Betty

On Monday November 25 my friend Betty was waiting at a stop sign when an impaired driver lost control of his car and broadsided her, she did not survive.  Betty was on her way to dog class with her corgi Sadie.  A year ago Betty bought an impact crate for Sadie, I remember how happy she was to have it, it was purple, Betty's favourite colour.  Sadie survived the accident because of this crate.

I am  having a hard time wrapping my head around her death.  I am no stranger to death, I have lost my mom, dad, sister and many aunts, uncles and cousins.  Betty's death was different, sudden and it didn't have to happen.  This man decided to get behind a wheel and drive while impaired.
I keep thinking that if she had just left home 5 minutes earlier or later she would have lived.

I trust there is a reason for everything, at least I hope so.  Maybe Betty's death will help the impaired driver get the help he needs, who knows.  For now I will mourn the death of a special friend and wait for the healing to begin.

Birthday Fun

Yesterday was my friend Judy's Birthday.  We took our dogs out to Lync's breeders house for a nice long dog walk and then we had a Birthday lunch.  I couldn't take Kort as I can't get him into the van by myself and the walk would have been way too long for him. I miss him so much on days like this, I wish so much he could join us.
The weather was perfect!  It was sunny and warm with no wind, just like Spring .

Enjoy some pictures from the day......

Ash, Lync, Puffin, Westin & Areo

Kort

A young Kort doing Agility

Kort is now 11 1/2 years old.  He is not doing great.  His legs are arthritic, his feet have gone flat, he is overweight.  I am working on the weight but it takes time.  I know that getting weight off him will help with his problems. He is also unsteady on his legs.  If he turns around quickly, or sometimes for no reason, he stumbles , it sucks
.
Yesterday he fell down the last 4 stairs in the house.  He splayed at the bottom in a way I didn't know his hips could go :(  We have only one door in the house and he has to do stairs to get out.  He was already hesitant to go down them and now it takes him even longer to try.  It's not bad when I have days off but when I am working its not good.
Otherwise he is alert, eating and interacts with Brad and I and the other dogs.  I question his quality of life at times and I am sure it's not time yet.
I am scared however.  I can't lift him so I have been looking for ways to make his doing the stairs easier.  I am going to price getting the stairs carpeted to see if it is a feasible solution. I am not sure it will make any difference but it might.  A ramp is out of the question as it would be too steep and there is not enough room to make it more gradual. I even tried a harness around his rear end once but he totally freaked out so finding a solution has been difficult.

Kort has been such a good dog, we had a rough start as he was very reactive to other dogs and weird things like roller blades, but he ended up being an awesome performance dog for me.  We did conformation, obedience, agility, rally, and scenthurdle.  Its sad to see him go downhill with age.
I can't see the future but I am hoping to have Kort for quite awhile longer.

Kort doing Weave Poles

Helena Dog Show Results

Lync and Areo both take a 5point major!

4 point major

What a great week I had in Helena, Montana at the Dog Show!
Lync was a good boy and won 2 Reserve Males and 2 Winners Male , Best of Winners for a 5 point and a 4 point major!!!  He also got his Rally Novice title with scores of 96. 97 and a perfect 100 and High Score in Class!  I can't wait to go back to finish his American Championship but that won't be until next year now.

Road Trip!

Tomorrow Lync and I are headed for Helena Montana for Lync's very first American Dog Show!! I am very excited for this 4 day show and the opportunity to get some American points on him.
Wish us luck!