Thursday, July 29, 2010

Last Chance


What a fun night!
It was our final rally class before the trial at Spruce Meadows this weekend. Amanda set up 2 courses for us, one was a Novice course & one was an Advanced course. I also brought Tate to have some fun.
Kim came to judge & marked us just like we were in a trial, score sheets & all :)
Let's start with Kort.
He did awesome! He did not bark at me, which he likes to do when I have no treats & he thinks he should be getting rewards.
He NQ'd in the Novice run due to handler error!!!... geez, "I" missed a sign... duh! In the Advanced run, off leash I might add, he took 1st place with a 97!, What a good boy! He had a bit of a hard time leaving the dish with the toys in it but he did. I am confident about this weekend with him & will have fun no matter what. We have worked hard, & it is starting to show. I am VERY proud of Kort!
Now for the Tater dog!
Tate loves to come out & do things, he is so funny, he prances around the ring. In Novice Tate took 1st in the class with a 98! Whoo Hoo! In the Advanced run he scored an 88, due to handler error again!!!!! I messed up a station & lost us 10 points...my bad!
I hope I get my head together before this weekend & don't do anything else stupid :))

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Tate

Tate's out for a quiet stroll, minding his own business......

Oh Oh, look who's coming, it's Lacey !......
Someones Got A Crush On Tate :) ......





Just a brief interruption & he's off again :)......

Sunday, July 25, 2010

A Little Bit Of Sunshine

Whenever I need to cheer myself up I just go look at my flowers :))

Freshly planted......

1 month later......

Freshly planted......

1 month later......

This is the first blossom on these little yellow sun bursts....

I LOVE these ones, they are a pretty orange colour that my camera doesn't quite show, & the little pink ones are so cute......

Thursday, July 22, 2010

More Perkins :)

On Monday I went to visit with Perkins & his dad Brian. When I had to leave suddenly to go home to Thunder Bay I was dog sitting Perkins, Wendy was able to take him for me until his dad returned. Perkins was very happy there as he has known Wendy longer then me!
Brian took these 2 pictures of us while I was there.....I love them, especially the one with Perkins falling asleep on my lap.


Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Yeah For Kort !

Tonight I went to Kort's agility class...I wasn't going too, I find it weird to be around alot of people right now, I'm not "quite" my strange weird self! :)) I decided I would go, I had a great day today & I knew Kort would love getting out.
I am so glad I went! Kort was awesome, at first he was a bit distracted, I guess it's been awhile since he's had to focus.

The class started with some obstacle discrimination, a jump to a tunnel, my job was to make sure Kort took the tunnel & not the dogwalk....he did quite well after a few bobbles :)), then it was the jump to the dogwalk, Kort found this more difficult, he wasn't quite seeing the dogwalk...but again after a few bobbles he did great....his contact at the end of the dog walk is awesome!, he stopped himself each time , 2 on 2 off, yippee! We then had to take the tire jump, for some reason he chooses to walk along side it, rather then jump....hmmm?
I was able to send him through the chute once while Deb held the end open for him. You may recall at the last agility match there was no way Kort was going through the chute :))

The next half of the class was fun fun!! It was a speed circle of 14 jumps, one being a spread jump, & one tunnel, we had to put in a front cross to get into the tunnel, but the rest was just running & jumping! Kort has never liked to jump, from day one, however with Sarah's help tonight he was really moving...she had me carry my whole bag of cheese while running, at the end I would throw the bag over the last jump & Kort would get a big cheesy reward :))

I could not believe how well Kort did jumping tonight, in the match a few weeks back he would take 2 jumps then run into me, tonight he looked forward, took direction & ROCKED IT!!!!
Kort is entered in his first agility trial at the end of August, after tonight I am feeling much more confident !

Here is a totally unrelated picture that Amanda sent me & I just crack up looking at it...you have to know Wicca, Amanda's dog, to really see the humour in this picture....let's just say that Wicca is one Alpha girl & nobody touches her unless Wicca wants to be touched, no one that wants to live anyway :)) Apparently Kort has a death wish !

Monday, July 19, 2010

Friends

Last week I found out what great friends I have here in Lethbridge, the kind of friends that would do anything for you at a moments notice, & not even think twice about it :))
Huge thanks to Wendy & Amanda who split up "doggy duties" & took on my 2 boys while I was away.
From the pictures, I would have to say that the boys didn't mind me gone one bit !......




Sunday, July 18, 2010

My Story



Tues July 6, 2010, I got a phone call from my mom, dad wasn't doing well. I was home in Thunder Bay the next afternoon. By the time I arrived dad was pretty much in a coma, opening his eyes only occasionally, or moving his eyebrows in acknowledgement that he was hearing. That was just the beginning......from that time forward we didn't leave dad's side, taking shifts, eating meals in his room, staying late until midnight or after, before being assured it was ok to go home for a couple of hours of sleep.
One thing that touched me deeply was that EVERY day before each caregivers shift ended, & they were on there way home, they would come in & give dad a hug & a kiss, then go & hug my mom, or sometimes us kids. They were saying good bye, just in case.

Sun July 11 2010, mom & I decided we weren't leaving dad's side. I sat awake all night at his bedside holding his hand or rubbing his neck, mom did the same, except for the couple of hrs. she managed to fall asleep.
It was strange sitting there in the dark with dad, but I wasn't afraid. At one point I thought I saw him move his head toward me, I jumped up to look closer, but he was still in the same position, looking at the ceiling....wishful thinking I guess.
At 6 am the sun came up & the birds started chirping, I told dad it was for him :)) Mom left at 6:30 to go home for a shower, I stayed alone with dad. In that time alone I played all dad's favourite music & sang to him! Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Rodger Whittaker! I apologized to dad for my horrible voice, but he didn't mind :)) I finally got up enough courage to play "our" song, "The Wind Beneath My Wings", up until then I wouldn't let anyone put it on...I wasn't ready to say goodbye. I was now ready, I told him it was ok, he could go...

That same day, Mon. July 12, 2010, my sister Debra finally was able to make it into town, our family was now all together. The room was full of family, mom, us kids, grandchildren, dad's brother & sister.
At about 10pm. everyone left for the night, everyone except me, Debra & my sister in law Wendy. Mom knew dad's time was near but she had said her goodbyes, many many times....
The 3 of us sat around talking , laughing, holding dads hands....at one point we were distracted for a moment by a particularly funny conversation, & when we looked back dad wasn't breathing....it was 10:45 pm.
Debra ran for the nurse while I sat beside him, with his head in my hands, telling him it was ok, he still had a faint pulse, then he took a final breath of air & he was gone.
Dad died on his own terms, just like he had done everything else in his life, he waited 6 days for Debra to be there. We were told 4 times...yes, 4 times, that he was about to die....stubborn dad, fooled them all didn't you!

So now we go on, trying to get back into life & routine, it is hard. There is always a sadness lurking in my heart now, dad is always on my mind. I know it will take time, everything gets better with time, but god it is hard to loose a parent. If you still have yours, cherish them, life is short but good, enjoy it.

Dad's Birthday party this year...Thurs March 19, 2010, 81 years......

Monday, July 5, 2010

My Four Sons

Tonight the CKC officially posted the title of CH. in front of Kort's name !!! It was wonderful to see & to reminisce about all of my boys. Ben was my first collie, I got him in 1975 when I was 15, then Drake came along in 1990, followed by Tate in 2002, & finally Kort in 2008.
I put together this collage of my boys, 4 of the biggest blessings to come into my life ♥

My 4 collies as listed on the CKC web site......

Born on The 4th of July !

Is this not the cutest thing ever!!!! She was born in California & belongs to my friend Diana! I seriously want her!!!......

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Tate's Turn !

As promised here is the Tater dog doing his thing at yesterdays agility demo ♥
Also, for all you horse lovers out there, you must check out my friend Diana's blog, her mare just had her baby last night!! You can see pictures here.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

We Have Pictures!!!

Wendy managed to get a picture of each of my boys! yippee!!
The files were too big for me to put on here so I "borrowed" this one from Wendy's blog.... I will post Tate's when I get it!
If you would like to see the other pictures Wendy took today you can view them here.
I just really need to say that everytime I look at this picture I tear up....only a few people really know the entire story behind Kort, & the journey we have made together to help him be the dog he is today. We still have some things to work out but I am so very proud of how far he has come, & to see him today doing these jumps, & focusing on just me, was overwhelming to say the least!
♥ I LOVE this dog & I am so very proud of him.♥

A Success !

Today the Windy City rescue held a fundraiser at Henderson Lake Park.
It was a great time with lots of demonstrations, dogs & people. I took part in the agility demonstration with Tate & Kort. Kort was in the team relay along with all the other novice dogs, Jack the Brittany Spaniel, Taylor the BeardieX, Nitro the Am. Staff, & Sniper the border collie. We managed to win one of the heats too!, all the other team had experienced dogs, except for one, that have already been to trials, & some of the dogs have numerous titles. Our team was very proud of our dogs! They stayed focused mostly & took the correct obstacles, mostly :)) This was such a great experience for Kort, to be out in a crowd with tons of dogs & people sitting ringside. There was lots of cheering & commotion & he paid attention!, yeah for Korty !!!!!
Then we had a weave pole relay, Tate got to play in this....our team went up against 4 kids, & one adult that was happy to play with the kids!, great job Jennilee!
For those who are wondering, Perkins also came out, he didn't play in agility but he had lots of walks around with me & was a crowd favourite, there were lots of people from the daycare out & they all would say , "oh, is this Perkins!!", he's quite popular you know ;))
I don't have any pictures from today, not sure if my boys got in any as we were on the far side from the photographer , phooey!, but just pretend these 2 pictures are from today!......

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Happy Canada Day !

Hope everyone is enjoying their day as much as we are !......