We've done it!

Riley and I did it! We have graduated all our agility classes; beginners, intermediate 1 and intermediate 2!!! We are now in Novice Competition! We will continue to go to weekly classes to continue learning (we still have A LOT  to learn!), learn how to strategize our runs, practice different techniques and just have FUN! :)

This past Thursday was our final class, and we did a regulation course, Riley did awesome! I was super nervous because the previous week his focus was ZERO. But this time he was all ears and eager :)

We ran the first half of the course awesome, a couple mistakes but I was super happy. I could just see the joy in his face while we did the pause on the table, he was just so happy and my heart was just bursting :) We continued to the tunnel after a 5 count and then I had a brain fart LOL :) I lost track of where I was suppose to go haha but Riley didn't care :) I figured it out and then we finished our run!

Our instructors met the next day to decide who was ready to move on to Novice competition classes, and Riley and I were among the ones picked! :)

YAY RILEY!!! WE DID IT!!!

Happy Gotcha Day!

Yesterday was Riley's Gotcha Day!

2 years ago we adopted this squirmy, yet sad pup.

The search for our perfect dog started many months before.

I was personally ready for a dog before my husband was, so I had been looking online at sights like petfinder.com and craigslist for a long time. One day while on craigslist I see a shelter post a picture of the cutest dog ever!

But unfortunately, we were not ready for a dog just yet :(  and I was very sad to pass this guy up, I just knew he would be snatched up in a flash...... A few months go by and finally we are both ready for a 4 legged friend to join our little family.

I found/met another potential pup at another shelter, but I wanted my husband to meet her before we made the decision.  A couple days go by and we are getting ready to go see the little girl. My husband is changing and getting shoes on, so I get on craigslist again to pass the time when I see the ad for the B&W pup I fell in love with months ago!

"He's back! His ad is back up!" My husband comes over to look and loves the little guy. We decide to stop by to see him first and fall in love right then and there, we just knew he was a good match for us (No worries the girl we were originally going to see was adopted soon after). The shelter workers were over-joyed that he was finally being adopted and were surprised he sat at the shelter for as long as he did.

Riley is now a big part of our little family, and I couldn't imagine life without him! We have gotten to do things I never would have thought I could do, like agility, and have meet new wonderful friends, because of him. 

He keeps us on our toes and always a smile on our faces!

HAPPY GOTCHA DAY RILEY!

Here a some pictures over the years :)

First day home!

Poor guy ended up having major hair loss from food allergies (we think) Switched to a good quality food and his hair grew back! No more naked, pink Riley!

Hang 10!

First trip to the beach :)

 Riley the porcupine!

First snow! In Texas no doubt LOL

First hair cut LOL the ear fuzz was outta control!

Many more Gotcha Days to come :)

Tough couple weeks....

The last couple weeks have been pretty rough. Between being sick, work, and a resent death of a doggie friend, I've had no time to take new pictures or even post.

Tragically William has passed away....

You may remember from previous posts, William is Riley's friend from agility. We've had a number of play dates and a trip to the beach. William's death was sad and sudden. Just last week his owner brought him to the vet for a check up and the vet felt a mass in his abdomen. Next day he was in surgery, but the mass was unable to be removed.

The original thought was cancer, and chemo could help shrink it, making it removable. The test results came back as a Granuloma, that is probably being caused by a Fungus, Pythiosis, which regrettably happens to be nicknamed "swamp cancer".

William went into a second surgery with a specialist, but unfortunately the surgeon discovered it was too intertwined around his intestine and stemmed from the digestive tract blood supply. So his loving owner decided to let him go, and not to wake him up.

......Dear Mr. William was only 18 months old.....

They rescued him from a shelter, when no one wanted him, they gave him a home, love and truly an amazing life! He got to go to so many interesting places, he was learning to dock dive and excelling in agility. He will truly be missed by many :(

This is an original song my friend wrote/sang many years ago, before she had William, little did she know how much that song would mean.

Here is a collage I made in memory of Riley's dearest friend.

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.
There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.
There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown..

Agility in Real Life

Today Riley and I saw our first agility trial in person! Up until now, I have only seen agility on TV and what we do in class. It was so awesome it actually be there, even if this was just a small trial.

Now, I apologize in advance for my lack of agility terminology :) I'm new to this whole world LOL. The trial we watched was a CPE agility trail held in Santa Fe, TX. The runs I watched were Standard and Jumpers. The atmosphere there was very friendly and relaxed. Everyone would cheer for each dog after a run and I even got to meet and talk to people. I got to see how a trial works, the different height classes, and different types of runs.

Here are some pictures I took during the Standard run.

Even this young girl could do it! Gives me hope about Riley and I LOL

These pictures are from the Jumpers run. All I could think of during these runs (besides how much fun they looked) was I BELIEVE I CAN FLY! :)

This Lab was so cute. She was just an old girl having some fun :)

So Riley, what do you think? You think you wanna do this?

"Do I wanna do this? Bah ah ha ha ha! What a silly question."

 So this was our adventure today :) Everyone did great and it was just an all around fun place to be. I look forward to the day when it'll be Riley and I out there!