Honoring the Veteran Dogs

SUMMARY: Tika's moment in the sun.

Every few years, one of our clubs does some special event to honor those veteran agility dogs who have participated in the sport.

This August, SMART is making this nice gesture:

SMART's 10 Year Anniversary Honor Run for Veteran Dogs
On Saturday, August 25, SMART would like to honor the agility dogs who have for most of the last 10 years been the reason SMART and its sister clubs exist.

If you have a veteran dog ten years of age or older, please consider participating in this "Honor SMART's legacy" run. This will be an abbreviated agility run without contacts (or if you wish, just walk into the ring with your dog) during which time an announcer will read your dog's achievements over the PA.

Entry is free and each participating dog will earn a certificate of merit and a gift as SMART's way of acknowledging lifetime effort and achievement.

I attended SMART's first two events, which were fun matches, in 2002; Tika participated in their December 2002 match. So Tika's competition career just about exactly parallels SMART's existence.

Therefore, I have submitted the following according to their guidelines (although not sure that they'll have time to go over all of this while she's running the abbreviated course).

Full registered name of dog:

Finchester's Tika

Call name of dog:

Tika

Date of birth:

Feb 14, 2001

All titles achieved (not just agility and not just USDAA, include obedience, tracking, comformation, etc) or special placements:

In USDAA:

• LAA-Gold, ADCH-Silver, PDCH-Silver, PGCH/PJCH/PRCH/PSCH-Gold*, TM-Platinum, PTM-Platinum. (* 3 snookers short of her PDCH-Gold)
• Annual Performance 22" Top Ten in all four classes in 2010, and in 3 classes in 2011 including #1 in Jumpers and #2 in Gamblers
• Ooh--new fun numbers! Lifetime overall Performance 22" Top Ten:
  #8 in gamblers,
  #9 in jumpers,
  #10 in snooker,
  #11 in standard,
  #20 in Tournaments-- 

• oh, and Lifetime among 22" mixed breeds:
  #1 in  Gamblers,
  #1 in Snooker,
  #1 in Jumpers,
  #2 in Standard,
  #1 in Tournament!
  

In CPE: C-ATE, EX-ST/JP/WC/FH/SN

In NADAC: EAC, EGC, NJC

CPE Nationals 2006: High in Trial - Standard - Level C 24-inch dogs

USDAA Nationals:

• DAM Team finalist 2006 with Carlene Chandler's Brenn and Mary Van Wormers's Skeeter
• Qualified for Nationals in Grand Prix 2003-2012, Steeplechase 2004-2012 (except 2007), DAM Team 2005-2012

Is dog a rescue? If so, brief explanation of how your dog was adopted?

Tika is a rescue. She was turned in to the shelter at 3 months for being too wild, adopted, and again returned at about 6 months for being too wild. The shelter then turned her over to rescue, where she was fostered by Gina Campodonico, who knew that I was looking for another agility dog.

Dog's favorite activity, any special characteristics/likes/dislikes that will give spectators a sense of what makes him/her special:

Tika loves to snuggle, loves to play tug, loves to go for long off-leash hikes, loves clicker training, and really really really loves to eat.

One thing you'd like to tell your dog, if s/he could understand English:

"Please don't bark so much! But I love you anyway!"

Anything else you'd like us to know?

Tika's ground speed still seems as fast as ever, but arthritis slows her down in agility, and our biggest handicap now is that she can hardly hear anything anymore.