Oreo's Story

I thought I would steal Katrina's idea and eventually get each of the dog's "stories" posted here. So of course Oreo goes first...

Oreo was born December 3, 1994 (yes, that makes him 13 years old now!) to a friend's border collie and an unknown neighbor dog. By far the cutest of the litter of 11 he came home to live with me at just 6 weeks old and has never left my side since unless by force!

Oreo was our unofficial team mascot and my off season running partner in high school-going for a run was his second favorite activity after playing ball. He always has been a very avid ball player and often the ball had to be hidden to keep him from driving us crazy.

When I moved into a duplex in college Oreo came too and adapted well to suburban life with a small back yard-we spent time every day going for walks, runs, roller-blading or playing ball at the park. He was a spoiled only child and his favorite trick was to wait until I had to turn off the light at night and then he would take that chance to jump in bed ahead of me so he could sleep right in the middle! While I was in vet school and on the mule team he often rode in the wagon during our many parades. Oreo also ran in many Vet School dog jogs with me and we even won our division one year!

It was also during college that I became interested in competive obedience and agility. Oreo proved to be a very smart and very stubborn dog-providing an inexperienced trainer with a lot of challenges and obstacles! However in 2001 we earned our first AKC obedience title of Companion Dog. In 2002 we made it into the agility ring-a feat that at one one point I thought we would never accomplish-Oreo took months to learn the A-frame and a year to learn the teeter-totter. In fact when we started class he was afraid of everything but the jumps. But he soon earned the AKC Novice agility titles and went on to earn his AX and AXJ before stepping down to the preferred division. He then went through the levels again and earned his AXP and AJP before one day he decided it was enough and he retired from agility in the fall of 2006.

During this successful agility career he also continued working in obedience and earned his CDX and then showed in Utility for awhile. He did not earn any utility legs and ultimately became burned out on obedience training. He retired from obedience competition in the fall of 2005. However after some time off he returned to the ring in 2006 to earn the Rally Novice Title and then retired for good.

Oreo has also served as a therapy dog for Therapy Dogs International and Pet Therapy of the Ozarks. He has earned the Canine Good Citizen title twice. He has demonstated obedience skills at schools, churches, and nursing homes, at the College of Veterinary Medicine's Open House and has performed in many holiday shows at Ann Gafke's Teacher's Pet.

Oreo's favorite things in life remain balls, frisbees, squeaky toys and treats. Today he lives the life of luxury-eating, sleeping, and playing and doing pretty much whatever he wants. He is plagued by diseases of old age (arthritis, renal disease, and a few gray hairs) but he doesn't let it slow him down too much. You don't have to ask him twice about a game of fetch, a ride in the car or a walk in the park!