnosis we can now move forward with placing her in a permanent home. She is welcome to stay here at Inseguire indefinitely but she may very well be happiest in a home that is all her own. She loves to be spoiled and cuddled and we will be hard pressed to find the perfect place for her but if and when it does come along we will now be able to provide some insight into her future. We have invested countless hours into her care, but days like today make all the sleepless nights and long days worth it. Having her kiss my nose every morning when I wake up is all the thanks I will ever need.

 

Does anyone have a pug I can borrow??

We spent this last weekend in Brandon MB running in the CARS flyball tournament. Sadie, Cali, Kiwi, and I headed down to Regina on Friday and then carpooled the remainder of the way with the ladies of Good 2 Go. It was a long day but we made it to Brandon in one piece and after a few minor adjustments with the hotel room we were able to settle in and go to sleep. Saturday morning, as always, came way too early but we all managed to get up in time to make the captains meeting. Rhianna and I were running with the girls from Wild for the weekend and I would have to say that their name describes them well. These girls are an absolute hoot and have a great sense of humor, by the end of the weekend we had more laughs then I can ever remember having at a flyball tournament. Cali was absolutely solid, taking the ball even when it was loaded on the wrong side of the box and fumbling it once but recovering and completing all her jumps properly. I could not have been prouder of her, but it was the pugs and the bully mix who stole the show in the end. New and green, Billo had his job down pat - bring mom the ball - which he did over, and over, and over again, in rapid succession, and to the exclusion of his other teammates. We thought we has this problem solved by running him last until low and behold someone had to rerun. This required his handler to make a mad dash after him and a mid air tackle which was gracefully landed - one foot over the start line. The judge was laughing so hard that she almost forgot to raise her flag and disqualify us. The pugs on the other hand were our lucky charm and every time it was their turn to sit things would fall apart. At one point, in a must win situation, we resorted to asking the other team we were racing (who are friends of ours) if they had a pug we could borrow - after a moment of confusion they replied they were fresh out. The subsequent laughter by both teams delayed the race start by almost a minute. Sadie even had a chance to run on Sunday and after a shaky start ended the day making some very good catches and runs.

Kiwi, as always, stole the show. Everyone she met loved her and asked where she came from. She is a great ambassador for our kennel. She spent a good part of both days playing tug and introducing herself to the puppies of "Wild". She had her most fun though back at the hotel room with Rhianna's dogs Burst, Taboo, and Relay. They played like mad things for HOURS, Kiwi would hide under the bed and pop out like a little blanket monster an they would chase and paw and dig at her - she had the time of her life. All in all this was a great time, which was only made even better by getting to run Good 2 Go's start dog 'Limit' who is so consistent we were able to push our start to near perfection and win some very tight races. Such a great weekend, we are looking forward to repeating the fun in Warmen in early May.

From White to Black

As Jack Russell enthusiasts started to acquire some different "colored" terriers the JRTCA and JRTCC began offering unsanctioned colored terrier classes at trials. This was my first introduction to the world of working terriers beyond the Jack Russell and I have always been fascinated by the variety of temperaments and working styles of these dogs. I make a point to watch as many classes as I can and one breed in particular has always stood out to me, the Patterdale Terrier. These are a very unusual breed in North America and not well known but they are a lovely little dog that is similar in appearance to a Jack Russell, except in black or chocolate, and their temperament is one of a high drive that without being hyperactive or over the top. After watching a dog that belonged to a good friend of mine from Colorado - who never failed to catch my eye in the show ring and has the most wonderful, biddable, temperament - I finally asked Mike to let me know when he had another litter.

Well, almost a year later Mike contacted me to say he had a surprise, but much wanted, litter of Patterdale puppies and ask if I was still interested. Although I had a litter of my own at the time I knew this was an opportunity not to be missed so I told him to pick me out a puppy that would suit our home. Mike recommended I consider a boy as we already had so many girls and, well, they call them *female dogs* for a reason. Male dogs have many wonderful qualities that are hard to fully appreciate until you live with a house full of females, so while this was going to be a bit of an adjustment for everyone here I agreed to take one of the two tan and white boys.

Just over 4 weeks later, a 12 hour plane ride, and a 7 hour drive, Patton arrived at my doorstep. He is everything I could have hoped for and more. Bold, confident, and outgoing, his long adventure form Colorado to Saskatoon did not seem to have taken anything out of him. He played with every dog he met at my friend's house and then came home to meet his new "family" and was equally as agreeable here. I just adore his easy going nature, but he is not by any means complacent. He has mastered the routes onto the couch that should be well out of his reach and will climb on, or burrow into, anything he thinks could be of interest. He has fit right into the Inseguire pack and managed to convince me that he needed to sleep in the bed his first night too. I look forward to many more years and many more adventures with this new terrier but for now he will just be my snuggle buddy and curl up in my arms when he is not off exploring.

 

Flyball - KAOS Style

Cali and I traveled to Regina this weekend to attend the KAOS flyball tournament. This was my first time at this tournament and I have to say that despite the fact that their building was a little smaller than your typical flyball tournament it made for a great venue. The smaller size made for a more "intimate" atmosphere as so often we just stick to our own teams at tournaments and don't interact with the other groups as much as we could. With a venue like this one it is virtually impossible not to make some new friends as everyone is shoulder to shoulder, and with most of the dogs crated outside or in other rooms we could actually hear each other speak. It was a great place to spend more time with people I have not seen since last racing season and get to know Cali's new teammates a little better.

Cali will be running with Furry Flash Dogsports from Moose Jaw SK this year. We got to know this team a little better during the 2009 racing season and I watched them struggle to run the 10 or so big dogs that belong to their club with only one height dog.

For anyone who is not familiar with flyball the height of the jumps on the way to and from the box are set by the smallest dog on the team, also known as the height dog. Without a small dog on the team members must jump 14 inches (typical teams jump 7-9) which can slow each dog down by as much as a full second and is very physically taxing.

After watching this club try to coordinate running all their big dogs equally in only 5 available spots I spoke to their captain Ken about using one of my girls for the 2010 racing season. Our own club seems to have a large amount of height dogs this year, to the extent that 2 or even 3 will be running on a team at the same time. After discussing the logistics of the move with the club owner and president we transferred Cali over to Furry Flash.

This was our first tournament running with Furry Flash and all my worries about how Cali would handle the new box, new dogs, and new routine, was put to rest after the first race where she handled everything like a seasoned veteran. Cali lives for flyball and her enthusiasm is infectious on the line and some good, not to mention tight, racing added to that excitement and made for a fun day. I knew form watching furry Flash last season that they were a club that thoroughly enjoyed racing their dogs but I never expected to feel so welcome and comfortable in our very first outing with them. I want to thank everyone we ran with on Saturday for making us feel so at home and also say a special thank you to Ignited who allowed me the privilege of running their start dog Moxie in one race and giving me the opportunity to do something I almost never get to do, race the lights to the line. Cali and I had a great time overall and we are really looking forward to what the rest of the racing season will bring.

Edmonton Flyball

Donna and Topher

Inseguire Christopher C "Topher"

Well the first flyball tournament of the year is over and done with and as always there were a few kinks to be worked out but on the whole I have to say it was a success. Donna brought Topher (Christopher C) up on Saturday to do some warm ups with her team, the Lloydminster Hotdoggers. I always love getting the chance to see "my" puppies all grown up and how happy they are in their new homes and Topher was no exception. It is quite obvious he loves his family as he watched Donna intently from the sidelines even though I was snuggling him. He was such a good boy and did so well in warmups that he ran the last few races of the day earning his FD and FDX! Congratulations Donna, you have done such a good job with "our" little man!

Sadie had a good start to Saturday but an incident during a pass later in the day left her a little shaky. Fatigue was setting on top of everything else and she was just not a happy camper so I pulled her from the last race and let her relax. Thankfully we had a backup as this was her first tournament back since having the puppies and I knew she was not going to be fit enough to run full time anyway. Sunday morning started off with a fresher dog but she was still obviously hesitant from the incident on Saturday. After some work and some line-up modification we got her running almost like her old self by the end of Sunday and I am hopeful that a few good practices will have her back to form.

Cali was the real star of the weekend, improving vastly on her performance in Souris. Her box turn is almost solidified now and that helped her improve her personal best time to 4.903 even with a 3ft pass! She impresses me more and more each time I put her in the lanes and she may one day be just as fast (or faster) than her mother. She is a solid little dog who even when she makes a mistake will go back and correct it and with a little more experience will be quite a reliable little height dog.

To add to the fun (or chaos if you prefer) I brought along the puppies for some much needed socialization. They, as always, stole the show both days showing everyone how they fetch a ball and trade it for the tuggie at only 11 wks old. I adore the stage that they are in now where they just love everyone and everything and I am hopeful that with enough proper socialization they will be able to keep it up into adulthood. I have to give them a lot of credit they were amazing travelers for the whole 6 hour journey, only stopping once to potty and sleeping most of the way there. They were even good about sleeping in their crate, despite much chaos during the first night, and did not complain about much during the entire adventure. Did I mention I want to keep them all?

Glamour Shoot

Well the time has come to take pictures and evaluate puppies. This is always the hardest part when you have to put personal feelings aside and look critically at each dogs strengths and weaknessess. I am blessed to have the help of two wonderful women, Sadie's breeder Shirley Buist and Gaye Redpath of Conquest Terriers, to help me out. Even though we have two puppies destined for pet homes I like to evaluate the whole litter to see what my bitch is producing and what the cross provides. Inseguire Keepsake and Inseguire Memento (pics one and two respectively) are both outstanding individuals and after great debate I have decided to run on with both of them, at least for a little while. Inseguire Tricuit is an absolute sweetheart and fairly well put together, in another litter she may well be a keeper, but her personality makes her ideally suited to a loving pet home Inseguire Mazel Tov is cute, and feisty, and even though she has some flaws caused by being the runt she has some very nice qualities as well. On a whole I am thrilled with this litter, exactly what I was hoping for in Sadie's curtain call as a brood bitch. I will be excited to watch them mature, and even more excite to put them into the show ring!