Accomplishments

Agility videos of Nate and Trevor

CURRENT DOGS

Our currently active dogs.

Wynwood Polar Vortex Arctic Chill RA SWA SIE SCE AX OAJ OF ACT2J TKA CGC WC

"Flurry"

Born Jan. 29, 2019

Pedigree

Videos

2021:

• OA, OAJ, NF, OF, AX

• 2 JH legs

• WC

• SWA

• RA

MACH4 PDCH Weebe Uncommon Denominator PJD PAD MXC MJC MFS TQX T2B4 TKI ADHF

"Nate"

Born Jan. 1, 2014

Wild boy, lap dog.

Pedigree

You can see videos here.

2019-2020

• • March 1, 2020: At first AKC trial since June 2019, Nate QQed (#83) and got double placements (second in Std, fourth in JWW). Rhodesian Ridgeback trial in Morgan Hill, judge Cindy Tilly.

  • February 2, 2020, a.k.a 02022020, the first palindrome date in over 900 years. Also Super Bowl Sunday. Stayed to the end of the day for jumpers, where Nate qualified to finish his USDAA PDCH. The fact that I could barely walk by the end was a small price to pay. We did it! Whatta dog!

  • February 1, 2020: Returned to agility (USDAA, SMART trial, Morgan Hill) for the first time in 7 months. Nate only needed 2 more jumpers legs for his PDCH, and I was kicking myself for not having had the foresight to finish the title before I got my surgery. I had to try. Nate didn't miss a beat--we only did a few runs, but he got first place in both Std and jumpers.

    • My knee was only marginally better (after getting stem cell therapy in November 2019), but I wanted to test the waters to see how it would hold up at an agility trial.

    • It felt okay, if not great, after the first day. By the end of the second day, I felt like I could barely walk.

• June 25, 2019: Got surgery for my torn meniscus. No agility while it heals, which in my case is taking longer than the optimistic "4 to 6 weeks" they told me before surgery. So far it's worse than it was before I had the surgery (as of December, 2019).

  • June 15, 2019: Got QQ #82 at the MBDTC agility trial in Scotts Valley.

  • June 2, 2019: Got another QQQQ at the Del Monte trial in Monterey. QQ #81. A perfect weekend for Nate.

  • June 1, 2019: Got QQ #80 at the Del Monte trial in Monterey, thereby finishing his MACH4. Also qualified in FAST and T2B, so that was a QQQQ (judge Craig Josling).

• Tore my meniscus on the bad surface at the Rhodesian Ridgeback trial in early March. Couldn't schedule surgery right away because I had to pick up my new puppy in Michigan in mere days. Between the puppy and my knee pain, Nate and I mostly skipped agility for March, April, May... no end in sight. Surgery is scheduled at the end of June. No idea how long it will take us to come back after that.

  • March 2, 2019: Got QQ #79 and finished his PAD (Premier Standard) title at the Rhodesian Ridgeback trial in Livermore (judge Craig Josling).

  • February 23-24, 2019: Got QQ #77 and #78 (judges Laurie Holdren and Scott Stock). Also got Premier JWW leg #29 (Scott Stock).

  • February 17, 2019: Got Premier Std leg #24 at the Puli trial in Santa Rosa (judge Paula Ratoza).

  • February 16,2019: Got Premier JWW leg #28.

  • February 15, 2019: Got QQ #76 at the Puli trial in Santa Rosa. Also got Premier Std leg #23.

  • February 3, 2019: Got QQ #75 at the Vizsla trial in Santa Rosa (judge Dan Butcher).

  • January 27, 2019: Got QQ #74 at the Mensona trial in Santa Rosa.

  • January 19, 2019:

    • At the Bay Team trial in Santa Rosa, got 3rd place in PSJ, 1st place in Gamblers, and 1st place in Pairs (with Lisa Spector and Gina).

    • Finished PGM title (5 PIII Gamblers legs), and PRM title (5 PIII Pairs legs). Now Nate just needs 2 jumpers leg for his PDCH. Video.

  • January 4-6, 2019, at the Weimaraner trial in Santa Rosa (judge Ken Boyd):

    • Friday: got Premier Jumpers leg #26 and FAST leg #67.

    • Saturday: Got QQ #72, Premier Jumpers leg #27, and FAST leg #68.

    • Sunday: Got QQ #73 and Premier Std leg #22.

2018

• • December 29-31, 2018: at the SMART trial in San Martin, got the following:

    • 3 Std legs, thereby completing the Std requirements for his PDCH (he only needed one going in). PSM title (5 PIII Std legs).

    • 2 Snooker legs, thereby completing the Snooker requirements for his PDCH. Got his 4th Super Q. PKM title (5 PIII Snooker legs).

    • 2 Gamblers legs; now just needs one more to complete his requirements for his PDCH.

    • 1 Jumpers leg; needs 2 more to complete the Jumpers requirements for his PDCH.

    • In summary, to complete the requirements for his PDCH, he now needs 1 Gamblers leg, 1 Pairs leg, and 2 Jumpers legs.

    • At this trial we also did Team (PVP). Our original partner had to scratch, so we got assigned to a different partner. We were making the cut for a Team Q right up until the final relay, when partner's dog had an off course. It was fun but exhausting trying to juggle team and titling classes at the same time. Don't think I would do it again, especially since I think the main point of Team is to qualify for Cynosport, which I haven't gone to since 2004.

  • December 2, 2018: Got QQ #71 at the SDTC trial in Rancho Murieta. QQQ that included FAST.

  • December 1, 2018: Got QQ #70 at the SDTC trial in Rancho Murieta. QQQQ. Also got the final leg for our PJD title (25 Premier Jumpers legs), with a first place. Finally!

  • November 30, 2018: Got QQ #69 at the SDTC trial in Rancho Murieta. QQQ that included T2B.

  • November 25, 2018: Got a QQ #68 at the PWD trial in Rancho Murieta.

  • November 24, 2018: Got a QQQQ (T2B, FAST, Std, and JWW) at the PWD trial in Rancho Murieta. QQ #67. Also got Premier Std leg #21, the only 20" qualifier.

  • October 18-21, 2018, Harvest Moon Classic (Del Valle) trial in Pleasanton:

    • QQed all 4 days (QQs #63, #64, #65, and #66).

    • Got 2 Premier Std legs (#19 and #20), and 3 Premier JWW legs (#22, #23, and #24).

    • Also got 2 T2B legs and 2 FAST legs. One QQQQ and one QQQ.

  • October 18, 2018: Passed the test for his intermediate Trick Dog (TKI) title in Pleasanton.

  • October 13, 2018: Nate got a Premier Std leg (#18) at the Mission Poodle trial in Rohnert Park.

  • September 16, 2018: At the TRACS USDAA trial in Woodland, got PIII legs in: Std (#4), and Snooker (#3, also third Super Q). Took first place in Performance Grand Prix, which got us a bye.

  • September 15, 2018: At the TRACS USDAA trial in Woodland, got PIII legs in: Std (#3), Jumpers (#2), and Pairs (#4). Finished MPD title.

  • September 14, 2018: At the TRACS USDAA trial in Woodland, got PIII legs in: Std (#2), Gamblers (#2), Pairs (#3), and Snooker (#2, also second Super Q).

  • September 9, 2018: Had a perfect day. Got QQ #62, a T2B leg, and both Premiers (Premier JWW leg #21, and Premier Std leg #17). Placed in all classes he qualified in all weekend, getting 13/16.

  • September 8, 2018: Got QQ #61, the first QQ towards his MACH4. Also got Premier JWW leg #20.

  • September 7, 2018: Got the final QQ (#60) he needed for MACH3 at the Corgi trial in Santa Rosa.

  • August 26, 2018: Got Premier Std leg #16, and QQ #59. Mensona trial in Santa Rosa.

  • August 25, 2018: Got Premier Std leg #15 (in addition to legs in JWW and FAST). Mensona trial in Santa Rosa.

  • August 24, 2018: Had a perfect "QQQQQQ" day. Second place in FAST, Premier Std (leg #14), and Premier JWW (leg #19). Third place in regular JWW and T2B. Clean in regular Std for QQ #58. Mensona trial in Santa Rosa.

  • August 11, 2018: Got a QQQ and QQ #57 at the Portuguese Water Dog trial in Morgan Hill.

  • July 29, 2018: At the AKC Weimaraner trial in Morgan Hill, had a perfect day in which he placed in all classes. First place in T2B and Premier Std (leg #13), and 3rd place in Premier JWW (leg #18), as well as regular JWW and Std (QQ #56).

  • July 15, 2018: At the SMART USDAA trial in Prunedale, got 4th place in PIII Pairs, 2nd place in Performance Grand Prix, and 2nd place in PIII Snooker, which was also a Super Q! So his very first PIII Snookers leg was a Super Q.

  • July 14, 2018: At the SMART USDAA trial in Prunedale, got his first Masters/PIII Qs: 1st place in Pairs, and 3rd place in STD and Jumpers. He also got a Gamblers leg and 2nd place in Performance Speed Jumping (where he won money!)

  • July 1, 2018: Got a Performance Team Q at the Bay Team trial in Prunedale. Teammates were Lisa Spector and Gina. Nate was #2 20" dog.

  • June 30, 2018: Got Premier Std leg #12 at the Sheltie trial in Prunedale.

  • June 23-24, 2018: Got Premier JWW legs #16 and #17 at the SCAC trial in Rohnert Park.

  • June 17, 2018: Got Premier Std leg #11, and QQ #55 at the Monterey Bay DTC trial in Scotts Valley.

  • June 9-10, 2018: Got Premier JWW leg #15 (Saturday) and QQ #54 (Sunday) at the RBTF trial at Evergreen College in San Jose.

  • June 2-3, 2018: Got QQs #52 and #53 at the Del Monte trial in Monterey. On Sunday (June 3) had a perfect "QQQQ" day--1st place in T2B and JWW, and 2nd place in Std and FAST. Probably his T2B3 title, but I admit I haven't been keeping careful records.

  • May 25-27, 2018: Got QQs #49, #50, and #51 at the TRACS trial in Dixon. Also got Premier JWW leg #14 (on May 26).

  • May 19, 2018: Got Premier JWW leg #13 at the SCAC trial in Rohnert Park, 2nd place.

  • May 5, 2018: Got the last Std leg he needed for his USDAA APD title. Fulfilled all the requirements for the title in 3 straight trial days. NAF trial in Turlock.

  • April 29, 2018: Got Premier Std leg #10, and 4th place in regular Std. Corgi trial in Santa Rosa.

  • April 21-22, 2018: SMART USDAA trial in Morgan Hill. Saturday qualified and got 1st place in P2 Std, Snooker, Jumpers, and Gamblers. Sunday qualified and got 1st place in P2 Pairs, Std, Snooker, Jumpers, and Gamblers. Finished P2 Snooker title (APK), with a perfect score of 51. Now just needs one more Std leg to finish his APD title.

  • April 7, 2018: Got Premier JWW leg #12 at the Pug trial in Lodi.

  • March 24-25, 2018: Participated in the AKC National Agility Championship in Reno, NV. Was clean in all 3 runs (Standard, JWW, and Hybrid). Ended up being 22nd out of 203 20" dogs, missing the finals by 5 dogs. Considering that we've been sidelined for the past 5 months due to his injured toe, I was thrilled with how we did.

  • March 10-11, 2018: Saturday: 3rd place in JWW. Sunday: QQ #48 (first QQ since returning to agility). Fourth place in JWW, first place in T2B. Regular old Q in Std.

  • March 3-4, 2018: Returned to agility competition! Rhodesian Ridgeback trial in Livermore. On Saturday Nate got 2nd place in JWW. Std: bit of a train wreck. On Sunday, he got 4th place in JWW and 1st place in T2B. He would have Qed in Std too, but for "the handler" being out of position. All in all, it went better than I would have dared hope.

  • February: Starting to slowly reintroduce agility obstacles back into the equation. Our goal is to get ready in time for the AKC agility nationals in Reno at the end of March. If we make it, great, if we don't... that's okay too.

  • January: We formally started rehab (after toe injury) to get Nate back in shape for agility. For anyone who hasn't done rehab, you don't need any other hobbies; it pretty much takes over your life. My house is now a Fitpaws museum. But guess what? Rehab is fun! We get to do circus dog tricks.

2017 Highlights

• • Finished the following titles:

    • MACH and MACH2. Already has 7 QQs towards MACH3.

    • MXG, MJG, MFS, TQX

    • Earned multiple legs towards his Premier Std and Premier Jumpers titles.

    • TKN (AKC Novice Trick Dog)

    • ADHF (Golden Retriever Club of America title: Agility Dog Hall of Fame)

    • PD (USDAA performance dog novice, essentially).

  • Named the top 20" 2017 AKC agility dog in the NorCal Golden Retriever club.

  • In spite of missing the last 3 months of the year, Nate still made the top 20 list for Golden Retrievers in AKC agility, and he easily qualified for the 2018 AKC agility nationals in Reno.

    • Nate was in the top 10 list of AKC agility Goldens every month leading up to his toe injury.

    • In the final AKC report for 2017, Nate was #18 on the Golden list for speed points, and #19 on the list for QQs.

  • USDAA:

    • Made his USDAA debut.

    • At his first USDAA trial, Q'd in 10 out of 13 runs. Got 4th place in Performance Grand Prix (he is right over the cutoff for 22" championship, so keeping him in Performance), and 3rd place in Performance Speed Jumping Rnd 2.

    • Won a trophy for "Top Non-Masters Performance Grand Prix." Bay Team 25th Anniversary trial in Prunedale.

    • At the SMART USDAA trial in Prunedale, got the final Std leg he needed for his PD title. Also got first place in Performance Grand Prix, thereby being granted a bye into the PGP finals at Regionals.

• Sept. 21, 2017: Nate injured his left front pinkie chasing a Lotus Ball into wet grass during practice. Sprain or sesamoid fracture? The specialists couldn't agree. But it meant that we sat out the rest of the year doing conservative management. On December 25, Nate finally got to have a little off leash time for the first time since the accident.

You can find Nate's detailed performance history here.

2016 Highlights

• • Finished the following titles:

    • NF, OF, XF, MX, MXJ, MXF, T2B2

  • Made the top 25 Goldens for AKC agility speed points for 2016, at #22. Pretty good for a 2-year-old dog in his first real year of competition. He was one of only two non-MACH dogs on the list--most of them were multi-MACH dogs with years of experience.

You can find Nate's detailed performance history here.

2015 Highlights

• • Started his agility competition career on Aug. 1.

  • Finished the following titles:

    • NA, NAJ, OA, OAJ, AX, AJX, T2B.

  • Sept. 12, 2015: Awarded "Novice HIT" at the Toller AKC agility trial in Rancho Murieta.

    • First place Novice JWW, second Q.

    • First place Novice Std, NA title (which he completed in 3 straight attempts).

    • Got his second T2B Q.

  • Aug. 23, 2015: First Novice JWW Q, first place (Mensona trial in Santa Rosa).

  • Aug. 23, 2015: Second time in Novice Std ring, Qed and got first place (Mensona trial in Santa Rosa).

  • Aug 22, 2015: First time in Novice Std ring, Qed and got 1st place (Mensona trial in Santa Rosa).

  • Aug. 1, 2015: Got first-ever Q in T2B at the Sonoma Club trial in San Martin.

You can find Nate's detailed performance history here.

MACH9 PACH4 Emberain Trevolution CDX RE MXG3 MJG3 MXP MJP MXF TQX T2B ADHF TKI CGC [MPD; CL3; SPD]

"Trevor"

Born Nov. 27, 2006.

Pedigree

Trevor is my first serious competition dog. He is also the nicest, kindest dog on the planet.

October 19, 2018: Passed the test for his intermediate Trick Dog (TKI) title in Pleasanton.

Career Highlights

Trevor is now retired. Here are some of the highlights of his career:

• • Major titles:

  • MACH9, PACH4, TQX, ADHF, CDX, RE, MPD (USDAA agility), CL3 (CPE agility)

  • Highlights by year:

    • 2016:

      • Awarded the HIT "Agility Preferred" award at the GRCA National Specialty in Placerville! Only qualifier in 20" Std (first place), and one of only a handful of preferred dogs to QQ. With this accomplishment, Trevor retired from agility.

      • Made his hunt test debut as an almost-10-year-old.

      • Finished his PACH4.

    • 2015:

      • Finished his PACH2 and PACH3.

      • Participated in the AKC National Agility Championship in Reno, running in Preferred.

      • Found his true passion when we started field training with friends.

    • 2014:

      • #1 PACH Golden in 2014.

      • Listed at #13 on the 2014 GRCA list of AKC Lifetime Agility Statistics for QQ's, with a lifetime achievement of 238 regular agility QQ's.

      • Sept. 6, 2014: Finished his PACH at the Corgi trial in Santa Rosa.

    • 2013:

      • Got MACH8 and MACH9, moved to Preferred.

      • Got his 200th QQ.

    • 2012:

      • Got MACH6 and MACH7.

      • Finished his T2B title.

      • March 30-April 1: Participated in the AKC National Agility Championship. Clean in all his runs (warmup Std, T2B, and rounds 1, 2, and 3--i.e., JWW, Std, Hybrid). Finished #14 in the 24" class (out of 87 entered dogs).

      • In the top 10 of Golden Retrievers for the 2012 AKC Invitational (#10).

    • 2011:

      • #3 Golden for QQs in 2011.

      • Got 3 MACHs in one year:

        • Dec. 18, 2011: Got his MACH5 at the Staffordshire Bull Terrier Club of America trial in Santa Rosa. His 3rd MACH of 2011!

        • June 18, 2011: Got his MACH4 (and QQ 110) at the Monterey Bay DTC trial in Scotts Valley.

        • January 17, 2011: Got his MACH3, a year to the day after he got his first MACH. Also got his 87th QQ.

      • In the top 10 of Golden Retrievers for the 2011 AKC Invitational (#10).

      • Ranked #8 in the Top Agility Goldens (TAG) list for the period of time from September 2010 to July 2011.

      • March 25, 2011: Finished his CDX at the Kennel Club of Salinas trial in Vallejo.

    • 2010:

      • Slotted as #8 on the GRCA list of "T.A.G." (Top Agility Goldens--list of the top 20 agility Goldens) for 2010.

      • Got 47 QQs. I believe that he ended up as the 4th ranked Golden for QQs in 2010.

      • Got his MACH and MACH2.

      • Finished his CD and RE.

    • 2009: In his first year of agility competition, was the #12 Golden Retriever in the US for double Q's (with 33 QQs in 2009), and the #46 agility Golden overall.

You can find Trevor's detailed performance history here.

Agility Videos

• • You can see some of Trevor and Touki's agility videos here.

Minka

Designated birth date: December 1, 2011

On May 4, 2012, we were in the driveway with our 3 dogs at the time (Touki, Rowan, and Trevor) preparing to load them into the minivan for a weekend road trip. We were running late. I glanced towards the bushes at the end of the driveway and spotted a tiny black and tan face staring at me from the safety of the leaves. The little face seemed to be willing us to look its way, commanding our attention with an unmistakable urgency. When I realized that the little dog didn't have a person with her I stepped towards her, and she jumped out of the bushes and ran away. That's when I saw that she was horribly emaciated, and we changed our plans on the spot. If we didn't drop everything and catch her, she wasn't going to make it.

She led us on a chase to a neighbor's yard behind our house. The neighbors were out of town, and it appeared that she had been living in their yard, where a fountain provided a water source. She kept running away from us, but she never went too far--she made sure to keep our attention. After what seemed like forever, she stopped between a rosebush and the fence and just stood, waiting for me. I reached my hands in and tried to grab her. She bit me. "Right idea, wrong strategy," she seemed to be saying. "Try something else." She continued to wait, motionless. I reached in again and pinched her tiny collar between my fingers. I was then able to clip the leash around the fabric of her collar. Success! Once the leash was on, she morphed from a feral wildling into a normal dog, happy and relieved.

We gave her some food and water and took her to Peninsula Humane Society (PHS), in case someone was looking for her. Because her adult teeth were just coming in, they estimated her age at about 5.5 months. Her skeletal body weighed 4.5 pounds. We cried and said goodbye, and finally our much-delayed road trip was underway.

After we got back, we kept calling PHS to check on her. Nobody ever came for the starving puppy, who had almost undoubtedly been dumped. On the 10th day I called, and they said "You can come pick her up any time." Gulp. I was a big dog agility person. What did I need with a tiny Min Pin puppy who gave every sign of being a nervous wreck? But we felt like she had reached out to us and chosen us as her family. We couldn't let her down.

It was not an easy road. Having survived the worst thanks to her own determination and street smarts, Minka was fearful and shut down. It took a long time to bring her out of her shell. Along the way, she let us know that she had no interest in dog sports. Just existing was enough of a challenge.

She will never get any titles, but she has already accomplished more than most dogs will in a lifetime, simply by surviving.

AT THE RAINBOW BRIDGE

Dolce Vita Rowan CD RAE TKN CGC

"Rowan"

March 23, 2005 - January 30, 2021

I first met Rowan when he was 4 weeks old, in a suburb outside of Seattle, WA. While his littermates lolled around on the rug, mostly napping, baby Rowan worked the room, moving from lap to lap. He made sure that no one who was there that day would forget the puppy known as "White."

Rowan says "I was the cutest puppy ever. That's what Mom is trying to say."

Rowan was just getting started in agility class when he was diagnosed with elbow dysplasia and OCD. Double elbow surgery by Dr. Andrew Sams got him back to chasing his squeaky ball. But his prospects as an agility dog were over. Rowan was a wild child who barely managed to pass his CGC test, even after a 6 week prep class. So it surprised me when he blossomed into an attentive adult who loves Rally and obedience.

Accomplishments:

• • October 19, 2018: Passed the test for his novice Trick Dog (TKN) title in Pleasanton.

  • March 24, 2011: Finished his RAE at the Santa Cruz Kennel Club trial in Vallejo. Got first place in Adv B, in his very last run to complete the title.

  • December 29-30, 2010: Got his 8th and 9th RAE legs in San Mateo (Santa Cruz KC and KC of Salinas). For his 9th leg, got first place in Exc Rally with a score of 99.

  • October 30, 2010: Got his final CD leg at the Sacramento Valley Dog Fanciers Association dog show in Dixon.

  • October 2, 2010: Got his 2nd CD leg at the San Lorenzo DTC trial in Hayward.

  • September 11, 2010: Got his 7th RAE leg at the Redwood Empire trial in Petaluma.

  • August 28, 2010: Got his first CD leg at the Mensona trial in Santa Rosa. It was his first time in the obedience ring (Novice B). He got a score of 190 for 4th place. The first place dog had a score of 192, I believe. Very close.

  • May 8, 2010: Got his sixth RAE leg at the Davis DTC trial in Dixon. Took second place in Excellent and first place in Advanced.

  • March 28, 2010: Got his fourth and fifth RAE legs at the County Wide trial in Petaluma. In his fifth leg, took first place in both the Adv B (100 points) and Exc B (98 points, fastest time out of 3 98 point dogs) classes.

  • February 20, 2010: Got his third RAE leg at the Santa Clara Valley Kennel Club show in San Jose. Took 1st place in Exc B with a score of 96, and 3rd place in Adv B with a score of 97.

  • April 18, 2009: Got his second RAE leg at the Chief Solano Dog Show in Vallejo.

  • March 20, 2009: Got his first RAE leg at the San Mateo Dog Show in Vallejo.

  • October 19, 2008: Finished his RE at the Del Valle dog show in Pleasanton.

Galileo Touki Dark Matter PD3; C-ATCH; OAC OGC NJC [MX MXJ MXF AJP OFP RN CGC]

"Touki"

12/01/01 - 05/28/15

My first agility dog. The quintessential family pet who gets drafted into dog sports. She was a very patient, good-hearted teacher.

Thanks to her consistency, Touki was ranked as one of the top 45 AKC agility labs in 2007--despite missing 3+ months of competition in the summer due to a broken nail and an abscessed tooth. She was also listed as one of the top 57 AKC agility labs between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2008.

In March of 2009, Touki ended her "championship" AKC agility career with 36 double Q's and just under 600 MACH points. Although she was only 7 at the time, she seemed to be telling me that she'd had enough of agility. Retirement happened when she slipped off the dogwalk contact in practice, got spooked, and then started refusing the table and the contacts in competition. She was slightly nearsighted, and she had soft, brittle nails that caused her problems throughout her agility career, and I suspect these things were a factor in her self-retirement.

On Dec. 5, 2009, I entered her in some Novice Preferred runs (JWW and FAST only, since she still refused to go on the dogwalk). She returned to agility with blazing enthusiasm. She earned some performance titles:

• May 2, 2010: Got her first Exc B Preferred JWW leg, and her first Exc A Preferred FAST leg at the Mensona trial in Santa Rosa.

• April 4, 2010: Finished her AJP title at the Sheltie trial in Santa Rosa.

• February 7, 2010: Finished her OFP title. One of only 2 Open dogs to Q!

• January 3, 2010: Finished her OJP title.

• December 31, 2009: Finished her NJP and NFP titles.

In May 2010, Touki went back into retirement after she broke another toenail. This time when I took her to the vet to have the nail chopped down to the quick, it took a long time to bring her back from the sedative, and that's when I decided "we're done." It just wasn't worth it to keep putting her through that.

In May of 2015, Touki suddenly collapsed in the middle of the day. We took her to urgent care, and they noted an extreme vasculitis flare-up that turned her skin bright red, but they couldn't figure out the underlying cause. After 10 days of her being in and out of the ICU with no definitive diagnosis, during which she developed aspiration pneumonia and went steadily downhill, we let her go. RIP my beautiful girl.

Riverlane's Lethal Weapon CGC

"Riggsie"

08/13/02 - 06/09/06

We got Riggsie from Touki's breeder Chris when he was a year and a half old (she did not breed him herself; he came from another breeder). He was a show dog whose career was cut short when they discovered that he had a heart murmur--very mild, but it meant that he could never be bred.

When we got Riggsie, Chris told us that he would be our "once in a lifetime" dog. How true this turned out to be, but not in the way that anyone expected.

When we'd had Riggsie only 9 months, he started limping intermittently. Everyone who examined him suspected an ACL tear in the making. Four months later, after many inconclusive vet visits, we took him to see Dr. Andrew Sams. It took Dr. Sams all of 30 seconds to figure out that the problem was in Riggsie's hip, not in his knee.

We waited in the exam room for the x-ray results. Dr. Sams came in and put the x-rays up on the screen. He told us that 1) Riggsie had cancer 2) his left hind leg would have to be amputated as soon as possible, and 3) amputation would not improve his prognosis, but it would relieve his pain and let him "get back to being a dog." Then he left us alone to cry.

I've been through serious illness in my human family, but nothing can prepare you for the shock of a moment like that. Riggsie was 2 1/2, and the most beautiful dog I had ever known, both inside and out. Now we learned that not only did he have cancer, but that we had to amputate his leg--which would improve his quality of life, but not buy him any time.

I didn't want to face it, and I didn't feel like I could face it. But Riggsie needed us to rise to the occasion.

The cancer turned out to be hemangiosarcoma, to everyone's surprise. HSA usually appears in the spleen or the heart, but in Riggsie's case it was in his hip joint. His first oncologist gave him 4 months to live. We then found our wonderful oncologist Dr. Linda Fineman, and we also worked with Dr. Sara Skiwski on Riggsie's nutrition and supplement regime. In the end, Riggsie lived 16 months after his diagnosis. True to what Dr. Sams had promised us, he had a very happy, active life as a 3-legged dog.

Riggsie changed our lives. He showed us how strong and present we could be, even at life's worst moments. He also helped me appreciate my fellow humans in a way I never had before. Without the support of the people in the Canine Cancer and Bone Cancer Dog online Yahoo groups, I don't know how I would have made it through.

He was the best dog ever, truly a once in a lifetime dog. His life was short, but filled with beauty and joy. Riggsie, you are in our hearts forever.

Doghouse Arts photo of Riggsie at his one and only AKC trial, before he started having problems.