A Tail of Two Cardis: You Probably Had To Be There.......

Friday, July 29, 2011

You Probably Had To Be There.......

Jimmy and I attend agility class every Tuesday evening from 6:30 to 7:30. It is probably an understatement to say that Jimmy really enjoys going. The second we pull in the driveway, he starts amping up, up, up! I've been going to this particular class for a couple of years now, same time, same instructor. When we first joined her class, she had been warned by management that Jimmy was, shall we say, rather intense, and that he was not always good around the other dogs. So, just to cover her bases (among other things), at the beginning of each new session, she reminds the other students to give Jimmy room. It's good advice because the mored excited Jimmy becomes, the more likely he will snark. Jimmy is fast and furious, emphasis on the furious, when it's his turn in the ring. When we enter the ring for our turn, he's tugging so hard on his leash a border collie couldn't do it better. If at any time during our run I am slow to signal where he's going or, even worse, I indicate he's made a mistake, he chews me out very loudly, like at the top of his lungs! I often can't hear my instructors comments over Jimmy's big mouth. I give all this description as a preamble so you will have the weekly scene painted for you.

The building is a large, high-ceilinged place big enough for two rings. Crating is along one wall, with an aisle, and then the gating around the ring. It's a noisy place between all the dog noise, people chit-chat, shuffling around, a/c running, etc. So we are taking turns running the course, and it's my turn. I get Jimmy out of his crate (where he is usually a good quiet boy, just so you don't think he is a full-time monster :-) ) and he's READY TO GO! He's barking, he's tugging, he's dragging me into the ring......over all the hub-bub in the building and over Jimmy's loud enthusiasm, I hear one of my fellow students shout out RELEASE THE KRAKEN! as I am about to remove Jimmy's leash at the start line. Knowing that line from a movie, coupled with her perfect comedic timing and theatrical flare, it hit me as hysterical. Most of the class broke out laughing and I was reduced to helpless giggles. I don't know how I ever ran that course!

Now if you don't happen to know that phrase, it is from a recent movie called Clash of the Titans. In it, Liam Neeson plays the Greek god Zeus and at a fateful moment in the movie, yells Release the Kraken! It was such a truly ridiculous line that it has become something of a catchphrase. And of course it has become another of Jimmy's nicknames!

As I said, you probably had to be there, but oh, what a funny moment it was!