Gardening...

I am making a huge effort to keep up with the weeds in my garden this year. Seems like there is not enough time in the day by the time I get home from work and take care of all the animals. But, this year, I think I'm doing a great job! so far, I'm getting zucchini and cucumbers, some lettuce, and onions. The sugar snap peas are coming on, and so are the green beans. I've got tomatoes on the vine, but none have turned red yet. Lots of peppers coming on too...I've got green, red, yellow, black, and jalepeno. It's looking quite productive and I have to say, I'm pretty proud of myself this year!

Qualified!!!!

Chesney attended her first ever Rally Obedience trial this weekend in Sedalia. Though I was so nervous my legs were shaking throughout the first exercise yesterday, Chesney did great and got a qualifying score of 90 out of 100 possible points. Although we did not actually place in the class, we are still very proud of her qualifying ribbon. Today, I was more relaxed and Chesney did great again. She scored 85 out of 100 points and got another qualifying ribbon. She got a bit distracted on the side of the ring that adjoined the next ring. In that ring, there were about 10 dogs all on a down stay while their owners were out of the building. Chesney became very interested in why those dogs were all just laying there not doing anything fun and was really not interested in doing her call to front/finish left exercise. She sort of did it finally. The exercise I was most worried about was the halt while the owner walks around the dog. She did that one just fine. Probably thanks to the fact that we've been working on sit and down stays on the table while I walk around it for agility class. So now, she just needs one more leg for her Novice A rally title. We'll be attending the Springfield show in October to hopefully get that done! We went with Nicki, Legend and Zodiac and they all did especially well. We were very proud for them too. Someday, Chesney and I hope to be that good, but we are just getting our start! We are having great fun and that is what matters most! The pictures show Chesney's ribbons and the congratulatory new toys I got her today and a very tired Chesney from all of her big debut weekend activities. Oh, and ignore the dates in the pictures, I forgot to set the date in my camerabefore I took pictures.

Chesney's first agility trial

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! Finally I have time to update my blog and tell you all how our first agility trial went. Let me start by saying we had a really good time! Chesney's first course was jumpers and she did pretty good in that one, completing every obstacle but coming in under the time allowed. Of course, that one we did not get on video because I told my "videographer" the wrong way to record on my camera. The next course was tunnelers, and after first thinking she was going to be afraid of all tunnels, Chesney finally completed most of them. The second day we went in the regular course which has jumps, an A-frame, a dog-walk, tunnels and weave poles. She did the first five obstacles and I cut her short coming off the A-frame so she decided to take this opportunity to visit the judge, then the scoring table, then the pole setters. She finally came back and did another few jumps and the dog-walk and pretty much blew the rest of the course in favor of visiting and just running around in general. The next jumpers course, Chesney got distracted again and visited the scoring table, but did most of the jumps. The last course was tunnelers and she did it fairly well, refusing one tunnel altogether, and then after some thought, finished the rest of the course. She is a terrier you know!! And, I didn't feel too bad as some of the elite proficient dogs had moments of distraction as well. We had a great time though, and can't wait to go to another trial. We had our final class for the season last Monday, and we're both kind of sad about that because we've made some great friends between our instructors and fellow classmates.

FUN RUN

It was a veryyyyy coldddd day on Saturday, but Chesney wasn't about to miss her practice runs for agility! She ran in the regular course and did a great job! She wasn't sure about the weave poles-they look a lot different when they are in a straight line with no guides! She thought about trying it, but decided things just did not look right and went on to the next obstacle. She took one of the tunnels backwards, but when Mom insisted, she went back and did it correctly. She did all the other obstacles perfectly! A little later, Chesney ran in the tunnelers course and nailed it perfectly!! Obviously her mom is very proud of her accomplishments and we are both excited about the "real deal" trial this coming weekend.
The other students in Chesney's Monday night class that participated in the fun run did very well too. Chesney is entered for Sunday in the novice regular, tunnelers and jumpers divisions and we've decided to go ahead and run the same courses on Saturday too. We'll see you there!!!

Chesney's a model

Chesney has secured a modeling job! At All Creatures Pet Hospital, we added Lupine collars and leashes to our retail inventory. Chesney received a free collar and leash because we were a new retailer and modeled her new "clothes" for our website. As you can see, she is very proud of her new look. The style is called the "Suzie Q".

Chesney has also received both NADAQ and her AKC numbers so she is now eligible to compete in rally obedience and agility classes. We missed the deadline for rally obedience entries for next weekend, but are planning on entering the NADAQ trial here in Springfield in mid-November. She is continuing practicing and learning at Paws Express Agility and cannot wait for her showring debut!! Lets just hope her mother can keep up with her!!

Back to Blogging

Hello all!! It's been a while since I posted anything on here as you have all noticed and made me very aware of... I'll be posting new pictures soon. Chesney is progressing well in her agility classes. Last night she only went off course one time to visit her classmates and the teachers who give her treats! She is going to compete in an agility trial in November in Springfield and also in a Rally Obedience Trial in Springfield in October. We've been working on our little book of rally obstacles at home and may start going to a rally class Valerie is teaching so we're ready for our debut! It's been a long summer-my only son graduated high school, went to Texas for the summer and is now attending college and living on campus at SBU in Bolivar. I have a wonderful man in my life now who is willing most times to put up with my menagerie. We've even acquired a dog that was dumped out where he lives and two new horses! My poor old kitty Motts, who was profiled earlier, had to move into kitty heaven, and I lost a very dear horse to a sudden illness. Wishbone continues to do well and his GME seems to remain under control, although he is completely blind. Stand by for more postings...

Chesney is sad....

Little Miss Chesney is convinced that her mother doen't love her anymore. She started having some questionable stools Monday afternoon at her Grandma's house. These progressed to accidents in the house, which she almost NEVER does, to including blood yesterday morning. She visited her favorite doctor yesterday, who prescribed medication to make her better. (I might add that she doesn't act a bit sick!) Then, she vomited before we left work, so her favorite doctor ordered no food until this morning. Therefore, Chesney is convinced that either I am losing my sanity by forgetting to feed her, or that I have just become a mean old mom who doesn't really love her. She did get a small meal of I/D this morning with her meds and I've never seen her eat something so fast. No more accidents though!! I took this picture of her this morning. Doesn't she look mistreated?

Thought I'd also write a bit about my latest problem child. His name is Frisco and I've had him about a year and a half now. He came from the CARE Shelter in Springfield but I adopted him from one of our clients at work. I love orange cats! Frisco is missing his left front leg. We don't know what happened to it, but he doesn't seem bothered a bit by its absence. He manages to wash both sides of his face equally well with just one front foot. He also manages to jump up on the kitchen counter, then to the top of the fridge, then to the top of the cabinets with no problem at all. I might add that he is one of only three cats who have ever gotten up there. They all know they are not supposed to be on the kitchen counter, let alone any higher up. I noticed a few weeks ago that Frisco had begun to lose weight. He was never extremely overweight, but none of my cats are on the thin side. After checking bloodwork, we discovered that I now have my second diabetic cat. What rotten luck! He's now on a special diet, which is fun with all the other cats in the house. Frisco does not enjoy eating alone locked in the bathroom, insisting on my company to get him to eat his full meal so that he can receive his insulin injection. things seem to be going rather well. He's just a bit more time consuming than my other diabetic cat, but he's such a sweetheart. He's definitely worth the extra effort!