Latest update 24 December 2019
Mandy ran first. She was running "clean" (no mistakes), but towards the end I heard her tick a bar when she was going over a jump. I thought the bar had fallen to the ground - which would mean we would not qualify - but instead the bar fell back down into the cups that normally hold the bar. So no call by the judge! We finished clean and qualified. Boo, handled by Keith, ran a few dogs later. Keith and Boo ran very smoothly, with no mistakes. So they also qualified. So now the question - for bragging rights only - was who ran faster, Mandy or Boo. When the results were posted, we found that Mandy had run six seconds faster than Boo. Mandy of course is very experienced. I am sure that as Boo gets more experience, he will run faster.
Boo (on left) and Mandy (on right) with their Premier ribbons. Mandy got second place (red) and Boo fourth place (white).
I also heard today that Tavi ("Shaksper Octavia Minor"), owned by Helen, had her OFA eye exam. The veterinary ophthalmologist reported no problems. Yeah! The OFA eye exam was the last thing that Tavi needed to get her CHIC number. As soon as the eye exam results are recorded, Tavi should be awarded her CHIC number.
Mandy had a great day at the trial today. In addition to qualifying on a very difficult Premier Jumpers course, Mandy also qualified on both the Master Standard and the Master Jumpers courses. Qualifying on both Master Standard and Master Jumpers on the same day gives Mandy another "Double-Q". Double-Qs are difficult to earn, and lead to titles.
Jennifer handled Boo to a qualifying run in Master Jumpers today. But the big news of the day is that Keith handled Boo to a his third qualifying run in Excellent Standard, thus earning Boo his Excellent Standard title! Go Team Boo! Here is (from left to right) judge Rhonda Bermke, Keith holding Boo, and Jennifer.
In other news, Mandy got a double-Q; her third towards her next title. (She needs 20 to get the title.)
Hi Papa Blair! Look how much I'm growing! I love to chew the buttons off of Daddy Edmunds trousers, but he is not too fond of that. Love you. Percy ("Shaksper Thane Of Lennox")
The bottom line is that the FDA is investigating, but no definitive conclusions have been made yet - although the news headlines seem to indicate otherwise. My advice continues to be to feed a good quality kibble, supplement with appropriate cooked or raw food, occasionally switch brands of kibble, and watch the dog's weight. Obesity in dogs (as well as humans) is a known risk factor for illness, and a higher risk - given what we currently know - than any particular dog food.
Hi,
Hope Mom and the Aunts are doing well! It's been a hectic couple of weeks at my new house, so sorry for not writing.
Life in the new house is pretty fun. I'm pretty much the center of all attention (as it should be!). I've trained the humans to wake at the right time (5:30am), give me treats and play with me when I want. Sometimes I bark and try to get their attention, but they just ignore me. I think they are a little stubborn at times.
The bigger human tries to race me around the house - not sure what he's doing but I'm soooo much faster! I can run from room to room, under the dining room chairs, around the couches, over and over - it's not even a contest!
Last weekend, we went back to the playground [editor's note - puppy class] and I got to go through the tunnel, over the teeter and up and down this big hill! I'm still not sure about the down part of the hill - if they'd just put a big steak at the bottom, I'd be there in a heartbeat!! Oh, yeah, and I got to go over the playground without a leash! I followed the humans and we went through all the steps and I got a big piece of cheese at the end. BTW ... just sayin ... the golden, a shepard, and some skinny brown dog just kept running off to the woods - do they not know how to play on a playground?? This week was pretty exciting - we went see the doctor. I'm not really sure I like that place because they poked me, but the doctor thought I was just the cutest!! In fact, after she finished and left, she came back and introduced herself to the humans (apparently, she forgot the humans were in the room when she saw how, yes, adorable, I am!). While she thought I was cute, she did think I was a smidge chunky and suggested (how could she!!) that I cut back slightly on the food. The doc did say, though, that I could have celery whenever I want - Yay!!
The humans are taking me on walks and trying to keep me on a schedule, but sometimes, I just don't want to pee when I go outside. Then, after playing for a while, you know, you gotta do what you gotta do and the rugs are just like grass! I don't think I'm supposed to do that, but it is kinda fun watching the humans get all red and frustrated! I think they are catching on b/c I'm having more trouble sneaking away when nature calls.
So, today, one of the humans had me chase this ball and when I brought it back to her, she gave me a treat! See, all I have to do now is go get the ball, bring it to her and I get a treat! They are soooo trainable - although I can't seem to find the ball anymore - huh!
Oh, yeah, and I got my weekly shower today - the humans have to shower everyday (which I supervise, of course, and jump in when they are done) but I'm so cute, I only have to do it once/week.
The humans played some sounds yesterday- really loud popping sounds, sizzling sounds, etc. I'm not sure why they wanted me to hear those sounds - I just ignored them and kept chewing my chew stick. They did say something about a holiday next week, but not sure what that's about?!
Anyway, I miss you guys - I need to come see you, soon.
The Thane of Fife (aka Duffy)
In sad news, we heard from Johanna about the prognosis for Ben ("Shaksper Ben Miller"). Ben has chondrosarcoma - a form of bone cancer. To my knowledge, cancer is rare in Norwich terriers - unlike in some dog breeds where certain cancers are particularly common. A while ago, Johanna found a lump on Ben's side, which her vet thought was suspicious. A surgeon removed the tumor (and part of two ribs). Here is Ben after he came home. Unfortunately the pathology report came back with a diagnosis of chondrosarcoma. Now the oncologist who was consulted says that there is no treatment and expects that Ben has nine months to a year to live. My heart just goes out to Johanna and Ben. Ben is only eight years old. (His birthday is in September.)
Johanna plans to keep Ben comfortable for as long as possible. She tells me that Ben is recovered from his surgery (except for a large shaved spot), and recently went on his first long walk - which he loved! - since his surgery.
And Lynn T. sent me these pictures of Duffy ("Shaksper Thane Of Fife") entitled what not to chew on and what to chew on.
Here is a photo of Boo looking at a photo of ... Boo!
Jennifer, owner of Boo ("Shaksper Guiderius") and Lynn T., owner of Duffy ("Shaksper Thane Of Fife"), got toether for a "play date" and Jennifer sent me the following pictures:
Today was road-trip day. I first returned Boo to Jennifer and Keith, and then dropped off two of my dogs with my petsitter. Then Mandy, Tami ("Shaksper Tamora Queen Of The Goths"), Sayer ("Shaksper Soothsayer Of The Ides"), Polly, and I began a two-day drive to Michigan State University in Lansing, Michigan.
I heard from Garry that Argus ("Shaksper Arvirargus") had his airway scoped at Texas A&M University, as part of the longitudinal study of Norwich airways. This was the second time that Argus was scoped. According to Garry, there were minimal changes in Argus's airway and no surgery was necessary.
Mandy and Tami were scoped today. The good news is that their airway had changed very little since being scoped two years ago. And neither needed any surgery. Yeah!
Tomorrow we will start the drive home back to North Carolina. Then I will return Polly back to Lynn S. and Sayer back to Carolyn.
Afterwards, we went to visit Tami's son from her previous litter, Duffy ("Shaksper Thane Of Fife"), now owned by Lynn T. This was the first time that I had seen Duffy since he left me at the beginning of June. As a young puppy, I had wondered if Duffy had a "fluffy" coat. His coat color and texture were different than his littermates. A DNA test (and fellow breeders) said Duffy was not a "fluffy" ... and they were correct. Now it looks like Duffy is going to have a nice red coat.
We let Tami and Duffy play for a few moments. (Duffy still has some of his dark "guard" hairs.) Tami is not ready to be bred and Duffy is not yet (at almost six months) sexually mature, so it was safe ... but to be extra cautious, Tami spent the rest of the visit in her crate in a quiet room. I have fun playing with Duffy and talking with Lynn and her daughter Kaetlyn about Duffy. Lynn took this picture of me holding Duffy. Kaetlyn has done a great job of teaching Duffy several commands: sit, down, and stay.
Joe sent me this picture of Olivia ("Jerusalem Olivia Lenox"), now twelve years old. With the exception of my first litter (who are now all dead and who did not have any progency) Olivia is the maternal ancestor of all Shaksper dogs. Olivia was my second MACH Norwich. I fully expected that Olivia would spend her entire life with me .. but then Joe came along and made a better offer (only dog, winters in Florida, summers in Maine). I still miss Olivia and think of her often.
But before Tami could be inseminated, I was asked if Tami could be a "teaser bitch". NC State was trying to collect sperm from a light-colored Irish wolfhound. Letting a dog smell a bitch in season increases the dog's libido, which helps in the collection of sperm. So Tami got to be a tease!
The idea of a a transcervical insemination is to directly deposit the sperm past the cervix directly into the uterus (where the egss are). This is done using a long hollow probe which has a camera at its tip. The camera allows the vet to pass the probe past the cervix into the uterus. Here are serveral pictures:
And now we wait. There is no pregnancy pee test for dogs, like there is for humans. In about a month, Tami will have an ultrasound and we will see if she is pregnant.
Hello Papa Blair! Me big strong dog! This bear weighs more than I do, but I am one determined puppy, and I can conquer it and drag it anywhere I want to!!! I have also going lots of places in the car with Daddy E and Mom and I am liking it a lot! I wuff you!
Mandy's daughter, Siri ("Shaksper Serena Mckellen"), came along with us to the agility trial ... for socialization, as Siri at nine-months of age is still too young to compete. Today, Julie brought to the trial her six-month old black-and-tan Norwich, Chaucer ("Kaleidoscope Biathlon"), who it turns out is Siri's grand-nephew. The two played and played ... and I got this photo.
Lynn T. sent me a picture of Duffy ("Shaksper Thane of Fife") heading out for a walk.
Since Sayer and Portia are brother and sister, I had a long talk with Portia and told her that she could not come into season during the two-day drive to Michigan. So what did I find when we reached our hotel on the first day of our trip ... yes, Portia has come into season. Fortunately Portia is not yet receptive to Sayer's amorous advances, but in order to keep Sayer from getting too frustrated, I now have to crate one or the other at any one time. The only good news is that after Portia has her airway scoped at MSU, I can drop Portia off to be bred to a dog in Michigan. I will later have to make another trip to Michigan to pick Portia up after she is bred.
On our way to Michigan State, we stopped and visited with Portia's ("Shaksper Porcia Catonis") "intended" - Sammy, ("Abbedale Earl Of Sammywich"). They checked each other out (Portia is on the left, Sammy on the right). Sammy started to court Portia, but Portia let Sammy know that she is not interested yet.
This morning I took Sayer ("Shaksper Soothsayer Of The Ides") for a long walk before his surgery. Sayer got surprised when some lawn sprinklers suddenly started. Recall that Sayer has something blocking the back of one nostril, which you can see in the CT scan. (Notice how in the picture on the left, in the center of the head there is only one dark spot, when there should be two symmetrical dark spots. The dark spots are air, and the light grey the obstruction.) Sayer had a 2.5 hour surgery to remove the obstruction, but we still do not know what it is. Dr. Stanley reported that the obstruction was "crunchy" when she cut into it. The mass has been sent off to a lab for identification. Sayer will spend tonight in the ICU and hopefully be released late tomorrow.
We are still waiting for the lab report to say
exactly what was the obstruction.
I believe that I have three times in the last twenty years
or so been to the vets because one of my dogs inhaled a
piece of grass that got stuck in the dog's nose. If your
dog suddenly starts repeated sneezing and pawing at his
or her nose, grass up the nose is one thing to consider.
I was informed by the breeder of Sammy ("Abbedale Earl Of Sammywich")
that Sammy was bred today to Portia ("Shaksper Porcia Catonis") by
side-by-side AI (artificial insemination). Based on how
Sammy and Portia were acting, the breeder thinks it
may have been a bit early. Another breeding attempt is planned
for Saturday.
However because I have a judging assignment this weekend,
the forecast for my local county being for tropical storms winds,
and not wanting to deal with down trees and power lines when
driving to the airport, I took advantage of the standing
offer of friends who live in Raleigh to stay with them.
So on Thursday just as hurricane Dorian began to bring rain
to my area, the dogs and I relocated to my friends' house
in Raleigh and spent the night. In the morning I took the
dogs to my petsitter, and then went to the airport. When
my flight took off, there were blue skies as the storm had
already passed by.
I am judging in southern Indiana this weekend. Sadly there
are no Norwich terriers in my ring this weekend.
September 2019
and who live in the Asheville area, were
kind enough to offer me a bed for a night. It gave six-month old Percy
a chance to play with ten-month old Siri. And play they did,
with occasional
rest stops, then
back to more playing. The next day Siri and I picked
up Portia and headed home.
Recall that back on 10 September, Tami ("Shaksper Tamora Queen Of The Goths") had an ultrasound that did not show any puppies. My repro vets asked to repeat the ultrasound in a week or so, which happened today. Today my repro vets saw two possible sites, but no heartbeats as they would expect. One of the sites is very small, the other is smaller than would be expected. They are guessing that these two sites might be reabsorption sites. Progesterone both on 10 September and today is sufficiently high to support a pregnancy. Blood work today was unremarkable. My repro vets have asked me to bring Tami back in a week for another ultrasound.
So I still do not have a definite answer as to whether Tami is pregnant or not ... although the signs do not look promising.
A Tami selfi while waiting for the repro vets.
Today I took Tami in for her third ultrasound. This time my repro vets at NC State University saw three spots. (Last time they saw only two.) The attending (senior) vet said that one of the spots looks like a reabsorption site. And she said that one of the spots looks like a possible puppy, except for the fact that it should be much larger given the breeding date. The phrase "delayed development" was mentioned as the vets discussed what they were seeing. But they are really scratching their heads about Tami. I have been asked to bring Tami back for yet a fourth ultrasound!
I also had Portia ("Shaksper Porcia Catonis") ultrasounded to see if she is pregnant. As it was early in her pregnancy, all my repro vets would say was "maybe" upon seeing one spot.
I also heard today from Carolyn about Sayer ("Shaksper Soothsayer Of The Ides"). Recall that Sayer had surgery a month ago to remove a blockage in a nostril. Since then he has had tubes in his nose and has had to wear a cone so that he would not dislodge the tubes. Today under anesthesia, Sayer's local vet removed the nose tubes and flushed everything to remove any debris. Now Sayer is cone free, which I am sure makes him happier. Sayer is under orders for restricted activity for a few days, and Carolyn is to watch for any congestion or nose bleeds.
Of course, I look at Siri and say to myself "If I just take a few more hairs off of here, she would look perfect". But at some point one has to stop.
I heard from Carolyn, owner of Sayer ("Shaksper Soothsayer Of The Ides"), that Sayer is doing extremely well. Sayer has done a 1.5 mile walk without getting out of breath and no nasal sounds. No breathing issues at all. It sounds like Sayer's surgery was a success!
Today Mandy ("Shaksper Amanda Seyfried", Siri ("Shaksper Serene Mckellen", and I are driving to eastern Pennsylvania. (My other dogs are with my petsitter.) This is the beginning of "Montgomery week" - usually the largest gathering of terriers in the world. Mandy and I will be competing in four days of terrier-only agility at the Montgomery Terrier Agility Cluster. (Siri is coming to cheer her mother on.) Then there are the events of the Norwich Terrier Club of America (health seminar, banquet, annual business meeting) of which I am a member. And finally we will attend the big Montgomery County Kennel Club's terrier-only conformation show ("Montgomery"). There are also other dog events, but one has to choose otherwise one goes crazy! I attended my first Montgomery in 1997, and I have attended every year since.
On Sunday 29 September, Mandy ("Shaksper Amanda Seyfried"),
her daughter Siri ("Shaksper Serena Mckellen") and I
drove to Pennsylvania. The events of Montgomery week
take place is various locations in eastern Pennsylvania.
We arrived on Sunday in time so that Siri could participate
in some agility practice runs. Siri is still too young
for competition, but I was curious how she would do in
a venue where we do not regularly train. I am happy to
report that Siri did not run out of the ring to go play
with the dogs outside the ring (as I feared she might), but rather
Siri did the obstacles that I asked her to do. This gives
me hope that sometime next year I will be able to debut
my eighth generation of agility dog.
Also on that Sunday, Jennifer and Keith,
owners of Boo ("Shaksper Guiderius"),
got married. Here are photos of the bride with her nephew
and Boo, and the groom
with Boo. Jennifer and Keith are now in England
for their honeymoon, and I am taking care of Boo until
they return.
On Tuesday 1 October, Polly ("Shaksper Hippolyta") and her
owner Lynn S. earned Polly's Rally Novice title. Rally is
sort of the obedience version of agility - handler
and dog walk from station to station on a course, and at
each station have to do an obedience commend. As Polly
is also a Mandy daughter, we had a
mini family reunion.
I am holding Siri and Mandy (with Mandy between her two
daughters), and Lynn is holding Polly. Polly was also
awarded her CHIC number last week, meaning that Polly has
done the health tests recommended by the Norwich Terrier
Club of America. Way to go Polly!!!
I should explain about the decorations in the background.
At the Montgomery Terrier Agility Cluster (the four days
of agility), many people crate their dogs with others of
the same breed. Each year we have a contest to decorate
the crating areas (each breed "village") according to
a theme. This year the theme was "Witches and Wizards".
We have judges who come around and award prizes to the best
decorated villages. The Norwich and Norfolk crating area - the
two related breeds crate together (we call
it "Norville") - this year won "Best Use of Theme".
And yes if you look closely, you will
see that I am wearing a kilt. The weather in Pennsylvania
in early October is changeable, and one has to be ready
for anything. Monday and Thursday were nice and cool,
perfect weather for dogs to run agility. Tueday and
Wednesday this year were warm; hence I wore my kilt
on those days.
Tuesday evening was the Noragility banquet - a social
gathering of anyone with a Norwich or Norfolk who
does agility (plus guests).
The Montgomery Terrier Agility Cluster (MTAC) is hosted
by four terrier parent clubs (one each day) on a rotating
basis. At the trial chairs meeting at the conclusion
of judging on Wednesday, I was once again elected to
be the coordinator (organizer) for next year's MTAC.
I have been the coordinator now for six years running.
Being coordinator mostly involves work through out the
year prior to the cluster.
So how did Mandy do during the four days of agility
competition? We had a great Montgomery. Mandy earned
four double-Qs - one each day - meaning that Mandy ran
without any mistakes (ran "clean") on two hard courses
each day. She ran faster than the "standard course time"
- the time that the judge thinks it will take the average
dog, earning lots of speed points. Speed is not Mandy's
problem ... but accuracy is. We had a lot of heart
stopping moments ... but Mandy and I pulled it off and
earned those elusive double-Qs that lead to advanced
titles. In addition, Mandy earned four Premier legs
(qualified on four Premier courses) over the four days.
Premier courses are the hardest of AKC agility courses,
and are very difficult.
Thursday night was the Norwich club's health seminar.
The topic was emergency medicine. It was a good talk,
but I wish the topic had been more specific to the health
issues of Norwich terriers.
On Friday, I drove Mandy and Siri to a friend's
house in Maryland where they stayed for the rest of
the week. While in Maryland, I stopped and visited Ben ("Shaksper Soren
Ben Miller") and Johanna. Ben had surgery earlier
this year for bone cancer on his ribs, and I wanted
to see how he was doing. Other than not wanting to be
touched on his sore side, I was happy to find that Ben wanted to play.
After the visit, I returned to Pennsylvania for the Norwich
club's annual banquet.
Saturday was spent in various club-related meetings,
culminating in the club's annual business meeting. For my
sin of asking about our club's finances in previous years,
earlier this year I was nominated to be the treasurer for
the Norwich Terrier Club of America. Since no one ran
against me, I automatically became treasurer and hence a
board member. Since I am a (self-appointed) member of the
loyal opposition - I advocate in favor of health testing -
it is going to be an interesting two years being on the governing
board of the club.
Sunday was the big Montgomery County Kennel Club's
terrier-only conformation show ("Montgomery"). This year
there were 92 Norwich entered. I watched the pretty
dogs walk around the ring, played the guessing game
of which dog would I choose if I were the judge,
and kept an eye out for possible stud dogs for my
girls. During the week, Larry sent me a picture of Bentley ("Shaksper
Prince Edvard Williams"). I was pleasantly surprised when
I read the show catalog to find that one of Bentley's daughters,
"Coventry's Rock And Roll Ruby", was entered at Montgomery.
She did well, winning the 9-to-12 month old bitch class.
After Montgomery, I drove to Maryland, picked up Mandy
and Siri and drove home to North Carolina, getting home
around midnight.
Also that same Sunday, in New York City was the annual
"Blessing of the Beasts". Carrie and her father took
Peanut ("Shaksper
Victor Garcia") to be blessed.
Good news - Portia is pregnant! My repro vets saw two,
maybe three, puppies. The repro vets also saw at least
one reabsorption site, which has them concerned. They
have ordered some medication for Portia.
Tami's (fourth) ultrasound did not show any blobs, so the
repro vets confirmed that she is (sadly) not pregnant.
They did see some cysts on the ultrasound, and have
diagnosed Tami with "presumptive" cystic endometrial
hyperplasia. (It is presumptive because a biopsy would be
necessary to confirm, but they do not recommend a biopsy.)
I have never heard of cystic endometrial hyperplasia
before, so I am reading up on it. The treatment they
recommend involves Tami getting three shots of prostaglandin
a day for ten days. So I came home with a bag of
30 filled syringes. Because I will be travelling this
weekend, I will start giving Tami her shots on Monday when
I get home. Poor Tami!
This weekend, Boo and her mother Mandy ("Shaksper Amanda
Seyfried") competed in an agility trial in North Carolina.
Mandy had a great weekend, qualifying in eight of her
nine runs, and earning two more of those difficult to get
double-Qs (qualifying on the Master Standard course and
the Master Jumpers course on the same day). Boo earned
a Master Jumpers "leg" (qualified in Master Jumpers)
and also a Premier Standard leg. (Premier courses are
the hardest in AKC agility.) Afterward, we took a birthday picture -
from left to right, Keith hold Siri ("Shaksper Serene
Mckellen"), Jennifer holding Boo, and I am holding Mandy.
Jennifer is holding Boo's birthday balloon.
At the same trial, Mandy ("Shaksper Amanda Seyfried") got a double-Q on Friday and Sunday, but
dropped a bar on Saturday in Standard.
At a Maryland agility trial over the same weekend, Polly ("Shaksper Hippolyta")
earned her
Open Standard and Excellent Jumpers titles. Way to go Polly and Lynn S!!!
The progression of titles in AKC agility is Novice (3), Open
(3), Excellent (3), Masters (10) and above that is the MACH
(Master Agility Championship). The numbers in parenthesis
are the number of qualifying runs ("legs") you need at each level
to earn the title. And as as you go up in level, the courses get more difficult.
Since Mandy is the mother of Boo and Polly, it was a great Team Shaksper weekend!
Dear Papa Blair,
Well it looks like I am an adolescence now. At least that's what
my Mom and Dad think. Why? Because I am now not only lifting
my leg to pee like a real boy dog, I am wanting to lift my leg in
the house!!! So far I have been caught before I can do the deed.
I am really sneaky and honing that ability day by day. I like
to steal things that I know I'm not suppose to have. Mom and Dad
seem to think I am pretty cute when I run off with something with
my head held high and my tail very tight over my back. Ha ha!!
They have a very hard time catching me and usually have to corner
me somewhere or offer me a treat to drop whatever it is I stole.
They also call me "the destroyer" because I am really good at
making something totally unrecognizable after I'm done killing it.
Well, it's bedtime for all three of us to pile into the big king
sized bed, so I'll say good night for now. I hope you are doing
well with the new litter. Mom says she is glad that one of them
is a little girl.
Here are two pictures of me. I love to play ball
and I'm very good at fetching it and bringing it back for
another throw. Sometimes it ends up in the dishwasher and
hard to find but I always get it. The other photo is my latest "portrait".
Aren't I just so good looking??
Percy
At the AKC Agility Invitational, the top five agility
dogs of each breed are invited. Mandy has been invited
to the Invitational for several years now, but because
of mommy duty, this is the first year that she has been
able to attend. (Her daughter Siri has come along to
participate in "Meet the Breeds", which starts tomorrow.)
Today was registration and a practice run, so that everyone
could get used to the running surface and the equipment.
The practice run was a Time 2 Beat class (a games class).
Mandy ran clean and qualified - in spite of my tripping
and falling halfway through the course - and beat (on time)
the only other Norwich to qualify on the course.
In our afternoon Standard run, Mandy did the hard opening
but then blew her dogwalk contact - earning us a "Failure"
(to perform the obstacle) and a five-point deduction from
our score.
So I spent the
rest of the afternoon with Siri ("Shaksper
Serena Mckellen") at Meet The Breeds. Every breed club
has a booth for the public to have a chance to meet and pet
dogs of different breeds and ask questions about the dogs.
It is very popular. Here is
another picture of us
at the Norwich booth.
And finally here is a picture of the Noragility
group at the Invitational. (I have Mandy in my right
arm, Siri in my left.)
We had a great run in the Hybrid class ... until I lost
contact with Mandy ("Shaksper Amanda Seyfried") and she
took an off-course tunnel. Finally in our last run of the
day (a Jumpers course) we had a smooth run and Mandy Q'ed
(ran clean and qualified). So Mandy ended up as the number
3 Norwich, about where we were going into the Invitational.
Not as well as I had hoped, but
respectable. Between
runs, Siri ("Shaksper Serena Mckellen") and I worked at
the Norwich Meet The Breeds booth.
After packing things up, I left Mandy and Siri in their
crates and sat in the bleachers to watch the Finals.
(The best dogs of each jump height make the Finals.)
After a few dogs had run, there was an announcement "A
loose Norwich has been found." It turned out to be Mandy.
She had nosed her way out of her crate and had come looking
for me. I told the AKC official that was holding Mandy
that Mandy wanted to be in the Finals.
Octoer 2019
November 2019
December 2019
