Boofest

Yippee!  We went on an excursion this weekend & got to run every day!  I also met a few of my fans & made a new one who had not seen me course before.  A successful weekend.

Friday morning when J got home from work, both humans finished packing up the car, & we hit the road:  both Rob & J with Bados & I.  It was close to a 12 hr drive down to Gilroy, CA.

Appley stayed behind to keep Mintz company.  With Luka gone so recently, it would not have been him alone with the pet sitter.  Not that Lisa isn't nice (she gives us tons of special treats), but the house feels empty without another dog in it when one is used to a pack.  Appley was upset not to come, but it's not like he enjoys showing or racing, and he won't even try to course (the Momma's boy won't go that far from J).

Bados was not feeling his best on the drive down and puked a bit in the back.  This was probably psychosomatic.  Last time we drove to California he got REALLY sick in the car; I think he was justnervous about getting sick again.  He is such a softy.  I just ignored him & watched other cars out my window.  Being able to watch helps to pass the time.

After arriving at the hotel near bedtime on friday, we had to get up early Saturday so Rob could meet Rick Wolpin for a bicycle ride.  Hmm.  Maybe Rob could get a kid carrier & take me along sometime.  Showing is not really my favorite thing.

At UKC shows the 'Altered' classes are at the end, but here the 'Companion' class is near the beginning.  Both mornings I was distracted by all the scents in the ring;  J made the mistake of trying to use bait.  She's a slow learner.  By now she should know that that will not help her.  Yes, she gets my attention, but that doesn't mean I will just stand there & pose like she wants or trot calmly at her side.  I know too many ways to knock that treat out of her hands.  TeeHee!  Anyway, I still managed to eke out a victory over my pal, Moto, on one morning.  He won the other day.  It's nice to share the wealth.  vbg.  I won some nice treats & a squeaker.  J was happy about the ribbon.
This is what I think of ribbons: (this was my 1st ribbon, not this weekend; J rarely tries such photos anymore)

Bados' BIS class is not until the end of the show.  Maybe he got stiff lying around all day after being in the car all day on friday, but he did not step out real well in the ring on Saturday.  I think his feet might still bother him a bit after the pad cuts & wasp sting between the toes earlier this month, too.  He denies it, but every now & then I catch him limping.  He stops as soon as J turns his way, but sometimes she catches it.  She scratched him from the races Saturday afternoon because of this concern - she wanted to be sure he could course the next day.  She gave him some arnica & rimadyl saturday night to help reduce any inflammation.
Anyway Sunday he did better.  He earned an Award of Merit in the show and a 3rd in the ASFA FCh Stakes.  He looked good, but two others did better.  His turns were not all super sharp.  He claims that he was being careful with his pads; I say maybe.  He could be getting lazy.  I mean - he may not understand "string theory" like I do, but he knows that they are plastic bags

Saturday afternoon I got to practice straight racing.  Fun, fun.  J made me wear a muzzle so I could not grab the tail, but I gave it a good try.  At the end after J leashed me & picked up the lure, I remembered my trick to roll over forwards & push backwards with my head on the ground to get the muzzle off.  HAH!  I leapt up & snatched it! The lure was mine . . . for a second anyway  . . . but I got my feet tangled in the line with my jump and could not run with it.  Oh, well.  You have to try. : )

Sunday I got to course Singles.  This was an easy one; the course was basically a figure 8.   When I came to the cross over, I just stopped & waited for it to come back.  It made one turn further out that had me second guessing, but I was not fooled for long.  This was all right in front of the judges so I thought they might 'get it' - understand how my strategy is superior - but no.  J says one had some insight gave a qualifying score, but the other gave me a 20.  20?  That's almost insulting.  Did I run home to momma?  No.  I should probably tell J not to bother checking the scores.  It only frustrates her.  It's not like I care what they think.  If I did, I'd play by their boring rules.

Tonight we are back home.  Appley was jumping with happiness when we arrived; Mintz just about bull-dozed everyone trying to get close to Rob & J for some affection.  Boys.

Luka

Well, I haven't written in a while.  Things have been weird & stressful for all of us.  Bados disappeared for awhile on an excursion that I am not supposed to discuss; and Luka was getting sicker again.  She died on Tuesday.

Luka had started limping again, was weak, and panting more.  J thought it was all pain, but she was also short of breath.  Now we know that the tumor had spread to her lungs.  J had been expecting that, but was thrown off by the resumed limping.  Tuesday she stopped eating in the morning.  J & Sherri (our vet) came up with a more aggressive treatment plan for her pain; but she did not seem to be getting any more comfortable.  Near bedtime J tried to took her out for a short walk; she did not 'get busy' and was very unstable.  After they came back inside she got all panicky and tried to go hide in corners.  J got her to lie down and tried to listen to her heart & lungs with a stethoscope.  Her breathing was so loud & labored that J could not hear her heart.  Then she stopped and looked calm.   J said Luka was dying; she was right.  Her heart rate was in the 40s; she took a few more breaths as her heart slowed to nothing.

We were all in a bit of shock.  J cried.  Even Rob got choked up.  They wrapped her in blankets & laid her on a futon in Rob's office.  She looked peaceful.

The next afternoon they took her body away.  The vet did an autopsy.  Her lungs were full of tumor, & this had hemorrhaged into the pleural space between the lung & chest wall.  That's what killed her so quickly.  J says we'll get her ashes back.

This weekend we are going to Boofest; that will be a good distraction from her absence.

Newman Lake

Newman Lake is a LONG way from home, but what a fun weekend we had!!

Although Bados had a small pad injury the previous weekend at Roy (along with most other racers!), J decided to drive up to Newman Lake as she had been planning.  This was for coursing after all, and that is our favorite family past time.

Kam, Cayman, & Garis were still nursing pad injuries, so Jackie did not drive up; plus Jane & Iola were tied up and could not bring Tootsie & Lego over to play.  Only Karen Sanders had both time & healthy dogs (Sky & Nike) to join us.  She & J decided to drive up together in Ivan.  This made the long drive more crowded than most weekend excursions, but it was much less crowded & much shorter than the cross country trip.  No problem.  I could still convince the others that the window seat is MINE.

The field was beautiful green grass and HUGE.  I think less than 1/2 of it was used for the courses.  There were some sports goals that the people made a point of staying far away from, but this was easy with so much space.  The soft grass was so nice on the paws!  The morning was cold but it got up to the upper 60s or low 70s in the PM.  Yummy.

There were not many entries at all.  2-3 courses each for RR & Cirnecos, 1 Silken threesome, 2 Saluki, one Afghan & one Whippet.   I had 4 or 5 singles competitors.  Despite this Saturday CRAWLED by.  I am not sure how it took ALL DAY to complete the runs.  True:  there were equipment issues that ultimately had them switching from drag lure to continuous loop.  True:  they did AKC CAT testing in the middle (only 5-6 dogs).  BUT honestly!  We were not done until dinner time.

After the 1st run, Nike had 2 points over Bados & Sky was not far behind.  Unfortunately, Bados then STEPPED ON A WASP.  Seriously, the klutz.  There was a bite between his toes.  J gave him Rimadyl & Arnica, stuck his foot in cold water, & put some anti-sting stuff on his foot.  He had stopped limping & competed in the final.  Despite the sting, he ran well, but he could not make up for being behind Nike.
The one toe still looked swollen & bruised on Sunday, but he was not limping in the morning.  After the prelims he & either Sky or Nike were tied.  The other was just one point behind!  Very tight.  Unfortunately, Bados initially was limping when they finished the prelims.  Nothing new, it was the stung foot bothering him.  J was torn up about what to do.  To scratch or not to scratch . . .  She repeated her treatments from the prior afternoon and waited until the last second to decide.  No limping en route to the start . . . so off they went.  Bados coursed beautifully, and eked out a win over Sky followed by Nike.  That made Bados a Provisional ASFA FCh.  Pretty cool; but J is so proud of him it is just disgusting.  I mean, he already had the ISWS FCh and then LCM - what's the big deal?

I had lots of fun and have some new fans.  In the big open fields there was lots to consider when evaluating possible turns.  I managed to stalk & pounce at least twice on each run.  The wife of one judge told J that she thinks the judges score me "wrong".  She thinks I deserve more credit for my 'focus' even though I don't blindly chase.  What a wise woman; she has great insight.
Another person said she wanted to take me home, but I think I'll stick with J.  We have a good time together.

Next week:  LC at Roy!!