Got Rubber?

Posted on February 27, 2013 by DuncanDes

Around my trialling neighborhood, rubber contacts aren’t the norm (yet). While I think ~~hope like mad~~ that rubber will eventually come this way, it’s not currently on most of the equipment we trial on. With Des’s running contacts, I considered that training on rubber might make him think he has traction in places he won’t on sanded wood and could launch himself the wrong way when he hit the gas. But in the end, I went with rubber for two reasons:

1) I wanted the dogwalk that Des runs over most often to be as cushioned and safe as I could make it.

2) My DW sits outside in the sun and snow all year round. After six months, my well painted and sanded plywood ramps were already showing cracks. My DW frame is beautifully made (thanks, Tom!), but there’s really nothing anyone can do about the quality of ‘marine grade’ plywood these days. I’m just happy I’m not trying to build a boat!

So in the fine tradition of peer pressure (tell your friends!), I hope the following how-to may take some of the mystery out of sticking down that rubber and that traction-riffic contacts could become the norm in our agility neighborhood too. (come on, everybody’s doing it!)

I chose pre-made dogwalk skins from Rubber On the Run. Why? Dunc has run on NADAC spec rubber belting, rubber granules glued to an epoxy base, and rubber skins, and they all have good grip. For me, the granules were out…I’ve messed with epoxy a time or two and it’s easy to get it really wrong (reference above boat building fears...I had a bad experience)! I wanted a flat, non-sticky-uppy surface that was sealed firmly to the plank on all edges. It was a bonus that I think the skins are pretty, and who doesn’t love a pretty contact obstacle? You can get a kit and form the skins yourself, but that was more than I wanted to take on, skill, time or garage space-wise.

Enough about the why – let me get to the how…at least in reference to the skin type rubber. First off, my plywood topped DW didn’t have slats. If you have slats, I’d strongly recommend taking them off to sand your wood base as flat as possible. Trying to cut and fit rubber sections between wooden slats – and get the rubber tight to the wood joints – would be a nightmare. If you want slats, the skins have a slat option. More details on this later.

First, sand the boards as flat as possible so the rubber will have a uniform surface to adhere to. If your plywood is warped at all, it might be better to just replace it. I used a palm and belt sander. The belt sander did the majority of the work, and the palm helped get the edges and areas around the screw heads. When you buy sandpaper (and you’ll want LOTS of it), find a grit as coarse as your sanded surface. Then choose one coarser than that…it will look like paper with small rocks glued to it. Just a warning if you’ve not used a belt sander before…before firing it up, HANG ON. Holy crap, the darn thing took me for a ride the first time I pulled the trigger. I used to run a chain saw at work, and I think that sander called the shots in a way that no Stihl ever did.

A good sanding will look like the center plank in the photo – some paint and sand base remaining, but a much smoother and glue-friendly surface overall.

I then gave the ramps a couple of coats of paint each to seal the wood. A small foam roller worked well. If you need to adjust your contact length, this is the time to do it. In my case, I was changing from 42″ to 36″ contacts, so painted the top and sides of the wood to match.

Gluing: I followed the manufacturer’s advice and bought the “Wozzit” glue instead of using a rubber cement type glue. The huge plus is that the Wozzit glue allows for some adjustments once the rubber is stuck down…I could move the entire rubber sheet back and forth to make sure I had it on straight and lined the edges up carefully. Once the rubber cement glue adheres to the rubber skin, you’re literally stuck with what you’ve got. I can’t even stick a decal on my car window without messing it up…I was NOT going to screw around with a giant sheet of rubber!

The instructions that were included weren’t bad, but while they mention you’ll need clamps, they don’t mention how many clamps. You’ll need a lot. Fewer if you don’t have the skin with rubber slats, but if you do, you’ll need 1-2 clamps per section between rubber slats and some wood pieces to put between the rubber and the clamp. What worked best was to spread glue on the ramp in foot long sections, unrolling the rubber and clamping as we went. When we ran out of clamps, we stopped gluing for the day. The next day, we continued where we left off, with no problems. I’d imagine an A Frame could be done in a similar fashion…if you don’t use contact cement, a couple people could unroll/glue as they went, and adjust the edges as needed.

Here’s a picture of our gluing operation in action; note all the high tech devices that were employed to weight the clamped wood down. It wasn’t pretty, but it worked. Where ever the glued wood was in contact with the rubber, it stuck, but a few small areas near the edges didn’t get direct adhesion and weren’t stuck. The next day, I shoved a knife blade with glue into those spots, re-clamped and viola! Perfect! One more tip – it was a little cold when we glued, so we put the glue bottle in a bucket of hot water. The glue flowed and spread beautifully.

No soup for you!

And here’s what it looked like when done. The rubberized plank on the right still needs trimming. We did that with a builder’s utility knife, but I’ve also seen some pretty handy trimming on YouTube with an old electric carving knife, if anyone can convince their Mom to part with that ’70’s must-have.

And done! The planks look beautiful, the rubber surface is almost flat on top.

I’d mentioned slats earlier. I’m not a huge fan of slats, but decided to get them because it’s required by the majority of the US and international venues, and didn’t want Des’s first taste of slat to come in a trial. The rubber slats are formed out of the same rubber material, and literally fused to the surface of the contact rubber. There are no gaps between the rubber surface and rubber slat, and the slats have a small bit of give, just like the surface itself.

And how do the boys like the rubber? Des demonstrates below. Well, maybe that’s not the best picture to illustrate paw grip…now that I think about it.

I can’t address longevity yet, but upkeep in my sand field means I break out the broom to sweep it off every now and then. It’s sat through quite a lot of snow and two weeks of sub-teen (and zero) temps this winter, and the edges remain where I stuck them. We’ll see how it handles the thermal nastiness of summer, but so far, rubber does indeed rock!

Road to Nowhere? Who’s Car Are We Taking?

Posted on February 11, 2013 by DuncanDes

For the past year, Desmond and I have been taking online classes from Silvia Trkman. We began with some puppy Tricks, went on to our first Foundations class, spent most of the summer Running Contacts and just yesterday finished our second round of Foundations. It’s taken a buttload of hours, we trashed two pairs of shoes and countless holee rollers along the way. Before my surgery we hardly missed more than a day of training in a row, and I was back on the field two weeks after, having interpreted the Dr’s direction to “walk daily” quite loosely. Thankfully, my husband understands when I run outside at all times of the day muttering things like “diabolical weave entries” and leave old envelopes with scribbled sequences in random places around the house.

Des and I aren’t done by far, but finishing this class made me reflect on how far both Des and I have come in the last year. And how many MB of disk space I’ve devoted to video of the speedy merlie. (I now have a 1 TB hard drive! A terabyte!! That seems like insanity to someone who still has floppy disks in a drawer somewhere.) And…I just dated myself. Awesome.

After sorting through that digital pile of video, I put together a compilation of our work since last summer. For anyone following my long overdue fusion posts, all the shots with snow were post-surgery. Make sure your speakers are on and I hope you enjoy!

Rock on, little DesMan. You are a joy each and every day.

Fusion Part 1: Nuts and Bolts

Posted on January 21, 2013 by DuncanDes

Six weeks ago today, I had my lumbar fusion surgery. I now have four titanium screws, two pins and some sort of cage residing in my back. What, you ask, have I been doing with my time besides figuring out if I’ll set off metal detectors? (They say I won’t. I’m skeptical.) I’m not really sure, but it’s gone by a lot faster than I’d ever imagined. For those who stumbled this way looking for a fusion story, beware, I am a dog training and agility superfreak looking to find the fastest path back to the agility field running my pups. And for my agility friends, I promise to throw in a gratuitous Merlie picture every now and then just to keep things semi-normal.

Mama, get better soon!

But for those out there looking for a firsthand experience of the L5-S1 fusion surgery with a person determined to be active again, I hope to…well…give you some hope – all while I’m hoping like mad that my own fusion will be successful. It seems that 99% of the experiences on the Internet are written to scare the living crap out of you, by those who seem to relish dishing out doom and gloom. I suspect most folks after surgery heal, recover, and get back to their lives, too busy to visit back pain forums. While it would be easier for me to skim over these details and go right back to writing about something much more fun, (woof!) I realize sharing my surgery and recovery experience may help others facing the same fate, or any physical setback, for that matter.

“Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent.” -Marilyn vos Savant

Brotherly love at it’s finest!

My stay in the hospital could have been quite brief. Shortly after being admitted, hooked up to various machines and started on what the nurse called the “you won’t care” drug, I suddenly and violently cared. I cared enough to clearly visualize flinging off all the machines and running screaming out of the building, gown flapping in my wake. Thankfully, clearer heads (and a heavier husband with excellent calming skills) prevailed, and I stayed put until the drugs kicked in, and then yep…I didn’t care. Thank you, drug provided oblivion!

In what seemed like three seconds after I was wheeled in the OR, I woke in recovery with a friendly nurse hovering overhead talking to me, asking me questions. But the only voice screaming in my head like a fire alarm was my own: “Do your &^%$-ing toes work??” Left foot – check. Right foot…hey right foot, yes, YOU! Check. <<Deep breath and silent thanks to a surgeon who paid attention in class>> But back to that nurse…thanks for the ice chips. I think you saved my life.

The next three days went by in a blur, more for me than anyone else. They said I was under for about 3.5 hours, and anesthesia really screws me up. For a while I was setting personal blood pressure records, some that may have qualified me as an honorary zombie. BPs like 75 over 57 made the walks I took several times a day quite interesting. I’d hobble out slower than a turtle with my walker, with my entourage of therapist, nurse and IV on wheels. I’d make it to the corner, start seeing spots, and come racing back like a Citroen on the last stage of the Dakar rally…usually on two wheels, and sliding to a stop back in bed. Thankfully, this wasn’t my husband’s first post-surgery rodeo, and he both expected and kept up with my I’m-going-to-faint-turbo-speed. The three nights weren’t bad…except for being awakened every two hours for vital checks by the nurses, (who rocked) and every other hour by a screeching machine that didn’t seem to do anything but wait until I was again asleep to screech. Then there were the pre-dawn vampires. Being jolted awake at 5:30 by a woman claiming she was from the lab wielding a needle and sub par vein-locating skills was not my favorite part.

THIS was my favorite part. Many an ET joke was made…

Up to this point, I haven’t mentioned what the pain was like. I know what 10 on the pain scale feels like, and I expected something close to that. And…I didn’t. Yes, there was a constant pain, yes, it sucked, but it wasn’t impossible to tune out the majority of it most of the time. Maybe I was lucky and the drugs worked, maybe I had a talented surgeon, (and I believe I did) or maybe the back gods decided that by my third surgery I deserved a break, if not a frequent buyer’s card? Whatever the reason, I’m thankful. Sure, it hurt like hell to sit up and move around, I felt like my lower back had been replaced by something made by Cyberdyne waaaay before the T-101, and I wanted to boot every time I stood up, but I could handle it. Getting through this was my quickest route back to getting my life back.

To remind me of that goal, I brought a little photo album filled with pictures of the pups that would have put any grandmother to shame. I accosted any nurse who dared to come close enough for me to show them. One nurse who’d been around the block a time or two happened to be quite a dog lover, so she’d ask to see a new picture every time she came in. On my last morning, they said I could go home…after a therapist taught me how to climb stairs. But she’d not be back until afternoon. Having already been through two more minor back surgeries I was sadly familiar with the stairs routine. My new nurse friend winked at me, and before I knew it, I’d been shoveled into a wheelchair and deposited at the curb where my husband waited to take me home. Never mind that I only made it two minutes in the front seat before crawling into the back for the rest of the ride home. Never mind I recited a ‘don’t boot in the truck, don’t boot in the truck‘ mantra. I was home. With my pups. With my family. The worst was behind me, with a lot of healing to come in the weeks ahead.

Plan B? Nah, This is Definitely Plan C…

Posted on November 20, 2012 by DuncanDes

Well, damn.

I’ve seen more than enough MRIs of the lower spine to know that the one I was looking at had a pretty screwed up L5-S1 disc. The problem was that the image on the screen was, for the third time, of my own back.

This is just the latest chapter of a losing 13 year battle with this disc, including two previous back surgeries, and I was fresh out of options. So, in mid December, I’m having spinal fusion surgery.

In the span of an hour, my plans for the next six months to a year have changed drastically. Instead of debuting my brilliant little boy, Des, I’m going to instead be inventing Rube Goldberg-like devices to be able to tie my own shoelaces. The cool (and disturbing) part is that I’ll soon have titanium parts: screws, rods and bionic thing-a-ma-doodles. You can bet the first time I run post surgery I’ll be making ‘na-na-na-na‘ 6 Million Dollar Man sound effects. The not so cool part is that I won’t be able to even shuffle around outside with the Merlie Boys for a couple months, and if all goes well, not back to running at all until sometime next summer. Gah. I haven’t gone three days without working Des in a year. Mr. Neurosurgeon, I think you’ve officially taken away my birthday.

How did I get here? Well, if I had a nickel for every time I’ve been told “you’re too young to have xxx back surgery…”, (as if that fixes things) I could buy you lunch. But since I’m a few years shy of 40…

Some would hazard a guess that it came from the years of hanging my arse over the side of a boat, my unofficial major in college.

That’s my said arse in front, in the blue lifejacket. San Diego Thistle Midwinters, January, 1997.

Others may speculate it came from hauling 1/3 of my (then) bodyweight across the countryside for weeks on end and spending days bent over digging as my means of employment with the St. Joe Hotshots?

A few years after my hotshot days, I guess the crew didn’t stop digging <ahem>to take pictures.

Or years later, dragging almost that much weight around for fun?

Mmmm….red rock canyons! How I long to have red grit in my ears again!

Or maybe I’ve just been too stubborn to slow down combined with a bad draw in the joint lottery? Whatever.

If you’ve read this blog before or know me peronally, you might think I lean towards a little ‘too’ positive (at least where agility is concerned and after I’ve had my coffee). Well, now you know why. Every time I’ve stepped to the line in the three years since my last surgery I’ve known two things: to cherish each and every run with my amazing teammate, and that each day that my body carries me around the course is a gift. Life is too short, too good and running Merlies too much fun to let this slow me down permanently. So let’s screw this problem down (literally), and get on with things! With luck, Des’s debut will only be delayed a few months, and I’ll be running harder and faster than ever come summer. Because if you’ve seen the DesMan lately you’ll understand why that’s gonna be a requirement!

I have a few weeks left before my surgery, so I’m putting my time and mobility to good use. I’m aiming to get Des to full height on his dogwalk, and his channel weave poles closed. If we don’t make it, that’s okay, but goals are good. Stay tuned for video progress!

I’ll apologize now, in the coming months, I may be posting a little more about surgery and recovery than about agility. But I’ve learned there’s that there’s a huge lack of positive stories about surgery and a return to athletic pursuits on the internet to help others facing the same situation. So I plan on documenting mine. Because I’m determined that I’ll be back out there Running Happy as soon as the doc says it’s safe to do so.

Thanks, C for finding this, and you and G for getting this picture! It’s Dunc’s mantra!

It’s been a while since I was a professional dirt thrower, but some of the lessons learned on the line become ingrained for life. Hotshots have a pretty straightforward mentality on tough assignments. Here’s the PG-13 rated version:

“The hill is steep. So the heck what. Quit your bitching and get going”.

I know this isn’t going to be a walk in the park. But I’m going to get going, and keep going.

And….we’re back!

Posted on October 19, 2012 by DuncanDes

Have you ever looked at the calendar in July and realized it’s already October? Well, maybe not, but that’s how fast our summer blazed by. Quite literally. This girl is not a fan of 100 degree temps and is glad to welcome hats, jackets and hot cocoa weather.

So. Without further ado…gratuitous puppy shot! Oh wait, he’s not really a puppy, anymore. Okay, <ahem> gratuitous Dogwalk shot! Oh, dogwalk, how do my Merlies love thee?

DesMan or SuperMan? You decide.

If that didn’t give it away, I’ll be blunt… Desmond is following his older brother’s paw prints and is learning running contacts. While Des is not a big boy in the doggy world, he’s a lot bigger than Dunc, and strides like he expects to go into flight. But since I enjoy a challenge (and banging my head against hard objects) I decided to give running contacts with Des a shot. Holy guacamole, Batman, this kid’s got wings!

4.5 months in the making…in the spirit of “dude, pics or it didn’t happen“, here you go:

Look mama, no feet!

Today was a banner day. We’ve spent the last two weeks learning how to glue rubber onto a dogwalk. It involved several days of sanding (belt sanders are tools sent straight from hell), and then several more days of gluing. My fingers may never be the same again since a combo of sandpaper and glue has removed my fingerprints, but we debuted the finished dogwalk today. (and maybe my life of crime??) First time with slats, first time with rubber, and first time at 33″. This is what Des thought of his newly improved contact:

I think that’s a big “Whoo Hoo” from the DesMonster.

Happy Birthday, Desmond!

Posted on August 12, 2012 by DuncanDes

DuncanDes…Des one year old. Dude! You got big!

One year ago, on the night of a monster full moon, little Desmond was the first of seven blue merle pups in his litter to arrive. This once in a blue moon boy is a funky mix of sweet and funny, and so full of himself he makes me laugh out loud every single day. I adore him with a capital “A”.

He was a cute little bugger when he came home to us. Duncan wasn’t convinced of his charms, but Des just jumps into your world and heart (and up to your eyebrows) with unapologetic zeal. Even serious Dunc decided he was okay and plays with him…as long as he doesn’t see anyone watching.

Desmond, 8 weeks

That cute little baby has turned into a handsome young man. I find his sticky-uppy, slightly floppy ears about the most adorable thing ever invented and hope they are here to stay. He will tilt them forward when he’s curious or happy, and they slam straight back for aerodynamic advantage when racing Duncan.

Des has one heck of a sense of humor. At least once a day he turns into a nuclear powered freakazoid and may just slow the spin of the Earth with his lapping of the yard. He’s a well-traveled road warrior, able to turn magazines into Des-origami, and a power shopper of any unsupervised bag of dog toys and goodies. He can silently leap onto the counter, delicately removing whatever forbidden booty he can abscond with. Des-Cat, indeed.

In the past year, Des and I have spent many hours out in the field, learning to become a team, and laughing together (sometimes with me on my butt and him flying into my lap) when I don’t hold up that end of the bargain. He attacks every new thing I throw at him with good humor and nothing less than 100% supercharged attitude. We’re pretty sure Lucy shared her sass and zeal with him, and it’s so nice to still have that Attitude in the house.

Here’s a video of some of our recent work:

Happy Birthday baby Des! May you have many, MANY more! I can’t wait to see what the next year brings!

Des-es still have springs!

And We Have Liftoff…

Posted on July 2, 2012 by DuncanDes

Summer has arrived. With it has come the heat and the bugs, the sunscreen and the dorky wide-brimmed hats. And the glorious long evenings. Dunc and Des are putting them to good use.

Des doing Des stuff.

Since Desmond was a fall baby, and missed last summer’s heat, I’ve been slowly introducing him to water. After an inaugural run through the sprinklers, Des, following puppy tradition, quickly found the nearest towel to dry off with. Too bad the towel was in the form of my shirt, and I was wearing it at the time. That was refreshing!

Is there nothing better than a good roll in the wet grass?

The Double D’s love a good game of fetch. Several months ago, I observed that Desmond, while full of unbridled initiative at trying to catch a thrown ball, lacks a little something in the accuracy department. While he’s certainly breaking free of the earth’s gravitational field while launching himself into orbit, he’s still not entering the same solar system as the ball he’s aiming at. Duncan, who just earned his 8th degree black belt in catching is not fooled by the acrobatic insanity of his baby brother.

We have liftoff!

Houston, we have a problem…

In the meantime, Duncan and I have some pretty exciting times in our near future. Twenty six points now stand between us and our MACH, with our next trial swiftly approaching. I feel so honored to have this brilliant little boy as my teammate and teacher, who has taught me boatloads along the way. Thank you, Super D.

Double Q # 20

Posted on June 6, 2012 by DuncanDes

Over the weekend, Duncan reached a milestone in his AKC agility career, and earned his 20th Double Q. We finished those 20 QQs about 14 months after moving into Excellent B and becoming eligible to start earning them.

For my non-agility friends, in AKC agility, a Double Q is earned when you qualify on both the Standard and Jumpers With Weaves courses on the same day. One speed point is earned for every second under standard course time you finish a course. To earn your Master of Agility Champion (MACH, or AKC Agility Champion) title, you must earn 20 QQs and rack up 750 speed points. It’s a long road, no matter how you drive it, and daily double perfection on the agility field is an exercise in practice, focus and determination.

Photo by Randy Gaines

We’re not quite done yet. Dunc has exactly 100 speed points left to go before he earns his MACH title. But completing the QQ requirement was a huge accomplishment/relief for me. Now, we’ll step to the line together with speed and fun as our goal (because if Dunc is having fun, he’s pretty darned speedy). Doesn’t it look like he has a big Dunkie grin on his face in the picture below?

And another fantastic pic from Randy Gaines

To brag on my little boy a bit more, over a three day trial last weekend he earned three QQs (bringing the total to 21) and 2 QQQs, having qualified in the FAST distance class twice. I am so proud of my Teammate, and best buddy, Duncan.

With three more trials scheduled in the next month, I think the Little Dog that Could is going to become the Little Dog that Did! Stay tuned…

I hope to cease being the absent blogger soon. If I were a UPS driver, it would be the holiday shipping season, if I were an accountant, it would be April 15th…my season of training baby firefighters how to throw dirt is a lot longer and busier than you’d think it should be! But once they go off and do what they are trained to do, I’ll return to my rambling ways.

But in the meantime, we’re celebrating each milestone as it comes!

Thanks for the bubbly, my Big Aussie friend. Now, to find some Peeps to go with…

The Little Dog That Could…Fly.

Posted on April 30, 2012 by DuncanDes

It has been a long couple weeks in DuncanDes land, as all of us are adjusting to a life without out little Frenchie girl. But, if Lucy taught us anything, it is to live life to its fullest, to get out of the armchair and into the yard (or even better, the mountains or canyons)…to snork in the flowers and crawl in the new grass, and above all – love your pups and people as much as you can. Lou, we miss you so much, but you as always, would be right.

Would you like to share your supper?

So on the note of doing things you love, how about an update of Dunc’s Running Contacts?

Image by Great Dane Photos, 2012, used with permission.

Duncan, Desmond, Angus and I spent the weekend at the BARC Spring NADAC trial this past weekend. I couldn’t think of a better place to be, and NADAC courses are beautifully made for pushing the speed on our running contacts. That was our goal for the weekend: Fast. Happy. And Confident. I’d say we were successful.

Duncan and I have been working on his running contacts for about a year now. I don’t admit to being the most diligent at working these throughout our trialling season last year, so it’s been a long road. Last fall, I started to see progress, and began to push him in trials, moving from a barely managed run-through-the-contact-please-don’t-jump hope for the best method to the independent contacts in this weekend’s video. We’re still not done, still have yet to work full height at home, but through trial and error (and a pile of cookies) he’s learning to find his striding on his own. And as a result, instead of Shy Dunc, we have Super Confident Fly over the Apex Duncan, showing more speed throughout the entire course.

While true running contacts aren’t very common in my area yet, I know the word is out and there are several good agility folks contemplating training them. While I am in no way an expert, I have whacked away at this project for many moons, and have learned a thing or two along the way. In my finite wisdom, here is what I have figured out:

1) Running contacts, true running contacts (with no management) are a lot of time and effort. Prepare for many months of foundation training, trial and error, and a steep learning curve no matter what method you choose. Two on/two off is a heck of a lot clearer as a criteria, but if you have good reasons, RCs can be the right choice.

2) If retraining a dog who had stopped contacts, prepare for failure in the ring. If you are currently trialling, you’ll lose some Qs while you both figure it all out.

3) Running contacts are not just for World Team competitors. I chose RCs because Duncan found stopping at the bottom of the contacts to be a real bummer, and I wanted to find a better way to keep his motivation high. We are learning Sylvia Trkman’s method, because she recognizes RCs can be highly motivating for tentative dogs and drivey dogs alike. I think this may be the case for all the other great RC training methods out there, but Sylvia is highly supportive of all speeds and size of dog, which was important to me.

4) During early training, a pivotal moment was being told we didn’t need RCs because Dunc wasn’t yet confident enough to run the contacts full out. Nothing digs me in deeper than being told I can’t do something, and I’m even more stubborn when told Dunc can’t do it. Inspiration can be found in random places…take it, run with it, and believe in your dog.

5) No matter what criteria you choose for your contacts, if you believe it’s right for you and your dog as a team, then go for it. Deciding to abandon a 2o2o and train a RC was a leap of faith for Dunc and me, and maybe I was just stubborn enough, and Dunc trusting enough to make it work. We still have a ways to go, but so far, so good.

Photo by Randy Gaines

It’s been a heck of an adventure, full of jumps and leaps and finally, YES finally, feet down a little more often than not. I couldn’t have chosen a better teammate to learn with. Duncan is truly the Little Dog That Could.

Lucy: 2003-2012. Adieu Sweet Girl

Posted on April 19, 2012 by DuncanDes

Earlier this week, we lost our Frenchie, Lucy, a constant source of joy in our lives. After nearly nine years of ruling our house in her sassy, happy way, she had a sudden series of seizures that only worsened. After a series of tests, we brought her home. Four days later, with her boys and family around her, she left us peacefully. She was only a few months short of her ninth birthday, and our beloved girl was taken from us far too soon.

But Lucy would tell me to stop being a drag and to celebrate the joy that she embodied every day of her life. She’d probably bark in my ear, crawl into my lap and demand that I stop being such a bummer. Let me share her story…

Lucy came to us by air, flown in from her breeder. My first glimpse of her was in her travel crate; beating on the front door, clearly shouting “Let me OUT!!” She launched into my arms, a tiny bundle of black and white fur, with waving feet and endless kisses. She flew into our lives and proceeded to run amuck, leaving nothing but laughter and love in her wake.

We very carefully introduced her to our two Boxer boys, Sinjin and Angus, both 90+ pound bruisers compared to the 4-pound baby girl. Sinjin sniffed at her with indifference and went back to his nap. Angus took one look at her and fell head over paws in love. (I needed no explanation of imprinting in the Twilight books…I’d seen it firsthand) He was besotted with her from that moment, never again apart from her for more than a few hours. I worried that Angus, the proverbial bull in a china shop would accidentally trample on this tiny girl. Never fear…while Angus steps on everyone else daily, I never once saw him set a foot on his girl. In fact, I’m certain he once took a direct hit from a skunk on her behalf. They’d raced off across the field in hot pursuit, but I only heard Lucy barking. I can imagine Angus, flinging himself bodily in between Lucy and the skunk saying ‘noooooooooo’ in a slow motion voice. Poor guy, when wet he smelled of skunk for almost a year, but always seemed to be doing things like that for his Lucy.

Lucy soon took her place as ruler of the pack and our family. She loved puppies and old dogs, and always kept our little pack in harmony. In a lifetime of living with dogs, she has been my only girl, and was truly the beloved Queen Bee of our family.

She was a firecracker, a direct blast of ears and attitude, and everyone was powerless to do anything but adore her. She especially loved Angus, popcorn, red wine and throwing her shoulder into her brothers to watch them go spinning over her (it’s a bulldog thing). If you blew a raspberry, she’d roll over and wave her feet, asking you blow the next one on her tummy.

Lucy absolutely loved to hike. When we would put on her purple pick-her-up-if-she-gets-stuck harness and her I’m-not-a-coyote bandanna, she would start to dance, those little white feet beating a pattern on the truck seat all the way into the hills. She’s probably the only Frenchie to have gone backpacking to the bottom of Neon canyon in the Escalante, to the top of the Sawtooths or wading in the high lakes of the Trinities. Most nights, even though she had her own backpacking sweater, she would wind up snuggled with my husband in his sleeping bag. She also adored going chukar hunting in the Owyhees, grinning her big bulldog grin while riding sandwiched between my husband and I on the ATV ride down.

She was a noisy little creature, and the house seems too quiet without her. She’d bark at falling leaves, or farting grasshoppers, riling up the other pups in the process, leading the charge to attack invisible phantoms. Every now and then, I would catch her standing in the living room, barking at nothing, just to get the other dogs to come downstairs and bark with her. I swear she’d wink at me at these times as if to say: boys are soooo gullible! She snored like a buzzsaw, snorking and snorting through the night, only relieved by her love of diving under the covers in the early morning. She would curl up in the small of my back…and while I couldn’t hear her quite so clearly, it was like napping with a pleasantly furry two-cycle engine.

Lucy was unapologetically friendly, never having met a stranger she couldn’t charm. She was the Jedi master of bulldozing her way into the hearts of just about anyone she met, accumulating many non-dog people as her ardent fans. She was just irresistible that way, never taking no for an answer, relentlessly working on a new person until she had them wound around her little paw just like everyone else.

And wound around her paw we will remain. Lucy was special. As my father (completely smitten with her) said,

“Lucy spent her entire life making everyone around her happy. What a great way to have lived.”

I couldn’t say it better. Lucy, our little Frog-Dog, you have forever left your little paw prints all over our hearts. You lived your life to the fullest each and every day, in your unapologetically happy way, always willing to share a snork and a kiss, and always willing to hop into my lap for popcorn and a stolen nip of red wine.

I hope she’s sitting on that big couch in the sky with her brother, Sinjin, waiting to join us on the next family hiking adventure. Lucy, we miss you terribly. For us, the world is a little dimmer, but we will always remember you with a smile. Thank you for sharing your life…and your sassy Frenchie love with us.

DuncanDes

Adventures of the Merlie Boys

Tag Archives: dog agility