a Taj MuttHall Dog Diary: Tika's Retirement Run, Part 1

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Tika's Retirement Run, Part 1

SUMMARY: She's just a good girl

We had our final run this morning pretty early. Fog, as usual, had descended in that area overnight and made the grass quite damp. I saw several dogs slip and fall; didn't want Tika to do that.  Also wasn't sure whether she'd want to run or would start coughing or what, so I tried to take it easy.

That didn't work well at the  beginning--she shot off the startline and I barely got in my first front cross. She slowed through the run and almost stopped before the last two jumps ( after earlier knocking a bar and going off course) but completed it, with a crowd cheering us on the whole way.




She did cough a bit right after that, but not a lot, so it was OK.

I didn't cry too much, just some while I was getting all the hugs from so very many of our agility friends who've been with us through thick and thin; who supported us, teamed with us and sometimes even Qed and won with us, encouraged us, cried with us, laughed with us, and all the rest. What a great group of people.

I brought a cake. A huge cake.


She expressed curiosity about the cake.

I encouraged her repeatedly to put her paws up on the table to try to get a photo of her looking at her cake. I think she thought that this was some kind of trick, but eventually she did.

And she didn't waste any stupid time by merely stupid *looking* at the cake. That had not been part of my plan.


So I cut that huge hunk out and the Merle Girls each got a piece of gooey sugary yummy retirement cake.

Tomorrow, more about the weekend and hopefully some videos.

(Thanks to Jean Danver for the photos.)

11 comments:

  1. Another wonderful memory to put in the Tika book. What a wonderful ride she gave you and what a great team you are.

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    1. Thanks, and yes, I love that Jean caught that moment when I wasn't quite prepared for her to take cake matters into her own--hands--.

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  2. Tika girl, you are amazing. Love that you got the first taste of the cake. It WAS yours after all. Great photos of your run. You looked very happy out there. Glad you both had that.

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    1. Tika hasn't been wanting to eat her kibble. But she had no qualms about eating cake!

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  3. Got that sort of queasy emotional thing going on in my chest after reading that. What a ride she gave you for sure. The cake thing is just the perfect Tika ending to this post, isn't it :-)

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    1. Dogs have the right idea--forget this mushy, weepy, huggy stuff and go right for the treats.

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  4. Love the pics and the post! What a fantastic team! I'm glad she got to taste her cake 1st!

    Lloyda

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  5. Great run and so happy I was there. You have a lifetime of memories running agility with that girl. Most of us can only hope to achieve what you've achieved. Hugs!

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    1. Thanks, Vici, it's good for me to remember that. She was a good girl on the agility field.

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  6. She looks happy about that cake!! Congrats on a wonderful career with Tika. I'm glad you got to run the final run! Bitter sweet!

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