Just a fun photo

The tradition continues

This weekend was Memorial Day which means we made out annual trek to Purina Farms for the NADAC Funraiser.  The good news is that we were blessed with the best weather we have ever had there.  It was not too hot, too cold, or too stormy.  And we had plenty of time to visit with friends and had two enjoyable group dinners including our traditional evening at the local Hawthorne Inn-delicious as always.  

On the agility front Legend had a pretty lackluster weekend and only managed one Q in about 10 runs.  I suppose that's what I get for not much training but she also just seemed a little disinterested.  Which is not totally out of character for her but I was hoping for a little more.  Lyric was the rock star of the weekend picking up about 4 Qs in her 6 or 7 runs including a lightning fast tunnelers run at the very end of the weekend.  I guess she's saying she wants to run at champs too!  We wiill see about that, still time to decide.  

We  also took the oppoturnity to get in some outdoor  nosework practice and of  course some frisbee and swimming so a good time was had by all!

Welcome home?

We made the rounds visiting family this weekend which was really nice.  When we got home Sunday evening Legend had vomited in her crate.  She needed a bath, the crate a good hosing.  Otherwise she seemed fine and life went on.

Monday morning she vomited again and had diarrhea.  She also, for what may be the first time in her life, didn't want breakfast.  I went to get her some Cerenia and metronidazole and left Zodiac's bowl on the counter since he was still outside.  The cats got out of their room while I was getting Legend's meds.  When I returned to the kitchen Twix had consumed a pill pocked containing Gabapentin and a whole Tramadol.  Did I mention I was getting ready to leave for work?  I quickly got on VIN to make sure she wouldn't die and left for work.

When I returned later that morning she seemed normal but about an hour later I found her sort of stoned in the garage.  She was pretty loopy and wobbly so I put her away in her room so she wouldn't hurt herself and let her sleep it off.  Later in the evening she was much more alert but more loving than usual.  Today she is normal.

Legend is eating now but still having some diarrhea so is still on i/d and metronidazole.  She continues to act normal.

Also, I had to medicate the pig-that's a story for another day.  Hopefully with pictures.

I sort of feel like I should have been paid just to be home with all the sick animals!

Results, results, results

I gotta give kudos to the NACSW as an organization. Not only is entering a trial a snap (unlike agility or obedience entries) but they already have complete results up on their website from the trial this weekend.  I was glad to see this because for an element specialty trial they don't give any placements or score sheets so you don't know your times or how you did compared to the other dogs.  But all this information is available on the website!

In containers Legend ended up 11th out of 28 dogs with a total time of 1:13:82 for all four searches.  Yes, that's 1 minute and 13 seconds.  You thought your ring time in agility went by fast!

In search one she placed 13/28, search three 17/28, search four 8/28 and in search two she took first place with a whopping time of 7.77 seconds!

In the vehicles she placed 8/30 dogs with a time of 2:11:48 for the four searches.  Search one 8th, search two 16th, search three 7th and search four 21st.

Overall I was really pleased with those results.  We don't work vehicles that much so I think she did surprisingly well there.  And she was also competing with a lot of veteran dogs as there was also an NW2 and NW3 trial this weekend that drew in a lot of experienced dogs who just did the element trial for fun.

Like the rockstar she is...

Legend passed all 8 searches at the Nosework trial today earning her Level one Element Specialty Title in both containers and vehicles!  She worked really well and gave very solid alerts. She was a little less confident acting in one of the container searches but it still took her less than a minute. She got a borderline call in the last vehicle search (I believe they need to alert within 6 inches of the source) but I would not have been disappointed even if we didn't get it. Overall I was really pleased with how she did. We are looking forward to our next shot at our NW1. 

In more stressful news I am almost finished with my volunteer coordinator job. Thursday night I was pretty stressed about all the stuff that needed done the next morning, and the fact that I didn't really know what I was doing and the fact that Judy, our host and my instructor who talked me into this was trialing and we were having a substitute host that I had just met! But everyone was super nice and helpful. All the volunteers were seasoned competitors who assured me I was doing great and that everything would be fine. No matter how rainy it was or how tired they got, everyone was always willing to step up and help out when needed. At the end of the day though I went back to my hotel and collapsed! Now, just one more day to get through!

Birthday hike

Today was Cheri's birthday and the activity she chose was hiking in Branson with friend and dogs.  Everyone thought this was a good choice, but I think especially Legend and Renny.  The weather was great and it was  a perfect way to spend the Spring day.

Spring weekend

We've had some really nice weather so far this weekend. And luckily I've been free to enjoy it. Yesterday I got in a nice evening run and played with the dogs. Then I spent a rockin Friday night sending out nosework volunteer emails and updating spreadsheets. But I think I finally have it all down to reasonable amount of work!

Today I did some yard work and a little mowing. I also got in a run and went for a little ride on Squirt. He's was kind of a butthead at times but seemed sound enough for a trail ride this year if anyone wants to go. Then he and Socks both got a good brushing. 

He and Socks also have birthdays this spring. Squirt was 19 last month and Socks 13 this month. 

Color Run 2015

A group of us did the color run again this year.  It was equally as crowded as last year and very much disorganized.  We got there early, lined up relatively close to the start line and still waited an hour because they were just letting people from sidewalks and side streets squeeze in out of turn.  And of course a ton of people show up to just walk this event so even though you start in waves if you are jogging you still hit tons of congestion.  Although it was still kind of fun I don't think we will be doing it again unless there are significant changes or a good reason to go.  The novelty has kind of worn off for me.  Plus, before the race started I tripped over a pole going to meet one of the girls at check in and fell hard on the sidewalk scraping up and bruising my hands, knee, leg and shoulder.  Which left me bleeding and sore the whole time we waited in line.  On the plus side (?) I am still sporting some color, well the colors of 4 day old bruises anyway.

Fortunately you can't see my blood very much in the pictures.  And we didn't seem to get as colorful this year-the stations were crowded and not as well staffed.

Congratulations, it's a teenager!

Because we would not want things to get boring around here, we have decided to host a foreign exchange student.  Actually a friend of mine and her family hosted last year which I thought was a neat idea, then we found out there is a chronic shortage of host families.

The organization they used (and that we are using) is the Program of Academic Exchange (PAX).  Many of their students come to the U.S. via two scholarship programs-Future Leaders Exchange Program (FLEX) and the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES).  We thought is seemed like a raw deal for kids to work hard and get into these programs and then not have a place to go.  We also thought it was a very unique opportunity to meet new people and learn about another culture.  Fast forward to this spring and everything is now official!

 The young lady we have selected will be coming from Egypt as a part of the YES program.  The YES program was established after 9/11 and brings students from countries with significant Muslim populations to the U.S. for a year so that future generations can grow up with the opportunity to learn about other cultures peacefully and with the ability to  understand and accept differences.

We are looking forward to an exciting and adventurous year.  I'm sure many updates will be posted!

Spring flowers

My new flowers are not only still alive, but doing well.  If I can make it the whole summer with just one set, that would be a record for me!