News
December 2008 -
Sunday, December 14th - I took Zuli to a tracking seminar which is the first session in the
tracking class we will be taking this winter. Most of the day was a lecture format but after
lunch we got to actually lay a track for our dogs. Zuli did much better than she did 18
months ago when we tried it before, but I used bigger steps and less food this track so
maybe that was the difference. I'm looking forward to seeing how much progress we can
make over the winter, if she gets good enough we might consider trying to add a TD after
her name!
Saturday December 6th I entered Ruby & Zuli in the IWAGS AKC lure coursing trial, and
while Zuli had competition and was able to pick up one point towards her LCX-3, Ruby
ran alone and did not win Best in Field, so came home still 5 point short of her LCX-2,.
With any luck we'll get able to finish that title next year.
November 2008 -
Friday November 28th I drove up to the Catoctin Kennel Club Rally trial. I had Marseille
and Aren entered, but since Aren finished in Reading, I let him be absent. Little did I
know that there were 7 other Whippets entered, and all of them got qualifying scores and
5 of them got new titles, including Marseille!! What a hoot! We had a group picture taken
and I'll get it put up here as soon as I get a copy of it.
November 20 & 21st we had another couple of good days in Reading, PA - I had entered
three dogs each day, Aren & Marseille in Rally Novice and Kira in Novice obedience.
While Kira failed to do her sit stay on Thursday, we managed to pick up Aren's 2nd and
Marseille's first RN leg on Thursday, then on Friday we finished Kira's CD and Aren's RN
and picked up Marseille's second RN leg. Getting 5 legs for 6 entries made it worth the
drive up there!
November 8th and 9th saw us at the PHAST NOTRA race meet where Zuli finished
second in the meet both days earning her last three points for her Oval Race Champion
title.
We had a good day at the Salisbury Kennel Club obedience/rally trials on November 7th -
Kira got the third Rally Advanced leg to complete her Rally Advanced title, Avery got her
third Rally Novice leg to complete her Rally Novice title, and Aren earned his first Rally
Novice leg. But more exciting is the fact that Kira earned the second leg on her CD!! It's
hard to have a day better than that!
October 2008 - October 19th, Zuli won Best of Breed at the NERRC AKC lure coursing
trial in Connecticut and completed her LCX-2
September 2008 -
September 19, 2008 we lost Marco. He died on the operating table having a broken tooth
extracted. The surgery was planned and no problems were anticipated, but his heart just
stopped. David (who co-owned Marco with me) will be getting a report from the vet as he
and Jennifer are just numb at this totally unexpected loss. He was only 19 months old.
We don't know yet if there was a hidden problem with his heart or a problem with the
anesthesia.
Zuli and Ruby were entered in an "other breed" NOTRA meet on Labor Day Monday, and
while Ruby blew a pad in the second program, Zuli was able to finish the meet, and
ended up being the only Saluki that kept her pads intact through the third program and
therefore won the meet and collected two more points towards her ORCh (Oval Racer
Champion) title . She now has 9 of the required 12 points she needs for that title.
August 2008 -
Derby and Avery finished their CR (Companion Racer) titles over the Labor Day weekend,
and Marseille picked up 5 whole points towards hers. Marseille may never finish her CR,
but she has fun anyway and won me a great Turtle prize!
Kira, Derby, Avery and I went to a Rally trial near Baltimore on August 24th and we had
fun. More fun for me than them, but heck when we go racing they have more fun than me,
so turn about is fair play, right?
Any way, Kira got a 86 (minimum qualifying score is 70) in Rally Advanced and that got
her a third place ribbon! Rally Advanced is done all OFF lead, so that was quite the
challenge for us. This was Kira's first RA leg.
Then a little later, Avery earned an 81 in her first entry into the Rally Novice ring for her first
RN leg.
I told Derby that I expected him to do better than his sister, and he did - earning a 92 for
his second leg towards his Rally Novice title.
I guess I'll be looking for another Rally trial or two and see if we can't finish a couple more
rally titles this year.
The drive home certainly went quickly!
Mia graduated from Novice Beginner Obedience class on the 6th! Congratulations!
Marseille had the 'run of a lifetime' at the MAIGC lure coursing trial on Sunday August 3rd
and brought home a 5 point major towards her AKC Field Championship!
July 2008 -
The weekend July 4 - 6, was the Jersey Rag Racers Versatility weekend. I have
participated in this event every year now since 2001 I believe. This year I entered the
three youngsters, Derby, Avery & Marseille. Friday, July 4th was ASFA lure coursing and
the conformation match. Derby finished 2nd in the Open stake to finish his ASFA Field
Championship, and then was one of 4 dogs pulled for Best Adult in match. Avery finished
fourth in the Open Stake for her first ASFA points, and then was awarded Best Bred By
Exhibitor in Match. What an honor! On Saturday Marseille got her first points towards her
Companion Racer (CR) title, and it remains to be seen if she'll ever get any more! Avery
is only 1-1/2 points short of her CR and Derby 2 points, they'll most likely both finish those
titles at the next straight race meet. Sunday little miss Marseille ran 4 strong programs
(for a little dog her size) and finished her OTR (Oval Track Racer) title. The weather
cooperated for the most part, except when it POURED down rain in the middle of the
obedience match, but it could have been so much worse. Here's the ad I put in the
August Whippet News.
June 2008 -
Marseille passed the Canine Good Citizen Test on June 30th.
Aren passed the Canine Good Citizen Test on June 22nd.
On June 10th I had to part with my beautiful old lady, Bagel. Her kidneys had pretty much
stopped working all together and I could see that she was feeling progressively worse
and it wasn't going to get any better. If reincarnation exists for dogs, I sure hope she
comes back to me, and if it doesn't exist, I still hope I get another Whippet in the near
future that resembles her. She was my heart dog.
May 2008 -
The weekend of May 31 & June 1 was the 2008 ASFA International Invitational, and I had
Derby, Ruby & Zuli entered. Derby came close to winning his stake, but ended up in
second place to bring him within 10 points of finishing his ASFA Field Championship. I
learned on Saturday that Zuli runs much better if I'm there at the start line when she's
slipped, as I had a conflict and was on a different field with Derby as it was Zuli's turn to
run & I had a friend slip her for me. So on Sunday we let the hunt-master know about the
conflict and they re-arranged some of the courses so I could be there to slip her myself &
darned if she didn't win Best of Breed. Of course in her Best In I.I. run she proved herself
way too wise in the ways of the lure and cut off about half the course since she KNEW it
would come back down that hill! Ruby managed to get unsighted on Saturday and blew
pads on Sunday, so it was not a stellar performance for her. However, I camped out with
a few close friends, the weather stayed cool for the most part and we had a bang up good
time.
Weekend of May 17-18, 2008 - After nearly 5 years of trying, Kira finally managed to put
together all the obedience exercises and earned the first leg of her CD on Saturday, May
17th. At the same trial, Derby earned the first leg on his Rally Novice title (RN) and I was
delighted with both of our qualifying ribbons. Then on Sunday, we were entered in an all
breed NOTRA race meet where we ran in the rain most of the day, but Zuli picked up
another 1/2 point towards her ORC title and little Miss Avery finished her OTR title.
April 2008 -
Sunday, April 20, 2008 - Derby got to run at the Wind Chasers Lure Coursing Club's ASFA
trial near Crown Point, IN (just south of Chicago) since we were in the area. Derby won
the open stake of 6 for a qualifying first place towards his ASFA Field Championship, and
24 points as well. Those points also qualify him to run at the International Invitational at
the end of May.
Saturday, April 19, 2008 found us in Madison, WI at the University of WI having echo
cardiograms done on 5 dogs. Bagel, Eve, Blake, Kira and Dallas all had echos done as
part of the ongoing Whippet heart study. No big surprises in the results, but Dr. Stepien
did remark that having the older non-athletic dogs to look at was particularly valuable.
Sunday, April 13, 2008 - we broke away from the piles of tax returns yet to be done, and
went lure coursing at the Greater Valley Forge Rhodesian Ridgeback Club in Flemington,
NJ and we were rewarded! Derby won the open stake for his second 5 point major and
with that, finished his AKC Field championship. I was SO tickled with him! But then,
Greyhound Ruby (who was the only Greyhound entered that day) won Best in Field! We
floated home.
January 2008 -
Tuesday, January 22, 2008 - right on the heels of the news of Maia's death, I learned that
Billy had also left us. Billy had been fighting heart disease for a while, but at 11-1/2 years
old it was still an early demise for a Whippet who was greatly loved. Billy was one of the
pups from Bagel's only litter, born in 1996. I've put together a good number of pictures
from Sue Dale, Billy's human servant, as a memorial to a life well lived.
Monday, January 21, 2008, I received the e-mail that no breeder wants to see. A dog of
my breeding was hit by a car and killed instantly. The family is devastated, I'm filled with
grief. Maia (Chesara Jaytea Dust Devil) slipped out of the house when some contractors
were doing some repairs to their new house in California. Everything else pales in
comparison. Life is short and can be snuffed out in an instant. Hug your dogs today, and
take lots of pictures.
Sunday, December 14th - I took Zuli to a tracking seminar which is the first session in the
tracking class we will be taking this winter. Most of the day was a lecture format but after
lunch we got to actually lay a track for our dogs. Zuli did much better than she did 18
months ago when we tried it before, but I used bigger steps and less food this track so
maybe that was the difference. I'm looking forward to seeing how much progress we can
make over the winter, if she gets good enough we might consider trying to add a TD after
her name!
Saturday December 6th I entered Ruby & Zuli in the IWAGS AKC lure coursing trial, and
while Zuli had competition and was able to pick up one point towards her LCX-3, Ruby
ran alone and did not win Best in Field, so came home still 5 point short of her LCX-2,.
With any luck we'll get able to finish that title next year.
November 2008 -
Friday November 28th I drove up to the Catoctin Kennel Club Rally trial. I had Marseille
and Aren entered, but since Aren finished in Reading, I let him be absent. Little did I
know that there were 7 other Whippets entered, and all of them got qualifying scores and
5 of them got new titles, including Marseille!! What a hoot! We had a group picture taken
and I'll get it put up here as soon as I get a copy of it.
November 20 & 21st we had another couple of good days in Reading, PA - I had entered
three dogs each day, Aren & Marseille in Rally Novice and Kira in Novice obedience.
While Kira failed to do her sit stay on Thursday, we managed to pick up Aren's 2nd and
Marseille's first RN leg on Thursday, then on Friday we finished Kira's CD and Aren's RN
and picked up Marseille's second RN leg. Getting 5 legs for 6 entries made it worth the
drive up there!
November 8th and 9th saw us at the PHAST NOTRA race meet where Zuli finished
second in the meet both days earning her last three points for her Oval Race Champion
title.
We had a good day at the Salisbury Kennel Club obedience/rally trials on November 7th -
Kira got the third Rally Advanced leg to complete her Rally Advanced title, Avery got her
third Rally Novice leg to complete her Rally Novice title, and Aren earned his first Rally
Novice leg. But more exciting is the fact that Kira earned the second leg on her CD!! It's
hard to have a day better than that!
October 2008 - October 19th, Zuli won Best of Breed at the NERRC AKC lure coursing
trial in Connecticut and completed her LCX-2
September 2008 -
September 19, 2008 we lost Marco. He died on the operating table having a broken tooth
extracted. The surgery was planned and no problems were anticipated, but his heart just
stopped. David (who co-owned Marco with me) will be getting a report from the vet as he
and Jennifer are just numb at this totally unexpected loss. He was only 19 months old.
We don't know yet if there was a hidden problem with his heart or a problem with the
anesthesia.
Zuli and Ruby were entered in an "other breed" NOTRA meet on Labor Day Monday, and
while Ruby blew a pad in the second program, Zuli was able to finish the meet, and
ended up being the only Saluki that kept her pads intact through the third program and
therefore won the meet and collected two more points towards her ORCh (Oval Racer
Champion) title . She now has 9 of the required 12 points she needs for that title.
August 2008 -
Derby and Avery finished their CR (Companion Racer) titles over the Labor Day weekend,
and Marseille picked up 5 whole points towards hers. Marseille may never finish her CR,
but she has fun anyway and won me a great Turtle prize!
Kira, Derby, Avery and I went to a Rally trial near Baltimore on August 24th and we had
fun. More fun for me than them, but heck when we go racing they have more fun than me,
so turn about is fair play, right?
Any way, Kira got a 86 (minimum qualifying score is 70) in Rally Advanced and that got
her a third place ribbon! Rally Advanced is done all OFF lead, so that was quite the
challenge for us. This was Kira's first RA leg.
Then a little later, Avery earned an 81 in her first entry into the Rally Novice ring for her first
RN leg.
I told Derby that I expected him to do better than his sister, and he did - earning a 92 for
his second leg towards his Rally Novice title.
I guess I'll be looking for another Rally trial or two and see if we can't finish a couple more
rally titles this year.
The drive home certainly went quickly!
Mia graduated from Novice Beginner Obedience class on the 6th! Congratulations!
Marseille had the 'run of a lifetime' at the MAIGC lure coursing trial on Sunday August 3rd
and brought home a 5 point major towards her AKC Field Championship!
July 2008 -
The weekend July 4 - 6, was the Jersey Rag Racers Versatility weekend. I have
participated in this event every year now since 2001 I believe. This year I entered the
three youngsters, Derby, Avery & Marseille. Friday, July 4th was ASFA lure coursing and
the conformation match. Derby finished 2nd in the Open stake to finish his ASFA Field
Championship, and then was one of 4 dogs pulled for Best Adult in match. Avery finished
fourth in the Open Stake for her first ASFA points, and then was awarded Best Bred By
Exhibitor in Match. What an honor! On Saturday Marseille got her first points towards her
Companion Racer (CR) title, and it remains to be seen if she'll ever get any more! Avery
is only 1-1/2 points short of her CR and Derby 2 points, they'll most likely both finish those
titles at the next straight race meet. Sunday little miss Marseille ran 4 strong programs
(for a little dog her size) and finished her OTR (Oval Track Racer) title. The weather
cooperated for the most part, except when it POURED down rain in the middle of the
obedience match, but it could have been so much worse. Here's the ad I put in the
August Whippet News.
June 2008 -
Marseille passed the Canine Good Citizen Test on June 30th.
Aren passed the Canine Good Citizen Test on June 22nd.
On June 10th I had to part with my beautiful old lady, Bagel. Her kidneys had pretty much
stopped working all together and I could see that she was feeling progressively worse
and it wasn't going to get any better. If reincarnation exists for dogs, I sure hope she
comes back to me, and if it doesn't exist, I still hope I get another Whippet in the near
future that resembles her. She was my heart dog.
May 2008 -
The weekend of May 31 & June 1 was the 2008 ASFA International Invitational, and I had
Derby, Ruby & Zuli entered. Derby came close to winning his stake, but ended up in
second place to bring him within 10 points of finishing his ASFA Field Championship. I
learned on Saturday that Zuli runs much better if I'm there at the start line when she's
slipped, as I had a conflict and was on a different field with Derby as it was Zuli's turn to
run & I had a friend slip her for me. So on Sunday we let the hunt-master know about the
conflict and they re-arranged some of the courses so I could be there to slip her myself &
darned if she didn't win Best of Breed. Of course in her Best In I.I. run she proved herself
way too wise in the ways of the lure and cut off about half the course since she KNEW it
would come back down that hill! Ruby managed to get unsighted on Saturday and blew
pads on Sunday, so it was not a stellar performance for her. However, I camped out with
a few close friends, the weather stayed cool for the most part and we had a bang up good
time.
Weekend of May 17-18, 2008 - After nearly 5 years of trying, Kira finally managed to put
together all the obedience exercises and earned the first leg of her CD on Saturday, May
17th. At the same trial, Derby earned the first leg on his Rally Novice title (RN) and I was
delighted with both of our qualifying ribbons. Then on Sunday, we were entered in an all
breed NOTRA race meet where we ran in the rain most of the day, but Zuli picked up
another 1/2 point towards her ORC title and little Miss Avery finished her OTR title.
April 2008 -
Sunday, April 20, 2008 - Derby got to run at the Wind Chasers Lure Coursing Club's ASFA
trial near Crown Point, IN (just south of Chicago) since we were in the area. Derby won
the open stake of 6 for a qualifying first place towards his ASFA Field Championship, and
24 points as well. Those points also qualify him to run at the International Invitational at
the end of May.
Saturday, April 19, 2008 found us in Madison, WI at the University of WI having echo
cardiograms done on 5 dogs. Bagel, Eve, Blake, Kira and Dallas all had echos done as
part of the ongoing Whippet heart study. No big surprises in the results, but Dr. Stepien
did remark that having the older non-athletic dogs to look at was particularly valuable.
Sunday, April 13, 2008 - we broke away from the piles of tax returns yet to be done, and
went lure coursing at the Greater Valley Forge Rhodesian Ridgeback Club in Flemington,
NJ and we were rewarded! Derby won the open stake for his second 5 point major and
with that, finished his AKC Field championship. I was SO tickled with him! But then,
Greyhound Ruby (who was the only Greyhound entered that day) won Best in Field! We
floated home.
January 2008 -
Tuesday, January 22, 2008 - right on the heels of the news of Maia's death, I learned that
Billy had also left us. Billy had been fighting heart disease for a while, but at 11-1/2 years
old it was still an early demise for a Whippet who was greatly loved. Billy was one of the
pups from Bagel's only litter, born in 1996. I've put together a good number of pictures
from Sue Dale, Billy's human servant, as a memorial to a life well lived.
Monday, January 21, 2008, I received the e-mail that no breeder wants to see. A dog of
my breeding was hit by a car and killed instantly. The family is devastated, I'm filled with
grief. Maia (Chesara Jaytea Dust Devil) slipped out of the house when some contractors
were doing some repairs to their new house in California. Everything else pales in
comparison. Life is short and can be snuffed out in an instant. Hug your dogs today, and
take lots of pictures.
Emma's new bed
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