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| Treble at the Pride festival |
discussion about things we writers do other than read and write. I mentioned that one of my hobbies showing dogs. Someone found this an unexpected hobby and asked how I got into that.
Well, that is not an explanation that fits into a tweet.
I never grew up with dogs. We always had cats growing up. Patches. Smokey. Mandarin. This is what I was used to. When I moved out on my own, I didn't have a cat, but my neighbour's cat often crawled into my dingy little basement suite to cuddle with me.
It wasn't until I started working in the pet industry that I even began to spend any time around dogs at all. I worked as a cashier for a big chain pet store, then they offered me the position as a dog trainer so I learned how to do that. Now, at this time my best friend had learned to be a dog groomer. And she is a damned awesome one. This was the beginning of my journey into dogs.
Fast forward a few years. My bestie had introduced me to a local poodle breeder that she had befriended and groomed for. We became friends. One of her dogs fell in love with me. This dog would scream until I came to see her any time I visited. She was a retired show dog and the breeder was looking to get one litter out of her but after that, she wanted to find a forever retirement home for this dog.
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| Naven on first night with me |
She came to live with me as a gift from the breeder. We had so much fun together. We walked all over the city together, we travelled a lot. She was awesome.
We learned together - her to be just someone's pet and me, I learned how to groom a poodle and to own a dog.
Oh, the stories I could tell! However, this isn't about that. At the same time I had her, my best friend got her first poodle to show and the beginning of her kennel.
I'm sure you can guess where this is going, but it's not a direct path. Not exactly.
On September 13, 2014, my best friend whelped her very first litter. In the end, she had two girls that she couldn't decide which to keep for her breeding program. Each girl had some incredible qualities. It wasn't easy.
On December 13, 2014, I drove the 6 hrs to go and visit her. I hadn't met the puppies yet and she was busy at acting rehearsal when I arrived so she asked if I could 'swing by and let the puppies out to pee'. Of course, I did. She also told me the girl with the purple collar might not come near me because she wasn't a fan of strangers.
And purple collared girl saw me and leapt into my arms to kiss my face. The next day, December 14, 2014, my best friend asked if I wanted another dog.
Well, I lived in a tiny apartment in the city and my dog was currently grandfathered in. I said sure, but she also wanted the dog to be shown and finished. So, she would show this dog, finish it and when I was better situated, she would come and live with me.
But the best plans do not always go as planned.
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| One of my last pictures of Naven |
On January 12, 2015, I came home to find that Naven was very sick. She had been happy and bouncing and playing in the snow that morning. I won't go into the details, but I spent the next couple of days awake, trying everything I could between myself and the vet to figure out what was wrong and get my dog better.
On the morning of January 14, 2015, I dropped her off for another day of IV antibiotics to help with what we all thought was a case of pneumonia. Fifteen minutes after leaving her, she passed away. There was nothing any of us could have done and had we known what was actually wrong when she fell ill on Monday afternoon there still would have been nothing we could have done.
I still get so sad when I think about those few years we had together. My best friend asked if I wanted the puppy to come and live with me early. I said yes. Technically, I already owned my dog, she had filed the paperwork with CKC (Canadian Kennel Club) to make me a co-owner of 'Treble'.
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| Treble on the truck ride home |
Guys, I'd never had a puppy before. Naven had been my first dog, but she was 5 years old when she came to live with me.
There was a deal in place, this puppy would live with me, but my local breeder friend would help groom it so that the coat would be in show condition and my best friend would get someone to show it. I was not going to have to do the show thing.
I didn't want to do the show dog thing. Nope. Wasn't happening.
Obviously, that is not the way things went. Somehow, I ended up learning to take care of a show coat on a poodle. Let me tell you, that is a LOT of work to do. Poodles have hair, and for showing them, you need a lot of hair. There is a specific way to brush a show coat. There are weekly baths and specific ways to dry them.
Of course, the one thing I did was take her to handling class because someone had to teach this puppy to act like a show dog. I was okay with. It wasn't showing and I was already doing the grooming thing anyway.
Her first show coincided with my trip across the country. Someone else showed her, as was the plan and I enjoyed my vacation.
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| Treble and me |
Besides we worked well together. I will be honest. My first few shows ended with me bawling in an x-pen with my dog because I thought I was doing her a terrible disservice by being so bad at this showing thing.
Of course, I am also stubborn as fuck. Nothing was stopping me from doing the THING. In this case, the thing was successfully showing my dog to a championship title.
Once I got a hang of it, well I found out that I loved to do this thing with my dog. I got to spend time with her. Grooming, playing, performing. Sometimes we had bad days, and some days we were almost unstoppable.
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| Our first group placing |
Not only did we get that champion title, we got by attaining a group 4th placing which is also a very big deal in the dog show world.
Well, I was feeling cocky and having fun. So, I moved her up in the classes and decided to go for a Grand Champion title.
And guys, we did that too.
Together.
I was hooked. There was no denying that. After that we went on to try things like rally-o, chase ability, barn hunting. The possibilities were endless and slightly constrained by time and money. We even became a dog therapy team certified to work with both adults and children.
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| Our first breed win |
Next year, my girl will be bred and I will be whelping that litter on my best friend's kennel name. I didn't want to be a breeder, but it happened. I am passionate about responsible and ethical breeding. I am passionate about my dogs.
Last year, I brought a rescue Australian Shepherd into my home. She may be an Aussie x border collie. No way of knowing, but she looks like an Aussie. I am hoping to bring her to a point in her recovery where she can be an obedience prospect for me.
When we breed my girl Treble next year, I will be keeping a puppy from that litter and I will be starting this journey all over again with her.
And I wouldn't have it any other way.
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| Treble and Nahni |
(and of course, through a lot of this, I still have a cat lol. She rules the house over the dogs)
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