Category Archives: Breaking News

It was a fun weekend with friends, food, wine, and lots of driving. Kathy and Margaret stayed at my house, so it was like a little slumber party each night with wine and lots of dog talk.

Here’s a run down on our weekend in Cambridge –
Betty’s Ozzie (littermate to Hazel) finished his Champion with a 5 and 4 point major.
This makes ZZ qualified for Bronze ROM. It brought tears to my eyes, a very bittersweet moment.
Margaret’s Chase won select dog in class of 44 Dobs, then went on to win a group 2 in Owner Handler
Janice’s Pippen finished her Grand Champion on Friday
Stephanie’s Hailey won her class on Saturday in a huge group of open intermediate juniors
And Scarlet won a 4 point major on Saturday also.
And Hazel won breed three days, was 5 or 6 on Thursday in the group (made the cut), won a group 1 in Owner Handler Friday, then group 3 in Owner Handler and a group 2 in regular group on Saturday!!! Thank you judges Ann Katona for the group 2 and Deborah Wilkins for the Owner Handler group 1. With Hazel’s limited showing, only 8 weekends this year, she is number 4 in all breed points, and number 2 in Owner Handler (I think – the numbers are changing all the time).

I’ll treasure these memories for a long time.

Louie got his Master’s title in Earthdog May 2nd! Cathy and Louie are such a great team. The next day they went on to earn their first Endurance Earthdog leg. Such a special dog. He has his Master Barn Hunt title, and 6 out of 10 legs towards his RATCH.

We crate our dogs when they have their dinner. They run to their crates, excited to have their dinner. They love their crates, everyone has their own. I wish I would have kept it up with Beatrix, because she became very nervous in a crate in her old age.

http://chicagodogtraining.com/crating-a-dog/

We had fun running Tea Cup Agility (TDAA) tonight at Cloud Nine Dog Training School in New Hope Mn. It was a family affair because my mom was there with her three Boston Terriers, me with Henri and Hazel, and my daughter Alix with Evie (Skittle). Alix and Evie rocked it!!! Evie was speedy and had a fun time. It looked like she had a smile on her face. It was great to be with my mom, here’s a video of her and her pup Wheats. click here to watch Wish I had a video of Alix & Evie.

Louie is ZZ x Gizmo puppy that has excelled at many things, among them is the new activity – Barn Hunt. His owner Cathy is his partner in all the endeavors, Barn Hunt, Scent Work, Agility, and Earthdog. He’s one versatile dog.

Many people are wondering how Skittle is doing. She is doing great. She had surgery last Wednesday, getting a plate on the left side and a screw on the right. After surgery she looked a little like Frankenstein, a Lowchen and a drunk with her scars, trim, and walking gate. She walks much better now, not very tippy at all. The pelvis was broken in two places, but the ball and sockets were not broken. The doctor expects a full recovery. She is on restricted movement for 7 more weeks, no stairs, or jumping off couches etc, and must be on a leash even in the house. She has a little sling to help with walking or really catching her if she stumbles. I’m not sure how long we need that. She’s my little bionic doggy.

Skit showing one of her scars.

Thank you all for the kind words, cards, flowers and gifts. It’s very overwhelming and humbling the out pouring of concern from so many people. Some days I’m doing fine, other times a sadness comes over me, that feels like a huge hole in my stomach. Why my stomach? and I have no idea why driving to work is such a sad experience. ZZ wasn’t with me at work. So odd. But the busier I am the better. Hazel is making sure I keep busy. She is very demanding and insists on going to her classes, and getting as much attention as possible. She is always jumping up into my arms.

Every dog gives us something we never knew we needed. I’m so thankful for each one.

We lost our ZZ on Tuesday night. She, Skittle and Henri got out via the garage I was out of the house with Hazel, so we don’t know how long they had been gone. We started searching for them when we noticed Henri was outside.

Within a half hour we found out ZZ and Skittle were hit by vehicle at 50th Street and Browndale, a busy street about 4 blocks from our home. Two good samaritans stopped, however the driver of the vehicle that hit them did not. One person knew exactly where the emergency vet was located and brought the dogs there, and the other person started driving through our neighborhood to find someone looking for dogs. They found my son, and he immediately called me and I drove to the hospital. I was able to be with ZZ before she passed. Skittle had pelvis surgery Wednesday and is expected to fully recover. Hopefully she will be home Friday.

ZZ was my heart dog, my once in a lifetime dog. I’m am thankful for so many wonderful memories, especially our last specialty. We let the dogs sleep with us during shows, and she curled up close to me every night. We accomplished so much in her short life. I think she is one of the most highly accomplished Border Terriers – with a bronze grand championship, master earthdog title and master agility titles. We were on our way to a MACH title with 9 double Q’s and 250 points. She also had two litters, and I’m so thankful to have kept Skittle and Hazel from each litter.

One of my favorite memories is her little single bark after I told her tunnel – like she was telling me “got it” – as she would go zooming into the tunnel.

She loved me to no end and I loved her. My heart is broken and I miss her terribly.

ZZ talking to me at agility class