Wilson Was on Wordless Wednesday

Say not in grief...."He is no more"

But live in the Thankfulness that Wilson Was

The End of an Era

Our Saviour of the Heart

Wilson 5/23/2003 - 4/20/2019

Wilson came into our lives when we had just suffered the loss of our first Cardigan Dylan at the age of nearly 17. Wilson instantly had huge shoes to fill and fill them he did! He was a gentle old soul from day one. A quiet reserved gentleman that preferred to hang in the background. But that didn't mean he lacked for personality or the Cardigan sense of humor. He loved his people fiercely! Very quickly our broken hearts were on the mend as this sweet boy worked his magic.

Wilson was a smart pup who enjoyed pleasing his people. He was my Novice A agility dog and got me started on a hobby I have loved for years now. We also dabbled in Rally and Herding, allowing Wilson to earn the CWCCA's Versatile Cardigan award. But his most favorite activity if he could pick it was to swim
and fetch sticks from the water. You didn't dare say "Wanna go swimming?!" if his leash was off. He was off and running for the neighborhood lake as fast as his legs could go!

He was an extremely handsome guy and always garnered many compliments wherever he went. He also just "got it" when it came to photographs and posing. He was a supermodel extraordinaire!

Somewhere along the years, as it always does, age caught up to him. In September of 2017 he was diagnosed with Stage 4 Kidney Failure and we were told he likely had less than 6 months to live. Wilson always had a strong stubborn streak and he wasn't about to let bad kidneys be the end of him. He plugged doggedly along, fighting the ups and downs of his disease. So the old guy that was supposed to pass away more than a year ago was still with us when the very bad news about Jimmy's cancer was given. Wilson had one more task to complete. He had to comfort us as we lost Jimmy so unexpectedly. He came into our lives to heal a broken heart and he stayed in our lives far longer than expected so he could help one more time with broken hearts.

We could ask no more of Wilson. He was worn out and oh so tired, the kidney failure finally winning the battle. Yesterday we helped Wilson cross the bridge to where his body could find the peace he has so earned. Don't tell Wilson, but of course our hearts are now more broken than ever.

Thank you for sharing your life with us, Wilson. We will love you forever!

Having lost both Jimmy and Wilson within a 72 hour period has left us shell-shocked and hollow. Even with Cedar to comfort and distract us, the house is painfully empty. I have strong feeling it will be a long time indeed before life feels normal again.

Life Can Turn on a Dime

The Flame that burns twice as bright,
Burns half as long

Jimmy 05/10/2007-04/17/19

MACH PACH2 Fine Creek's Sharp Dressed Man
 RN HT MXB MJB MXP6 MXPS MJP7 MJPS PAX2 OF T2B

It is with a crushed heart that I tell of the loss of our Jimmy
on Wednesday morning. Only 12 days earlier he received a diagnosis of Hemangiosarcoma.

One of Jimmy's many nick names was "The Boss". He stayed in charge right to the very end,
passing away shortly before the vet came to ease his passage.

Jimmy was so much larger than life, a boisterous, funny boy who always had a lot to say
and he said it loudly! His personality ran to the intense and this made him an excellent
agility teammate for many great years. He loved that game and he gave it his all.

He was an avid television watcher and could pick out an animal character even if it was only a cartoon. He would quickly lose interest when nothing but people filled the screen.

He was the most intelligent dog I have ever had, understanding a huge vocabulary of words. But he was an even better communicator with his eyes. Whole conversations could be had watching the
expressions in his beautiful, bright eyes.

I will forever miss gazing into those windows of Jimmy's mind and soul.

To Anne his breeder, thank you for giving us one of the best highlights in ours lives.
Jimmy was one of a kind. I know you are grieving for him as well.

To Jimmy himself I say : As you journey across the Bridge, please know that you made our lives
so much better and that you are and always will be incredibly loved and incredibly missed.
That will never end. Keep an eye out for your brother Wilson, he won't be far behind.

Ready to Rumble!

It was a beautiful day yesterday and we spent as much time as possible outdoors. Jimmy decided it was time for a game of chase and extended "the look" to Cedar to get things going. It worked!

More Weave Work by Cedar

As always....turn down your speakers!

Wilson's Still Got It Going On!

Lots of barking, so turn down those speakers!

Sixteen Months!

Cedar turned 16 months yesterday! Although I remembered to take photos and post on FaceBook, I forgot to post here until I was already in bed. Sigh. Too lazy to get back up....

So, here's Cedar a day late for 16 months.................

Cedar Practicing His Weave Poles

First....

Happy St. Paddy's Day!!!

The weather has finally improved enough to dry my yard. Cedar has actually been able to practice weaving. He's not perfect yet, but his footwork is coming along nicely.

Before watching, turn down your speakers. Jimmy is loudly protesting that Cedar is getting to train.

Fort Jimmy

Jimmy has a favorite chair. It's a recliner that lets him watch the TV and also keep an eye on the kitchen. This morning while vacuuming, I threw the dog bed up onto "his" chair to get it out of the way as Jimmy was outside. He barks to come in, I open the door and then go back to vacuuming. At some point I turned back around and this is what I saw.....He's such a character!

Hint ! Hint !

Fifteen and Three Quarters!

Today, being the 23rd of the month, makes Wilson exactly 15 and 3/4 years old! He's still a beauty to my eyes! The countdown to 16 is officially on. Keep all your fingers, toes, and paws crossed for that milestone!

Three's Company!

15 Months

Tricks!

Here are a few of Cedar's tricks. He didn't seem to remember what Crawl was, but other than that did a pretty good job. He loves to learn and understands clicker training the best of all my boys....

Three Dog Night

I couldn't decide whether to call this post Three Dog Night or Pinwheel as they both fit. Since it is winter and we've just had a significant snowfall I went with Three Dog Night.....

Snow Day!

Well, as this is my very first post of 2019....Happy New Year!

Yesterday "a bit" of snow was predicted and we got almost a foot! Since it doesn't happen all that often, it really is rather fun and of course, a great photo op!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

We got the best Christmas gift of all.....Wilson is still with us! Halleluyah!

Someone's One!

I don't know how it happened but Cedar is ONE YEAR OLD  today! Raising a puppy has made time speed up! It doesn't feel at all like he should be one!

Here he is, taken today on his walk.....as cute as ever!

And of course there was birthday hat torture! He wasn't loving it, but he was a good boy and kept the hat on for a few moments.

One of his gifts was a (replacement) piggy. He had one before that finally bit the dust a few weeks back. He was thrilled to get a new one!

Finally, a cake! It's very hard to resist a quick lick while the photos are taken!

Happy birthday little man! May you have many, many more!

The Weekend Report - Retirement

It's been a very long time indeed since my last weekend report. We have attended a few agility trials over the summer and fall but not like past years. Wilson still comes along so it's only one day a weekend and not as often. It's a lot for him and I wouldn't want to over do it. Now, why I never reported on those trials is just the same ol', same ol'...I've been letting this blog slide. However, I did want to report on Jimmy's most recent trial because it is his last. At 11 and a half, he's beginning to show signs of aging. He has a hard time keeping the bars up and it seems his depth perception is causing it. He is also a bit hesitant getting on the contact equipment. Whether this is due to vision or a bit of arthritis, I'm not sure. His heart is definitely still in the game, but I just don't want to take any chances with him getting hurt so I made the tough decision to retire him this past weekend. After such a long and reasonably successful career together, it was a very emotional occasion. I shed quite a few tears knowing these were our last competition runs together. We will still play the game in lessons where Jimmy will be free to jump four inches and we can avoid the contact equipment.

The trial was at that farm I love so much in Reva, Va. It was a gorgeous day which helped ease the melancholy.

Of course I got video!

This is our Jumpers run and was a bar knocking disaster. It convinced me I was making the right decision.

   


Standard came next, and I almost thought we might run clean, but a bar after the weaves and also the very last jump both went down.



One of the really great things was that Wilson was along for the ride. He has been Jimmy's travel companion to each and every trial and he was there for the very last one. Look at that perfect blue-sky day!

I could not have asked for a better teammate. Jimmy loved the game as much as I did!

MACH PACH2 Fine Creek's Sharp Dressed Man RN HT MXB MJB MXP6 MXPS MJP7 MJPS PAX2 OF T2B

We celebrated our many years of fun with a cake that evening. I think the cake decorator's hand writing left something to be desired! LOL!

Just Jimmy

Jimmy tends to be camera-shy but the other day he gave me a few moments of attention and I snapped away........Hard to believe my sweet boy and long-time agility teammate is 11 and a half!