A few members of the Washington tripawds family got together on Aprill 22nd in Redmond, WA.  I started out the day hosting my four year olds rock n’ roll superstar birthday party.  It was a blast but Kess and I were ready for a break, and the tripawds pawty was just what the doctor ordered.  It was an amazing sunny and warm day (over 70 degrees). The Marymoor dog park was packed.  We arrived to find a news crew waiting for us!  Kess and Lincoln got a little screen time during the evening news, but sadly there isn’t any online footage to share.  After the camera crew left we headed back out of the park and made camp under a large tree.  It was a very relaxing afternoon, and we all hung out enjoying the warmth and sunshine in the company of kindred spirits.  We traded stories for a few hours while the dogs snuffled around in the grass and Kess attempted to get people to throw the frisbee for her. (I had to sneak away a little early).  It was great to meet everyone in the flesh, and see all of the sweet and special dogs they share their lives with.  As commanded I took lots of pictures.  If anyone is interested in getting together again the Everett, WA Mutt March on June 2nd ( http://www.k9muttmarch.org/ ) is a great fund raiser for the Chase Away Canine Cancer Organization.  Kess will be performing with the canine disc group (11am and 1pm ), and trying out dock dogs for the first time in the 10-11am class.  I’m super excited as we had a great time last year.

2012-04-22

I entered this photo in the local pet stores pet of the month contest.  I was delighted to find out Kess had won.  The winner is chosen by employee vote, and receives a $25 gift certificate.  Kess and I headed out this morning to go claim her prize and pick out some new toys.  We had a slight detour when we encountered an Australian Shepherd running loose in the road at the bottom of the hill.

He was darting in and out of traffic and was completely freaked out.  I tried several times to call him over and he wanted nothing to do with me.  He was just starting to run off in the opposite direction when I yelled out “Do you want a treat?”  His head popped right around and he came running right over and happily hopped in the car.  Luckily he had tags and we were able to track down Harley’s owners and get him home.  Sadly his owners reported that this has become a real problem recently and that Harley wont stay in his yard so they are installing an electric fence.  I asked how often Harley was exercised and was told he gets a 4 block walk once a day.  I suggested that a young herding breed really needs a minimum of 30 minutes hard running a day to be a content dog.  To this the owner replied “we have never had to exercise Harley before and he always stayed home”  she was pretty sure he was only doing it because he was jealous of their new cat who was allowed to go over the fence and out of the yard (Face to palm).  I tried for a bit longer to convince the owner of my credentials as a dog trainer, showed her Suki and Kess etc, but she was having none of it.  It was pretty sad as Harley was a bright, sweet, and fun loving young dog who just really wanted some interaction.  The worst thing was the woman’s final comment ” it’s really like a slap in the face that Harley doesn’t appreciate what he has and keeps running off, we’ve provided him with the perfect home any dog would love to have ”  Somehow it’s always the dogs fault . . .

So after that whole interchange it was time to have some fun.  Kess had a great time at the store enticing pets and treats from all the employees.  We had lots of help testing out all the squeakers, which Kess found delightful.  Kess settled on a grunting pig and dragon and a couple of real bones for good measure.   Here’s kess giving her new dragon a good once over

There’s nothing like a bunch of snow to make everyone feel young again.  Eventually it got so deep that Kess was having trouble getting around (up to her elbows here).  Luckily we’ve has a slow melting period so Kess was able to get out for a run once the snow wasn’t as deep.  After days of being cooped up in the house she was one happy pup.

we currently have blue skies and there’s still some snow on the ground on the hill.  Fingers crossed for one more snow photo shoot.

snow at 1 Kess snout deep

Well the title pretty much sums it up.  We’ve been stuck in the house for a few days now.  Everyone was having a great time for the first few days and now even the kids have had enough.    We’re up to about 12″ of snow with an icy crust.

Kess has really slowed down in the cold weather.  I think she’s got a fair bit of stiffness associated with the cold.  There’s lots of creaking, popping and stretching when Kess gets up in the morning.  Her endurance for running and playing is also quite a bit lower.  Of course Kess would run until she collapsed so it’s been tough to police her and keep her quiet when she’s starting to wear out.

Kess and I had big plans to try out dock diving next week, but I’ve decided jumping in to ice cold water really isn’t in Kess’s best interests so well have to wait for summer.

Agility is on hiatus until the weather improves.  Other than that it’s business as usual, our disc club found an indoor facility for our winter play days so at least we have that to look forward to.  It’s quite a new experience to do disc indoors, but staying warm and dry is a fair trade off.

Kess and I made it out to the 2 Million Dog Walk in Auburn, WA on sunday to meet tripawd Rio and her family, and to participate in a canine disc show. The crowds were small to say the least but we were happy to perform in a beautiful park on a rare clear crisp fall day.  Rio and her family were great and they came to represent:

Rio was a big hit with everyone.  Here she is getting a little love from her adoring fans.

All in all we had a great day hanging out in the sunshine with a bunch of like minded folks and their wonderful dogs.  You can see all of the pictures from the day here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30335572@N02/sets/72157627945454777/

Kess and I had a special relationship from the start. She was so full energy and joy that it’s very hard to be grumpy around her. She’s given me so many happy moments, and I feel very fortunate that we were able to afford her amputation surgery to save her life and our friendship. She’s really an amazing dog and her spirit is contagious.

I was really concerned that Kess wouldn’t be the same after her surgery, she’s so brash and bull headed, I thought she might come back from the ordeal timid and unsure of herself. As the anniversary of her amputation has drawn near I’ve though a lot about those first few weeks and what it meant for both Kess and I. I don’t know that I’ll ever have this kind of relationship with a dog again. Of course Kess doesn’t understand all that happened to her, but she does know that when she was hurting bad and just needed someone with her to make her feel safe I was there, and it fundamentally changed our relationship. There’s a deeper level of trust now that was never there before.

We had a wonderful weekend playing flyball. This was the first activity Kess had to stop when her leg started giving her problems, and it’s by far her true passion. She is electified in the flyball ring. As soon as we got on the grounds of the tournament Kess was smiling, and jittering with excitment. She could hardly contain herself when greeting old flyball friends and toppled more than one human with her exhuberant hello! She just had a wonderful day and it really sunk in that Kess had finally come full circle she is the same dog I dropped off at the hospital, just a few pounds lighter. Kess did awesome and her team came in second place. Her fastest time for the day was 5.0 seconds! Only one second slower than her best quadpawd time. They made a special announcment for Kess during awards, and she got a huge round of applause and several folks who had lost dogs to cancer came up to me afterward to tell me how heart warming it was to see her out there running. Once all the excitement wore off Kess was pretty stiff and sore, but she was back to bopping around the house this morning. This will most likely be her last tournament, but I’ll try to find some demos for her to participate in this summer as she was just grinning from ear to ear all day. I couldn’t help but smile everytime I looked at her, she was just so happy all day.

Kess had the opportunity to come out and play at a local flyball demo.  For those of you not familiar with the sport it consists of 4 jumps evenly spaced over a 51ft racing lane.  At the end is a spring loaded box that pops out a tennis ball when the dogs trigger the slanted portion of the box.  Flyball is a team sport with 4 dogs running in a relay fashion, racing the other team for the best time.  If a dog drops the ball, misses a jump, or crosses the start line before the incoming dog they have to re-run their heat.  The race is over when all 4 dogs on both teams have successfully jumped over all of the jumps and taken the ball past the start/finish line.

Despite a 3 year hiatus and tripawd status Kess didn’t miss a beat.  She was so happy to see everyone and play some flyball.  It was just wonderful to see Kess out there doing her thing.  She amazes me a little more every day.  I found myself pretty choked up after she ran, and just had a great time myself.  Kess used to run the flyball course at just under 4 sec, and now runs at about 5.5 sec.  Since everything went well we decided to enter the Cascade Comets South of the Boo!der tournament in the open veterans division in a couple of weeks.  The veterans division is for dogs over 7, the jumps are at the minimum height and it’s a little more laid back than standard racing.  The tournament is held by our old club, and it’s the perfect ending to Kess’s flyball career.  I had been very involved in the sport when Kess’s leg first came up lame and it always felt like an abrupt conclusion to something that had been a major part of our lives.

Suki the monkey butt made out ok as well, she took home 3rd place in the dog trick contest at the festval and brought home some dog treats and a $25 resturant gift card.

Just a bit of a follow-up on my friends BC Jule, she continues to tolerate her chemo well, and the fundraiser her owners held was a huge success. The quilt I made for the silent auction (first one ever) went to the max bid of $75 in about 10min. Overall the event raised over $2,000, which was above and beyond what the Bruce’s needed. All of the surplus will be donated to canine cancer research. So far this family is primed for a happy ending so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

In addition to that the raffle held by my disc club raised $250 for the Chase Away Canine Cancer Foundation.  It just makes me all warm and fuzzy to know that everyone can still pitch in to help make a difference in someones life.  I know the Bruces were truly touched by the outpouring of help from their circle of friends.  Next up is my annual dog tug making class, to benefit the local BC rescue group.  I’ve been feeling a little guilty that I haven’t been able to help out at the Humane Society over the summer, but as we move in to winter I’m hoping to have a little more time on my hands.  I just need a 30 hour day and to live to 200 so I can get it all done.

Kess’s one year ampuversary is right around the corner Oct 28, we’ve had such an amazing year and I can’t wait to celebrate.  Of course there will be a trip to the dog park, some disc, and a tasty treat involved.  I’m looking forward to posting some pics of our big day.

Our disc club celebrated its 10th year this season.  I’m glad to count this dedicated group of individuals as friends.  We only have 10 members plus spouses and manage to host 8 competitions a year and numerous demos spreading the love.  Every dog in the club save on is a rescue and all of our members you positive training methods.  Kess is just one of many special stories and dogs in the long history of WOOFD2.  I put together this video to commemorate the occasion.  You can see my childhood dog Coco followed by Kess and finally Suki at 3:10.   Canine dis is but one chapter of my life with dogs, but it has brought about a profound difference in my understanding of training and really looking into the mind of a dog.  I’ve done a lot of soul searching about dog sport and the inherent risk to the animals, but there’s no sense in owning a Ferrari if you never take it out for a drive.  Kess has the heart of an athlete, I take steps to make things as safe as possible, and always have her best interest at heart.  Kess’s two years of crate rest were almost unbearable, some days I think she’s just trying to make up for lost time

Well things have finally settled down a bit around here.  We just finished up our last disc competition of the season.  Plans to head down to CA for a competition next weekend came to an abrupt end as my youngest daughter broke her collar bone last weekend.  I can now say that keeping a 3 year old mellow is just as hard as keeping a border collie quiet and calm.

We had a cold, cold summer, but luckily the sun finally showed up in Seattle for our much anticipated camping trip to Sequim Bay.  We had beautiful weather for the entire 5 days and everyone had a great time.  We even met another tripawd on our trip.  Seems like I see tripawds everywhere now :)  We bump in to a new tripawd almost weekly.

As we move into fall we grow ever closer to Kess’s 1 year ampuversary.  I never expected her to rebound so fully from her surgery and she amazes me everyday.  Even with all Kess has accomplished in the last year I can’t help but notice the grey creeping into her muzzle, and walks are still very tiring for her is it’s more than .5mi or so.  I worry about arthritis in her leg and other medical issues she may encounter as the years progress.  Because of this I will probably ramp down her dog sports a bit and try to get her out swimming more often.  If I could get her to stop wiggling long enough she might even enjoy some obedience work.  You’d think at 7 almost 8 this squirley girl could settle down a bit, but I wouldn’t trade my three legged crazy dog for anything.