The Dogplay Page
Young Belle in Flight Mode over an agility jump
There have always been dogs in my life. When I lived in an area without a Humane Society, even the UPS driver used to drop dogs off for rehab and placement, and naturally we had our own pack as well. Those days were heavily populated with hounds, including Camo (an astonishingly sweet and dorky Leopard Cur), a number of Redbones, and of course Strider the Wonder Hound.
Of late I've been working with Cardigan Welsh Corgis, an extremely personable breed that fits big dog brains and behavior into sturdy little packages. Besides, how can anyone resist those ears? And I've finally got another hound in the family, a Beagle Boy. It was rather like coming home again!
 Here's the Gang!
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Kacey's registered name is Xtacee Carbon Unit CGC, and her current job is to make sure Connery knows his place. Kacey qualified for her Canine Good Citizenship (CGC) certificate in June '03, and is an excellent obedience dog--well, until you get into the show ring, where she is an Evil Creative Genius, pleased to make onlookers laugh and admire her cleverness. At night when everyone's asleep, she practices various Toxically Cute expressions. Don't let her fool you...it's all a plot to get her own way.
(Kacey has recently passed away at 13 years, but I haven't come to terms with the loss, and so her entry here remains.) |
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This is Cheysuli Jean-Luc Picardigan, OJP NAP OJC NAC CGC. Jean-Luc was born in '98 and is a special child in ongoing recovery from an early brain injury. Although he still requires special handling, his quality of life has improved beyond expectation--he even qualified for a CGC Certificate! Agility training has changed his life, imbuing him with confidence and an occasional sense of glee. He started agility trials in spring '02 with the modest goal of simply finishing a course, and has since finished both AKC Novice titles and (in winter '05) both his NADAC and AKC Open Jumpers; he is now trialing lightly with a novice friend. Go, Jean-Luc! |
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Cheysuli's Silver Belle, CD RE PAX MXP4 MJP3 OFP EAC EJC CGC (Belle),
likes to own things. Here she is owning her bed and her fuchsia dinosaur. Belle
was born on Christmas Eve '99, and she loves agility! She often matches
the times of much larger dogs, giving her a collection of High Score in Class
ribbons.
In June '05, after a six-month layoff due to a non-agility injury, she came back
to limited running to earn her final leg on her AKC Excellent Jumpers with a
High Score in Class. In September '08, after working around several long lay-offs
for her injury flares, she earned her PAX, and will now be in semi-retirement--in
'09 she swept through her first two FAST titles in the few opportunities here,
though she may not be still running come spring when the next classes are offered.
Still, there's no way I can retire her completely just yet--she simply wails
when she's not allowed to run agility! Belle has also finished her AKC
Rally Excellent and Novice
Obedience titles--all
placing scores--but I never take her future for granted, and each agility trial
we attend is a blessing for both of us. Along with Kacey and Jean-Luc, Belle
qualified for her CGC Certificate in June '03. |
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Meet Ribbon, shown here at 8 weeks (December '01). Her full name is Ch. Cheysuli's Liquid Silver and she's a gorgeous little girl with true Diva attitude! I have half-ownership of Ribbon as a thank-you for helping with the very difficult whelping, which with this girl means major bragging rights. She's recently earned her championship and already has a number of Best of Breed wins under her collar--not to mention her spring '04 coup of winning the Megan Competition (a nationwide Cardigan event). You can read more about her at www.cheysuli.com.
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In spring of '04, CH MACH Cedar Ridge DoubleOSeven CD RE EAC EJC
CGC joined
the gang. Connery is the quintissential Beagle, adorable and possessed by moments
of astonishing singlemindedness. He has a LiveJournal where
he chronicles his puzzlements about the human world.
Connery went Best of Winners and Best Puppy at the '04 Southern California Beagle Specialty to earn his first (5 pt) major and finished out his breed championship in October '06 with three more major wins.
In early May '05, he earned his CGC Certificate. In June '05, he went
to his first AKC agility trial; in Oct '05 he hit his first NADAC trial.
In under a year he titled into excellent classes, including the November '05
sweep of Beagle Nationals with Two-Day High Score in Trial. After a series
of ambush attacks by giant-breed dogs destroyed his confidence and health,
he took eighteen months to hit his stride again, and six months after that,
finished a pipe-dream MACH (Master Agility Championship, ie BIG W00T!!).
He had also earned his Rally
Excellent title,
and in Fall '07 earned his Novice Obedience title with two 1sts and
a 2nd place, then brought in an insurance leg with another 1st.
During 2007, Connery ranked in the top ten Beagles nationally in obedience, rally, and agility.
Here's a drawing of Connery done by friend Heather Dryer
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Tuesday December 01 2009
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