Greenspring Poodle Club Established 1953 An Affiliate of the Poodle Club of America

In Memoriam

Abbey

Merrythought Abbey Road NA July 6, 1993 to November 30, 2005

It is with a very heavy heart that I am writing to let you know that we lost Abbey today. We took her to the Annapolis Vet ER early today as she had bloated and torsioned. While the doctor was preparing for emergency surgery, x-rays showed a mass in the abdomen and in the lungs. We made the hard decision to let her go and there is an enormous hole in our hearts without her.

Abbey never met a person and dog she didn't like and she won the hearts of many people who are not normally crazy about dogs. She was a true canine good citizen and faced each day with the expectation of great joy and lots of good things to come her way. She had no interest in obedience as she truly believed that doing an exercise once was enough and perfection (or straight sits) was for "some other dog" to worry about. She did love agility and got her last AKC novice agility leg with a perfect score and first place.

Abbey began her sailing career at 9 weeks of age on a trip to St. Michael's Labor Day weekend 1993 and ended her sailing career with a trip to St. Michael's November 5, 2005, for the Oysterfest at the Maritime Museum. Abbey claimed the aft cabin on our boats as "her" place, especially the current one with the inner spring mattress, and that space will forever be known as "Abbey's Cabin". Abbey was an excellent sailor and never cared how much the wind blew or the boat heeled as long as she was on the low side and in the shade. She also attended lots of dock parties to maintain her reputation as the "party girl" who couldn't resist a gathering of fellow boaters.

Abbey discovered lure coursing at Camp Gone to the Dogs and believed it was her true sport. Chasing the white plastic bag around the field made her very happy and she never believed that one run was sufficient. In front of me is a picture of Abbey at the last Camp we attended. She is flying over an agility jump and is having great fun.

We will keep these memories and many others of her in our hearts but they can't close the gap of losing Abbey.

We hope our beloved friend is playing at the Rainbow Bridge with her brother Beau.

Ozzy

Am/Can/UKC Ch JC Boutime's Pioneer Snowblind, aka "Ozzy", passed away Monday August 15th 2005 as a result of cardiac arrest after routine surgery to remove a sebaceous cyst.

Ozzy is a great dog who never met a stranger, never had a bad day, and only had joy in his heart. I can only hope he knows what joy he brought to me every day of his life. He was my dog long before he was born. I would grieve a million times more for one last chance to hug him.-- Julie

A Tribute to Tigger

Although this article was written upon the recent death of my apricot mini poodle, Tigger, registered as ShadyPines Autumn Tigger, UD, I hope that those who read it will understand it is meant as a tribute to all of you who have given your hearts to a beloved companion, and then felt shattered upon their loss.

I have spent my whole life with dogs, and the great majority of adult years in the company of poodles. All have had basic obedience training; it is a requisite to sharing my life and home. Only in the last 15 years, however, has this basic obedience training been extended beyond pet use to the competition/titling level.

Prior to this time, if anyone had said to me that I would mourn the loss of an obedience dog more than I have any of my other dogs, I would have reacted in sharp disbelief and probably anger. Surely I have loved all of my dogs; and surely they have left their paw prints on my life along with empty spaces upon their departure.

The death of Tigger, however, made me realize that there is a special bond that exists between dog and person when they have been involved in an advanced training regimen. This is true not just in obedience, which certainly does require a huge investment of time and inter-species communication, but also in all performance events where there is a give- and take- between the handlers and their dogs.

This is not to say that those dogs and people who only share a pet/companion relationship do not bond with their dogs. I am saying that the bond becomes something different: more involved, complicated and deeper when it is strengthened with the hours of one-on-one communication necessary to succeed in performance venues. Above all, the bond becomes much more rewarding as it strengthens and grows.

As an obedience dog, Tigger was probably just an average competitor. She did manage to place in 7 of her 9 qualifications leading up to and including that UD. Along the way, there was a trial where she barely earned a 170.5, but it was good enough to get a UD leg and, in that particular trial, was also worth Third Place and a HS Poodle in UA. It is interesting to note that I can tell you about this leg, but without looking at my records, could not tell you what her higher scores were on her other qualifications.

That one leg meant more to me than anything else she did in the ring.

Tigger had one unending message she was always preaching to everyone. “Life is fun! Enjoy Every Minute of it!” And enjoy it she did.

Her last ring performance was in Veterans at PCA in June 2001, and for a nine year old, she did a really great job. She radiated joy and pleasure in being at the trial, just as she did in the everyday training sessions, play sessions in the yard, and even potty trips as she became unwell and aged.

As any good obedience/performance dog does, she taught me lots of things. Amongst them, patience (Tigger, I am still trying!), the necessity for interspecies understanding, tolerance for other methods and people (and dogs) and most of all, the power of love. Of course, we also developed the bond that is carrying me through this.

I am glad Tigger was a titled obedience dog. I have her ribbons and her prizes as reminders of the road we shared, and the depths of the relationship we enjoyed while following that road.

And when we can finally see beyond the tears, those of us lucky enough to have multiple dogs pick up the training routines. Others begin the search for a new puppy. As part of us, each will be richer for the contribution from the dog who has gone as we move forward. The dog that has left us has changed our lives and will always be part of the sum total that we are.

This is perhaps the absolute best compliment we can pay to our deceased dog, and the best testament for the bond that we built with them. That bond is strong enough to extend beyond just one dog and just one person – and continues beyond an all-too short lifetime.

And for all of you who have been where I am now, rejoice in the memories, be thankful for the opportunities, and go forward, knowing that in doing so, your missing companion is still with you. I hope I have spoken for all of you with this tribute, for within the obedience/performance community, we share our joys and our sorrows and our losses, and provide support when it is needed….that’s what a community does.

And Thank you, Tigger, for taking the journey with me.