“Boo” Temple Spirit Memorial

Nominees 2011

We would like to nominate a very special dog for this award; tho we don’t know her registered name or the titles she might have earned, we knew her as Holly.

Holly was the epitome of a loving and faithful companion to her Momma, Bonnie Eckhoff.  She was loyal and true and lived to please Bonnie.

Holly was a gentle soul and we don’t believe she ever met a human or a canine that she didn’t love.  And oh how we all loved her in return.

 In her last year on this earth, Holly underwent surgery for a neck issue….. and it was not the miraculous ‘fix’ that we all had hoped and prayed it would be, but nobody told Holly and she kept on keeping on in her gentle and yet determined manner, motivating along on the three legs that still worked, even running! 

 When Bonnie saw it was becoming too much for Holly, she loved her enough to let her go and now this girl is back to dancing, leaping and running at Rainbow Bridge…..

 We believe that Holly ‘lived’ her entire life with the Boo Temple Spirit and is worthy of this award.

 Lovingly and respectfully submitted,

 Lila McDowell, Marny & Dave Temple

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Nominees 2010

Luke Gordon (Greyhound) and Focus Bray (Papillion) were nominated this year, both beloved dogs who bring (or brought) love and joy to all they know (knew).

“Luke”

Submitted with Love, Missy Gordon

Only a handful of people at ADTC know the special boy in my life known as Luke.  Luke is a retired racing greyhound who came into my life five years ago after a very long career on the race track. 

I could go into a short synopsis about what Luke and I have shared over the last five years but I would rather just share a short story about a survivor.  About two years ago Luke started having urinary tract infections.  I took him to the vet where they recommended me to a specialist.  Upon seeing the specialist, an ultrasound was done on Luke.  When the specialist brought him back in, she stated that he needed surgery as soon as possible to remove two internal tumors.  She described one tumor as the size of a walnut and the other the size of a baseball.  I left him there that day to have his surgery and brought him home a couple of days later.  The results came back several days later and the tumors were positive for cancer.  The specialist stated that by having the surgery it would give Luke one additional year to live.  It is now two years later and Luke is still going strong.   

Luke doesn’t do anything special but love everyone and every dog that he meets.  I never tire from hearing how sweet my big boy is.  Just this past weekend at Holly Springs Dog Days in the park someone asked if he was up for adoption because he was so beautiful.  I had to tell her, “Sorry, but this one’s taken.” 

Luke was a certified therapy dog through the Delta Society.  We tried our hand at agility, but it just wasn’t for him.  He was meant to be a lover.  Today he travels around with his sister Libby to various dock diving events to cheer her on.  He also wears the Chase Vest and walks through the crowds at the events to collect donations for Chase Away K9 Cancer.  As a cancer survivor this is his perfect job.  This is what he was meant to do, walk around to get petted and raise awareness for a good cause. 

Luke has taught me many things, but above all else he has taught me to take one day at a time, stop and smell the roses, that a good romp in the yard is good for the heart, and that a little couch time now again never hurt anything.  He truly is my heart.   

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 “Focus”

Submitted by his Loving Mom, Barbara Bray 

It is with a great deal of pride, humility, and both happiness and sadness that I nominate Focus Bray, Papillon, for the Boo Temple Memorial Spirit Award.  Focus lived his first year of life in a home that bred show dogs and in this home had had limited interaction with people and received very little love and attention.  In fact, most of his life was spent in a crate.  Then, because Allison Johnston wanted more experience in the show ring and Focus lived in a home were where there was too many dogs, Cathey and Allison had a chance to bring Focus to Wilmington for Allison to show in the breed ring.  This brought about a wonderful change in Focus’ life.  Cathey and Allison cared for him, traveled with him, socialized him, showed him and came to love him very much.  Because of this he became very bonded to Cathey and Allison and overcame the obstacles he had faced earlier in life.

 Handled by Allison, Focus soon became a Breed Champion and being the dog lovers and exceptionally wonderful human beings that they are, they realized that Focus had much more potential for other areas like Obedience and Agility after the Breed ring.  They were able to see that this dog needed more than retirement to be truly happy.

 That is when I was called and asked about making Focus a member of our home.  Cathey and Allison knew that Agility is my passion in life and knew Focus would love that life.  So, they called and talked to Larry and me about taking Focus.  At first we were not certain and said we were Sheltie people.  Larry kept saying one family one dog and at that time we already had two, Sandy and Bobby.  Cathey persisted and brought Focus over to spend the night and he immediately jumped into Larry’s lap and stayed there the rest of the night.  I was sold the minute I saw Focus and Larry said “I love him, let’s keep him”.  We knew then that Focus was in his forever home!

 Training Focus was fun as he was very bright, very positive and learned quickly.  We did Obedience, Rally and Agility and before long Focus was excelling in the Agility ring and in Rally, quickly earning his Advanced Rally Title.  However, after that the primary area of competition became Agility as this is what Mom loved doing so much!

 One obstacle that I had to overcome each time I took Focus to a competition was Larry.  Larry always said “take the others, but leave Focus at home”!  Larry and Focus had formed an incredible bond and Larry never wanted to be away from Focus.  This bond of love grew as the years went on, but I continued to take him to competitions as I also loved every minute I spent with him.  Running him in Agility was a true joy and we almost always brought home ribbons.

 However, there were some health issues that evolved, as it was determined that Focus had a genetic liver disease which sometimes took his energy and involved him being on three medications for the rest of his life.  However, this never took that wonderful spirit and attitude away.  In addition to the illness, there was a serious accident that occurred about four years ago.  Focus had the misfortune of getting his tail caught in an electric dremmel while being professionally groomed.  His tail was severed and only about three inches of the bone to his long and beautiful tail was left.  This was extremely painful experience for Focus, involving four different surgeries with the bone having to be cut again.  There was a long healing process.  It was questionable as to whether this would affect his balance according to experienced dog trainers and Dr. Batts, our Veterinarian.  But again, Focus persisted and kept on going and never lost that wonderful attitude and spirit that was so uniquely his.  Luckily, his balance was still there!

 We kept competing in Agility with Focus becoming a UKC Agility Champion and achieving his AKC Master Agility Title and his AKC Master Excellent Jumper Title and even tho he did not like to work at a distance he earned his Open Fast Title ahead of his brother, Beacon (Sheltie).  He also earned 70 scores of 100 in Excellent B Standard under 41 different judges and 56 scores of 100 in Excellent B Jumps with Weaves under 32 different judges.  In addition, he earned 34 Double Q’s which meant there were 34 different days he earned scores of 100 in both Excellent B Standard and Excellent B Jumpers.  At the time of his death, he also had 428 MACH points and was well on his way to his MACH (the highest title inAKCAgility).

 Focus was also a Canine Good Citizen and a Certified Therapy Dog and we often accompanied Kay Rodgers in visits to Nursing homes, schools, day care centers and many other places for demos.  He was always a dog that made the patients say:  “He likes me, can I keep him?”  He loved everyone he met and they loved him back.

 Focus was also loved by my father, Skip, who is a 98 year old resident at Woodbury Wellness.  My dad displayed his picture and told all visitors about Focus.  His heart was also broken at the loss of Focus who was one of his most regular visitors.

 In conclusion, I must say that Larry and I love all of our dogs and that each one is special in his own way, but we have never had a dog that brought more joy into our lives than Focus.  He was the epitome of optimism, love, joy and cheerfulness and touched our spirit in a way that no other dog has ever done.  He represents the best of his breed and dogs in general.  Losing him this past year with lymphoma was one of the most difficult things that Larry and I have ever had to face.  We still cannot believe that he is really gone.  It is with sadness that I cannot be at the meeting when this letter is read because of having to work.  However, Cathey, Allison, Larry and I encourage you to carefully consider Focus for the Boo Temple Memorial Spirit Award, because he possessed every wonderful attribute that this award was based on.  As in the Jimmy Steward poem, Larry and I still call him name, reach out to touch his far, and wish that he were there.

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 Nominees 2009

Please read about three wonderful pupsters! They have been nominated for the 2009 Boo Temple Spirit Award. Sadly, all three of our Nominees now reside at Rainbow Bridge, but they are also living in the hearts of those who knew and loved them.

The Nominees are: Bear (Lab/Chow), Lacey Marie (German Shepherd Dog), and Magic (Golden Retriever)

Bear (Picture coming soon)

Loved, missed and nominated by Lila & Greg McDowell

I have two special companions that have gone onto the Rainbow Bridge that I would like to nominate and here is my first nominee, Bear (Lab/Chow Mix).

Bear was a very hard headed dog who lived to be almost 13 years old. I remember our first class at Azalea and I just knew we would fail the class. He did just what he wanted to do and when he wanted to do it. Amazingly enough, we received the “Most Improved” team in that class. We went on to actually compete in several dog shows; however, we did not place but we had fun!

He earned his CGC and became a therapy dog. When we would go to the schools for the safety programs I can remember him looking up at me like he was saying keep em coming I’m liking all this attention I’m getting!

After he passed, I would wake up for months in the middle of the night thinking that he was nudging my arm as he did nightly as if checking to make sure I was okay. I felt as if he were watching over me from the Rainbow Bridge.

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Lacey Marie (Picture coming soon)

Loved, missed and nominated by Lila & Greg McDowell

One of my special companions was Lacey Marie (GSD). She was only 5 years old when she went to the Rainbow
Bridge but she was a sweetheart. We have laughed so much with her because of her silly antics.

If my husband and I started to play guitars and sing she would also sing right along with us and I hate to admit this but sometimes she sounded a lot better than we did. Greg has written and recorded a song about her; however, I cannot listen to it yet without balling my eyes out.

She loved playing soccer with Greg.. she was a cheater at this game because she would go and un-tie his shoes when ever he had the ball.

While building our house, Greg spent 2 hours wiring our enclosed back porch and Lacey was right there just watching him. About 20 minutes after Greg finished he went to do something else out there and discovered that every bit of wiring he had done yes, Lacey had undone. Thank goodness there was no electricity going to the house at that time. After this she received a diploma as a certified Electrical Engineer, which we have hanging in that room.

We had to start spelling words because she knew exactly what we were talking about. We eventually had to come up with other words for things, like swimming or pool became H20, etc.

We miss her very much and will always be in our hearts. I only wish that all of you could have met her.

Submitted by Lacey Marie and Bear’s Mom, Lila McDowell

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Magic

Loved and missed by Stephanie & the entire Temple Family

Submitted by The Temple Family

The love and devotion of a Dog comes in many sizes and colors! And how fortunate we, of ADTC, are to be graced with our beloved companions in our lives!! Whether, we are living our memories in the making or dreaming of days gone by, our love never falters, as is only right, as our dogs love never falters, ever!

Magic was special right from the start! Red Girl was picked out for Stephanie and family when she was a wee little thing. and none of us ever doubted that the right girl came for our girl, Steph, from St. Louis in 1998!

She was a patient and loving companion to not only Steph and Bryan, but also the little boys she helped raise, Nathan and Patrick. She was a gentle and humble soul, who lived to make people smile.. with soft brown eyes and an adoring expression, she always kept an eye on Stephanie, for she was the one she loved most in this world!

Magic loved just being with her people, whether laying with the kids watching tv or teaching Na or Paddy how to throw tennis balls, which she would return post haste, to the boys great delight! She was their water buddy when the kiddie pool was out, or even a hose with running water—- tho she never did figure out how to retrieve that water!!

She loved wrestling with her Dad, Bryan and fur sister, Sammie Girl! And thought there was nothing better than walking around the house with a woobie in her mouth “singing”!

No offense to the rest of the family, but Magic was her Mommas girl and what a girl she was!!! People speak reverently of my everything dog, and Magic fit the bill perfectly! She did Obedience and Rally with her Mom, earning her Rally Advanced Title just a few months before her trip to Rainbow Bridge.

BUT Magic’s REAL love was the sport of Agility and it was there that one could see the twinkle in her eye that said “look out, Mom and I are gonna fly around this course!” and they did!! No, they didn’t Q every time, but they were a beautiful team every time and a delight to the eye of all who watched. For, you see, dog people are very perceptive; they know a love story when they see one! And Magie and Steph were one of the most lovely love stories we know..

Please vote for Magic for ADTC’s dog of the year.. in the Boo Spirit Award!

Respectfully submitted, Nana and Poppy Temple

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Boo Temple Spirit Memorial Nominees 2008

Below please find, for your perusal, the nominations of two very special babies for the 2008 Boo Temple Spirit Award. Sadly, both our Nominees now reside at Rainbow Bridge, but they are also living in the hearts of those who knew and loved them.

The Nominees are: Totie (Poodle) and Kacee (Havanese)

Totie

(Picture coming soon)

Loved, missed and nominated by Mom, Kat Pullicino

I would like to tell you about Totie. He was the last puppy of six to be born on my kitchen floor. His mom had never had a litter before so she wanted my help. We had a good system going. When she was having a puppy I would pick up the ones she had delivered and hold them until she had cleaned up the new one. What a cherished experience. All of the puppies were fine. Three were a little bigger and three were a little smaller, 5 boys and a girl. Totie was the smallest.

Freckles, our petite blonde cocker spaniel, was a good little mom. We would carry the puppies back and forth from the bedroom to the rec room so she would not be frantically running back and forth. We put a tall board across the rec room doorway as we had Dusty, the daddy, a silver toy poodle and Angel, a little black cocker/poodle and Freckles did not want any furry visitors! So Dusty would stand on the back of my husbands chair and peer over the board. He kinda looked like Snoopy on his doghouse skulking. Freckles would tolerate that. It wasn’t too long until she wanted a break for a while to go outside and get some air. As soon as she would leave the box Dusty would jump in. He was the best little dad and puppy sitter. He was so careful not to step on them. He would get in and lie down surrounded by his 6 kids. He would wash them and nuzzle anyone would seemed out of sorts. Freckles was fine with this arrangement, needless to say.

We kept Totie, Em and Scamp. All three of them were black but as they got older they began to show a sprinkling of silver fur mixed in with the black. Scamp and Em had more poodle genes and Totie more cocker. He had the prettiest wavy black and silver fur. We lost Freckles from kidney failure when she was 4 and that still hurts.

Totie was quiet and reserved. He would gaze upon you with his big black eyes just waiting to share some wisdom with you. When everyone lined up for treats Totie always would sit quietly to one side, very patient and trusting. He loved being outside in nice weather. He would find a patch of sun where the breeze was the nicest and would lie out there for hours. Many times I would have to fetch him to come in and eat. Totie was one of those special boys that you could very easily take for granted. He was always at my feet. Everyone would say that he was moms dog and I guess that was true. He loved being a lap dog most of the time. If he came up and tapped me on the leg or the arm (with his left foot naturally since I am left handed! J ) and I did not react soon enough, the taps would get a bit more insistent. If I was reading the paper he would stand up on his hind legs and push the paper down with BOTH feet. Then would smile at me and snort as if to say its about time. I guess one of my forever memories of Totie is watching him amble across the yard. He would not really run most of the time but he would kinda trot– the best description I can think of is that he looked like a black furry rhinoceros rolling toward you, if that makes any sense. I used to think Tote was lazy but I grew to understand that he was a very practical boy; why stand and wait when you can sit and wait. Makes sense to me.

Totie had to be part of everything I did. Scamp and Em would usually be there too but Tote definitely was my shadow. The years went by. Scamp was our accident prone child so usually had something going on with him but the other two were fine.

When Totie was about 10 or 11 he came to me with his head down. When I would gently raise his head he would whimper. I thought he had a stiff neck so we went to the vet. He did not have a stiff neck. My vet said he had arthritis and would I please bring Totie in the next day for x-rays. I did that and went to talk to Dr. Franklin. He was very concerned about Totie and said he did not understand how he was even walking. He had horrible bone spurs in his neck and hips. But walk and run he did. He began to take Rimadyl and it wasn’t too long before he was just as active as he had been before the crisis. Totie, Em and Scamp were about 13 when we lost Dusty. My husband was burying Dust when I got home. Dusty had apparently gone into congestive heart failure which could not be reversed. Our hearts were broken. I sat on the couch and cried and who was there first? Totie. He would touch me with his paw and lick my hand and face. Em and Scamp were there too of course but they have their own stories.

We went sadly on. I would go out to Dusty’s grave every day to talk to him. And the 3 kids would come too. Totie was right by my side all the time. Then we lost Scamp from arthritis that was causing him to lose all function in his hind quarters and complications of a rectal hernia. So all we had left were Em and Totie.

Shortly thereafter I told my husband that I wanted another poodle. He was a bit reluctant especially when I said I wanted 2 poodles. My rationale was that one puppy would drive my two seniors crazy and the puppy would need someone to play with, therefore I needed to get 2 poodles. J He researched and we found a wonderful breeder in Burgaw.

We went to see Diana one evening after work. I told her I wanted a black mini female. So she showed me this tiny black girl with white on her chest and white toes (Charlee) who was 2 weeks old at the time. While I was admiring Charlee my husband came around the corner holding this ball of brown fluff who was a girl and who was 8 weeks old. So we went home with Patches that night. Patch was very interested in Em and Totie. Em hid and Totie just treated her with wise disdain. I would go to Burgaw every weekend to spend time with Charlee until she could go home. One weekend I brought home Sandie, a toy apricot boy. I took Totie with me one weekend but he was not crazy about the other dogs around. He just wanted to go home. About a month after we brought Patches home Em had a stroke. I thought it was a seizure but the vet at the emergency clinic said it was a stroke. So I was up with her most of the night as was Tote. He never left her side and would look at me for reassurance. She was better the next day. Several days later on a weekend Charlee was ready to come home. So I picked her up. That Saturday night Em had another stroke but did not survive that one.

So now we had Tote, Patches, Charlee and Sandie. I kept the puppies in an X-pen in my sunroom as I did not want them to bother Totie. I really expected Totie to grieve to death as he and Em had always been together and were very close. Totie kept wanting to go into the sunroom. He would sniff the puppies and of course they were wild to get out of the pen. So on the weekend I let the puppies free. Of course they immediately sought out Totie!! He brightened right up and laid down with them. If one of them was a bit more rambunctious Totie would growl quietly to put that young whippersnapper in its place!! For the next three years Totie became the self appointed great uncle. He always checked to make sure everyone was accounted for and would go out when they did. I really think the puppies gave him those three more years. Somewhere along in there I brought home Casper so we had 4 poodle kids and Tote.

The last year that Totie was with us his health began to fail. Mostly the arthritis became a lot worse. He was having trouble walking so we assisted him. He was still always by my side giving me the quiet wisdom and love that I had grown accustomed to. I was determined that when Totie needed to leave us that he would leave us from his home. The last night he was very restless and could not seem to get comfortable. He was fretting so I took him out to the rec room and we sat on the couch and talked. We talked about how much we meant to each other and how very much I would miss him but that if he needed to go it was OK. I told him that I was quite sure that I did not know at that time just how much I loved him. And I was right. He settled down and went to sleep and crossed the Bridge. I wrapped him up that morning and had the other kids say good-bye. They all came over and sniffed and kissed him. Casper was really upset as he adored Totie and was Toties shadow just like he was mine. Casper took over Toties spot at my feet and would look for Toties throw that I had kept him on.

Totie is buried next to Dusty and Em now. He was two months shy of being 18. He has been gone for almost two years and I still cry, just like I am now. I hope and pray that Totie really knew how important he was to me and how much I loved him.

I do try to keep a picture in my mind of Totie lumbering along in the meadow playing with Dusty, Scamp and Em in the sunshine with the soft breeze ruffling his fur. I know he is well and is watching over me but at times that does not seem like enough. My little black rhino Totie.

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Kacee

(Picture on Winners Page)

I wish to nominate Kacee,

AKC HCA ARBA CH U-ACH Jimkas Elskerinde Kacee AKC HCA CDX, AKC NA NAJ CGC TD Inc, First HCA Versatility Award 07-02-9010-21-2002

for the BOO TEMPLE SPIRIT AWARD.

Kacee was the one in a million dog we all dream of. She could do it all. I made many mistakes in teaching with her, but she figured out how I really wanted her to do it and went on to do it.

She was the first Havanese to earn her AKC CD and CDX ,

First Bred- By AKC CH and oldest at age 8 She did earn one leg in Utility.

First and only Havanese UKC Agility CH until 2006,

She earned her AKC Novice Agility Jumpers title January 1, 2002

Kacee’s second passion in life, after her devoted love for her family, was her love for Therapy visits. We had our first experience in Therapy work in 1992. We went to Hill Haven , now Cypress Pointe on 16th Street. On this visit I was holding her so a resident could pet her. I told the resident that Kacee had soft hair, and a few minutes later, the resident said “soft” several times as she petted her. As we turned to leave, I saw a Nurse crying. I guess I looked confused, because the Nurse simply said, the lady had been there for several months and this was the first time she had heard her speak. Well, we were hooked! Kacee and I did Therapy visits for many years. She checked what I was wearing every day and she knew when I put on my khaki slacks and blue Club shirt, that we were going on a visit!

Kacee was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure in March 2002. Due to her lack of energy and discomfort in being held, we started using a walker for her visits. She would sit and her folks simply went to her. Her last visit was 5 days prior to her passing.

Submitted by Kacee’s Mom, Kay Rodgers

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Boo Temple Spirit Memorial 2007 Nominees

Below please find, for your perusal, the nominations of four very special pupsters for the 2007 Boo Temple Spirit Award. All are worthy as is evidenced by the heartfelt and loving tributes to them!

The vote will be taken at the September meeting (and since Logan is one of the nominees, I will ask a Board Member to be in charge of counting the votes please).

The Nominees are: Taffy Doxey (Corgi), Irish Gagne (Shar Pei), Annie Yankay (Dobe) and Logan Temple (Golden).

Ch. Finecreek Saltwater Taffy

(Picture coming soon)

Taffy is a Cardigan Welsh Corgi who came into my life when she was 6 yrs. old. She was retired from the breed ring as a finished champion. She wanted to find a new home and start a new job in life. I was looking for a companion for my other Corgi, Stanley. She immediately fit right in with my family.

She seemed to be such a quick learner that I started training her in obedience. Before long we started competing and she earned her CD title, her canine good citizen title and 1 leg of her open obedience title. All was going well and then we discovered the wonderful world of agility. Taffy showed her natural athletic ability by winning the very first agility trial that we entered. We were having so much fun that we kept on competing in agility.

Taffy’s breeder from Virginia informed me that Taffy’s dog mother was named Janet which I thought was pretty unique. First off, who names a dog Janet, and secondly, what are the odds of having a dog mom and a human mom with the same name?

Just as things were going so well for team Taffy and Janet a lump was discovered on the left side of Taffy’s rib cage. After a trip to Raleigh Vet School Taffy was diagnosed with cartilage cancer and surgery was strongly recommended. In Jan. 2007 the good doctors at the vet school removed 4 of Taffy’s ribs. This was major surgery and she stayed in intensive care for several days before being moved to a regular ward for recovery.

She made quite an impression on her surgeon as well as her caregivers for her attitude and brave spirit. She was extremely cooperative they said. As if she knew what was needed to be done for her to get well and be able to play again. After a long wait for the results from the lab the surgeon concluded that he had gotten all the cancer, but suggested 4 months of chemotherapy to catch any stray cancer cells. No problem for Miss Taffy. She underwent the 4 months of chemo with the same unflagging spirit she had displayed during her surgical recovery. As if to say this being ill takes up too much time that could be better spent on having fun.

We gradually built up Taffys endurance and muscle tone and general health with exercise, holistic supplements, and lots of love. Our first competition since the surgery was in June. The doctor gave his ok and we were off to the races. We entered an agility trial in Sanford, N.C. We were ready both physically and mentally. We were so very glad to leave the cancer experience behind us and get on with our normal life. A life that would be full of appreciation for each other, our friends, our vitality, and life. Never would we take it for granted again.

Anyway, to say we enjoyed being back in the agility ring again would be an understatement. As we waited in the line of dogs for our turn to run, Taffy was so ready to get in the ring and run she barked and pranced. A man beside us commented that it was as if she was saying Put me in, coach. Put me in. Finally it was our turn and off we went. She flew through the course, nailed every obstacle and finished with a perfect score, a first place ribbon, and a title in open jumps with weaves. Ta Da!!

As the summer has progressed Taffy has won 5 first place blue ribbons in agility and is now in the excellent level. Some of her success is due to good nutrition, supplements, and physical conditioning; but mostly I attribute it to her indomitable spirit.

To sum it all up; competing in dog show’s fun; winning ribbons rewarding; watching your little dog play and be happy: priceless!

So that’s the story of Taffy, aka The Taffinator, aka Rootin Tootin Taffy or, The Little Dog That Could, And Did. I love you, Taffy Dog.

Submitted by Taffy’s Mom, Janet Doxey

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I would like to nominate Black Irish for the Boo Temple Award.

(Picture coming soon)

Irish was my first Chinese Shar Pei. Dennis and I went to Bat Cave, NC to look for a Shar Pei. When Irish was let out on the porch to see us, he immediately ran to Dennis and jumped in his arms. He was 8 months old. He was bought as a Show Dog. We showed him. He only like a few point to become a champion. He kept getting reserve. Although he never made it to Champion (his teeth were off), he was our Champion.

He became a Junior Handler Dog. Our Grandson did a excellent job at showing him and won many times. Irish loved to show and he was good at it. The Junior Judges did not like to do the Shar Pei. Irish paved the road for other Pei’s. Judges began to recognize the breed. I really believe there were afraid of them. This is where Irish started becoming the ambassador of Shar Peis. He helped pave the road for the breed.

I started him in obedience. He was one of the very few Shar Pei that did Obedience. Everyone was so thrilled to see a Shar Pei in the ring. In our circuit, you did not see Shar Pei doing this. He got his third leg and his OB title at the Wilmington Show. What a thrill that was! Irish knew he had done good.

It was hard on a Black Pei to be in the sun without shutting down. If he was in the ring and got hot he would leave the ring and find shade. He knew it was too hot to work. I would keep ice for him to cool down.

Irish and I got the Agility bug. A Shar Pei is not known for Agility, as they are on the hardheaded side, but we worked hard at it and entered shows. What a thrill that was! He was known as the ambassador of Shar Pei in the ring. I remember one show he did his crazy Shar Pei run; just lost it and ran as hard as he could and had a ball. He left the ring and ran down a hill to the woods. I stood on the hill and called him, not knowing where he would go . He stopped by the woods and looked at me, and turned and ran straight to me. That was probably one of my biggest thrills. In front of the crowd, he came back and was happy, so was I! When he would complete his run, the crowds would clap and cheer Irish. He loved that! He was honored at the National Shar Pei Show for getting his Agility title and Obedience title.

We stopped doing Agility because the jump were too high for his body. I realized I needed have him re-measured for his height. He was jumping one jump-setting too high. He had 2 inches of wrinkles that needed to be deducted from his whither height. By then I had my accident and could not run with him any more. I know he missed it. I did. I mostly missed being in the ring with Irish.

He would still run with me and the golf cart. If he knew we were going to a show he would get ready to go. We took him a lot, even though he wasn’t showing. He loved to travel. When we were in the Motor Home, his favorite place to ride was up in the big window on the dash board looking down the Highway.

He loved to visit the nursing homes, he was a pro at that. Giving Demos to Children was his thing too. He loved people and gave a good name to Shar Peis. Irish took us to many places and taught us many things, without him we probably would not be a member of Azalea Dog Training Club. He is what brought us to ADTC, to help us learn to show. And look at what it has done for us; it gave us alot of friends and taught us so much about our furry friends. Irish had many dog friends who all started out together and now are romping away at Rainbow Bridge. Truly he was a Great Ambassador for his Breed.

Submitted by Irish’s Mom, Pat Gagne

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“Annie”

I would like to nominate my dog Annie, who several years ago contracted Pancreatitis and we came very close to losing her. She was in the vet’s on IV’s for approx 10 days, and lost about 20-25 lbs. But once, she recovered from that her health problems did not stop there. She was then diagnosed with inflammatory bowel syndrome, which we believed caused the pancreatitis and for several months we combated the problem with metronizasole, pepcid or tagament (don’t remember which) as there were several foods that does not agree with her system.

Finally, after trial and error we found out the foods that doesn’t agree with her and she has been doing great.

Throughout all her health problems, we continued to show her in the breed ring and she has also maintained her very sweet and loving disposition. I have even worked her in agility and anybody that doesn’t know her real well, would never have guessed that she had been so ill.

She loves to play ball and has such a zest for life. She has even bounced back from losing all her puppies, which may have been caused by her earlier health problems.

Thank you.

Submitted by Annie’s Mom, Sharon Yankay

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Temple’s Golden Logan’s Run, ‘Logan’ CD, RE, CGC, TD Inc.

 

I would like to nominate a very special dog for this award; he goes by many names; Logan, Lo-man, Logywogy, Boogidy Boy, Sugar Face and my pet name for him K&W (Kreeper and Wobbler).

Logan is the epitome of a loving and faithful companion to his family. He is loyal and true and lives to please his person, Marny!

Logan has had more than his share of health issues; starting with a diagnosis of bowed femurs at 18 months of age and the prognosis of being completely crippled by the time he was 5 years, to Vestibular Syndrome when he was 10 yrs, to the bigger challenge of Megaesphagus in May of last year to a dislocated hip in September of last year.

Any of these problems could have caused Logan to be at Rainbow Bridge, but with his gentle and yet determined manner and the love of his family, Logan kept on proving the vets wrong.

He got his CD at age 3 and then retired from the Ring to do therapy work. At age 10, he came out of retirement and learned Rally Obedience and earned his Rally Excellent Title in 9 trials! This sweet boy is officially Temple’s Golden Logan’s Run, ‘Logan’ CD, RE, CGC, TD Inc., and I have to say every one of Logans titles is a tribute to Los great spirit and the love and devotion he and his Momma share.

I have often heard Marny say that Logan is the wind beneath our wings as he was included in the family who loved and cared for Boo during his battle with cancer and he continues to help heal his family since Boo went to Rainbow Bridge.

I believe Lo does have the Boo Spirit and deserves this award!

Respectfully Submitted, (Logan’s Auntie)

Stephanie Temple