Trying to Make a Comeback

Other than being able to do things with Mike and the dogs, the thing I miss most is doing my blog. For me the blog serves two purposes: 1) A way to keep in touch with family and friends, and 2) A great way to have a journal of our travels. I really am very sad that we've missed almost two full years of our experiences - many of which I don't even remember. Not just because my memory is very poor (which it certainly is) but because no one can remember what they do each day after time has passed.

While many of the experiences these past two years have not been good or fun, we have had some good times and milestones. Unfortunately, we also have very few pictures of any of that time since I've been unable to do that either.

Hmm, so what are some of the good milestones or adventures that took place these past two years that I can recall? In no particular order, here are some that I can recall.


Boogie earned his Versatility Excellent Award from the Border Terrier Club of America. According to the website, most dogs earn this at an average age of 5 - 9 years of age. Boogie earned this award at just 18 months 5 days. I've been told that is the youngest ever....but don't know how to confirm that.



Boogie has a new agility/earthdog handler. Last May, Mike had to take over all dog duties. One of these duties was to do the dog sports with Boogie that I had previously been doing. Well, he took over agility and earthdog....he said there was no way he was doing Rally or anything else that had to do with obedience as he doesn't have the patience. Those are Mike's words not mine.

It took a little bit of work but Boogie has adapted to the change. At first Boogie wasn't very confident as our styles are so different. Boogie understood my body language (as that's all he knew) and would do pretty good distance work for me but that didn't transfer to Mike. But Mike is WAY faster than I am and Boogie liked that change. Just now Boogie is starting to get his confidence back. His speed is picking back up and slowly but surely he is starting to feel comfortable enough to do some distance for Mike.

Earthdog is another story! Fortunately I was able to work with Boogie long enough to get his Master Earthdog title. (Here he's staring at the rat cages....including one that he mangled.)



Since he has started partnering with Mike, his earthdog skills have gotten....well, better or worse depending on who you talk to. We think he is MUCH worse. Boogie thinks he is a genius as he has figured out ways to make the game last longer. In his mind that means he is outsmarting us all. In actuality that means he isn't following the rules set by us silly humans. So while it may be frustrating for poor Mike, Boogie is still having a great time.

During the time I was still able to do earthdog, Boogie earned the nickname "Chainsaw". He is quite proud of that name and does everything he can to prove that is an appropriate nickname. When going to work the rats, instead of just barking for the required 90 seconds, Boogie eats the dowels away so he can get to the rats. He then starts ripping apart the wire cage to get to the rats. He can normally do that in less than sixty seconds....thus - Chainsaw. Everyone jokes (or at least I hope it's a joke) that the clubs are going to start charging us a surcharge to enter as Boogie ruins so many dowels.

Unfortunately, Boogie had a mishap during Earthdog in Pennsylvania. He was standing still waiting for his turn when a dog walked up from behind, jumped on Boogie and bit his ear. He was bleeding so badly that he had to leave the test site immediately and go to the emergency room. Turns out a chunk of Boogie's ear was now gone.

After the long vet visit he was exhausted and very still riding home in the car.

That's one big bandage...



It just became too much so he had to just curl up in a ball and feel sorry for himself. Very justified I'd say!




Boogie also has been working toward his Championship....that's conformation...or the beauty show as we call it. We don't get to show him much as I'm physically unable to do it (and very inexperienced since I really haven't been in the conformation world since I was a teen). So we only get in a show or two while we're in Arizona. We have a great groomer/handler there, named Alison Miller, shown in this picture.





Boogie really likes her and shows well for her. Boogie has really come to like conformation....strictly because he loves being around all the female dogs, many of whom are in heat!! He is quite the Mr. Studly and really struts his stuff to show off. The more little girls in heat that are at the show, the better he does!

In April, Boogie competed in the Arizona Cardinals football stadium. Boy do you feel small down on the floor in that building. Grooming was done in one of the locker rooms. How fun!



It was also fun because Boogie got a double Major that weekend!



Yes, in case you were wondering, we still do have three other dogs! You might not have thought so with all the talk of Boogie, Boogie, Boogie. Well, that's how the three dogs think too. They think everything revolves around Boogie....poor them.


Overall, they are doing very well too. Both Sparie and Wazzu have continued to enjoy agility and keep racking up the NATCH's. Wazzu isn't up for running that much anymore. We've cut her down from six runs a day (during a trial) to two or three runs a day. Some days she is slow and other days she looks like a puppy again. We let her dictate what kind of day it will be. Wazzu has become totally used to running for Mike and it's just second nature to her now. Since I wrote two years ago, Wazzu has earned three more NATCH's and is only two Q's away from NATCH-14!




Sparkie has been...well, Sparkie. She has eaten a fish hook in Colorado thus spending the whole night at the emergency vet getting her stomach scoped to get the hook out. She has tried to show a rattlesnake who's boss....fortunately when the snake shook his rattle she decided he could be boss all he wanted and she came back really fast when her Daddy called her! She had six stitches in her side when she and Wazzu played a little too rough. It was a total accident as Wazzu t-boned her in the side.

On the good side, Sparkie acts much younger than her ten years. She still loves agility and has earned five NATCH's, five Versatility NATCH's, three Platinum Speed Stars, two Versatility Platinum Speed Stars, an Elite All Around title, and been the #1 ranked Mixed Breed both years since I last wrote. And she is still going strong!




Slugger seems to be showing the most wear. Over the years he had two ACL surgeries and an elbow surgery. One of the ACL legs is really causing him trouble. He limps quite often and doesn't really want to walk much. He much prefers to lie outside and sniff the air while watching the world go by. And he LOVES to kiss anyone that comes near. Most of his days are spent lying in bed with me while the others are all out having fun.

Mike is being quite the trooper as he has to take care of all of us and the RV 24/7. It is quite the burden and he deserves as many accolades as are available since he does this tirelessly while never complaining. He has been able to do a few fun things along the way. He took a self-guided tour around Washington, DC and went to the Smithsonian Museum while there. He's toured many natural ruins, underground caves, national parks, and various other museums around the country. I wish he'd take more time to do these kinds of things but he doesn't like leaving me alone that long.

Not much to say about me that most don't already know. During the past year, I finally got a diagnosis. This sent us back to Baltimore as there are only a couple doctors in the country that can help at all with this very rare condition. I had a number of procedures and a very difficult surgery. None of these helped, and in fact, made me much worse. I'm now in the midst of trying to walk again. It's being a very very slow process with a lot of pain along the way. But the love and support of my family and friends keep me going. Thank you so much to each of you.


I'm really glad to be recovered enough that the dogs are allowed to come into my bedroom. Boogie gives me such great "Good Morning" greetings and kisses. What a way to start each day. And Wazzu stays in my room with me 100% of time that she isn't out on a walk or at an agility event. Sparkie and Slugger come see me anytime I have food....now that's true love!

I used to post everyday....but this post took several weeks to do. Some days I can only write one sentence. Other days I can do a paragraph or two. Anyway, I hope you'll check back often to see what we're up to these days. I'll be posting a few other things that we've done over the past couple years in separate posts....so watch for those.

Debbie
and of course Mike, The Travelin' Trio, and the little tag along (that gets all the attention)

PS In case you haven't seen it, here is our Christmas picture for 2009.