Bermuda, agility and life in general...

Simply put...Bermuda is one of THE most beautiful places on this Earth! When you fly in, you see the white-roofed houses all painted in different colors of pastels. It is so pretty! The water is turquoise blue and oh so inviting. And to think I was headed there with my husband and my dog!! We stayed with friends I had made on a previous trip...Frank and Kathy. They have a 200 year old house with an incredible view of the ocean off their back patio. It was spectacular!

We arrived on a Wednesday and within 3 hours of touch down, my husband was off diving and I was off with my friends practicing agility on their beautiful agility field. Oh, and we had already had a dark 'n stormy or two! :) Five of us traveled from the states to show our dogs, so we enjoyed a lazy afternoon with our dogs and our Bermuda buddies. At night, we had dinner at one of the Bermudian's houses.

Thursday I went shopping in Hamilton and at the Dockyards with agility friends, Darlene and Jane. We had fun "power shopping." We ended up missing two ferry's because my watch was 5 minutes too slow! :) My husband went diving with Frank again, though the water was a bit choppy. That night we had dinner at the Bermuda aquarium. I got to pet a grouper (!) and dance with a skeleton (long story). Many rum swizzles and dark 'n stormies were available.

Friday we woke up to a pancake breakfast cooked by Frank and Kathy. We then headed to the show site (the Botanical Gardens) for the first day of the show! The first day was the Team event. I was on a team with Jane and her dog Tizzy and Rose and her dog Kelly (Rose is from San Diego but has been living in Bermuda with her husband for the past 8 years). After the first two classes (there are 5 total) our team (Two Tollers in a Tizzy) was in last place. By the end of 4 classes, our team was in 1st place!! The last class is Relay in which all three members of the team are running at the same time. All of our dogs ran clean and we ended up winning the gold and qualifying to run in the National competition in Phoenix, AZ!! :) I was elated! :) Friday night we went to Rose and Jonathan's for a wonderful dinner and swizzles!

Saturday we woke up to rain...LOTS and LOTS of rain. It rained all day. Despite that, Jam and I ended up earning 3 of the 7 qualiying scores towards our first USDAA title! She Q'd in Snooker, Jumpers and Pairs. We crashed and burned in the Grand Prix, but that's OK. She is a baby dog after all! Saturday night we were supposed to have a beach party, but the rain prevented us from doing so. We ended up at a Bermudian's house for BBQ chicken, burger and dogs...and more swizzle! :)

Sunday it was misting in the morning, but then cleared up by afternoon. Jam and I earned 2 more Q's towards our title!! We Q'd in Gamblers and Standard. She needs only 2 more Standard legs at the Starters level to earn her Agility Dog (AD) title! :) I couldn't be more proud of my baby dog. She is awesome!! After the show, Jane and I walked the dogs down to a small beach and let them play in the water. Jam barked and bit at the water and had a blast! Sunday night was the big farewell party. More swizzle, stormies, good food and dancing with the skeleton! :)

Throughout the weekend, my husband was diving and eventually earned his Advanced Open Water Scuba certification!! He was thrilled to be able to do so...especially since his cert. card will say he did it in Bermuda! :)

We left, grudgingly, on Monday. We had a nice leisurely morning of sitting on the back patio and taking in the view before departure. Leaving was so hard, but I also missed my girls and was anxious to get back home to them.

We came home (to Wisconsin) when they were asleep. The next morning, Dani opened our bedroom door and her face just lit up! :) Erin was right behind her. It was Erin's 3rd birthday so we had a small celebration with cake and presents. We flew back to Phoenix in the afternoon. My parents were thrilled to be able to spend a birthday with one of their granddaughter's!

All in all, the trip was a HUGE success for everyone. I got to show Jam in her first USDAA show and qualify for Nationals, my husband earned his scuba cert., my girls had a ball in Wisconsin, and my parents got some much-needed/wanted bonding with the girls. We didn't get to go for that romantic walk on the beach, but that's OK...it'll give us another reason to go back!

Ponderings...

As I am set to embark on an agility adventure with my new dog, I cannot help but remember how it was with my old, now departed dogs.

I used to own 4 wonderful, absolutely fabulous "fur kids." They were each special in their own way...

First there was NEA. She was my Beagle and had attitude to burn. She was once nicknamed "Her Beagleness" by a friend in New Mexico, and it stuck. I unwittingly got her from a pet store. I started her in agility in 1993 and she went on to earn her Championship in USDAA-style agility. She was only the 2nd Beagle to attain that title.

Next came Fred. He was my rescue dog. I rescued him from Italian Greyhound rescue. He had personality plus! I "tried him out" for a week and during that week, everyone I saw said they would take him if I didn't. Needless to say, I kept him! He started agility in 1994, and quit in 1996. He had a degenerative eye disease that left him blind in his left eye.

Then there was Chakotay. He was my second Italian Greyhound. I saw him as a puppy while I was in San Antonio at the USDAA Nationals. He was so CUTE!! I wanted to take him home right there, but I didn't have the means nor the $$. Turns out that he was still available several months later and at a reduced price. He broke his leg 3 times, but these breaks never broke his spirit. He was and always will be my buddy. He competed successfully in agility, falling short of his USDAA championship by 4 Gamblers legs.

Finally there was Rysa. She was my big Toller girl. I loved her with all my might. She was sensitive, but would do any and every thing for me. She was my princess and went just about everywhere with me. She did agility, though she always seemed to have a "hitch in her giddyup." I had many specialists and vets look at her, but no one could figure it out. She ended up 3 legs shy of her Championship.

In 2003/2004, each of my dogs died one by one...

First Fred. He had osteosarcoma. He died in my arms at the age of 11 in May of 2003.
Next was NEA. She stopped eating and walking. We let her go gracefully at the age of 14.5 in Sept. of 2003.
Then, Chakotay. He also had cancer, myeloma. We were treating it, but it spread to his kidneys. He died at the age of 8 in Nov. 2003.
Finally, Rysa. She collapsed one night and never regained conciousness. She had Addison's...that's what was wrong with her the entire time, but no one knew. She was only 7...she died on June 23, 2004.

Just before and in between this timeframe, I was giving birth to my two daughters. My hormones were off the map. I wanted to die. I felt as if I had betrayed my dogs by having these human kids. Thankfully, a good therapist made me realize that that was not the case and that these animals were a huge part of my life and always will be in my heart. I just hadn't allowed myself to grieve properly. Luckily she helped me through that and I am in a much better place right now.

I last competed with Rysa in April of 2004. Now I am starting with Jam, my young Toller. I thought I'd feel more emotional when I stepped to the line with her the first time, but I didn't. I think mostly I felt numb, but happy to finally have my own dog to compete with again! The show in Bermuda will be my first USDAA show with her. USDAA is my preferred venue, so perhaps the emotions will show themselves then!

Regardless, I am looking very forward to the years ahead of fun, silliness and agility with Jam!