Month: June 2010

WOW! What a walk in the woods today!

Holy CowDog!  I just gotta report on my walk in the woods today!  Mom decided to take me on a new woods trail – well, not new but been over a year since I have been on it.  I was sooo excited right from the start…which made Mom leave me on my flexi leash, “just to be sure” I would be a good girl and not run off!  Me?  Run off?  Nawwwww…never! 😉

Just a little bit into our walk and what do I see but a really BIG bird with some babies!!!  It was a Turkey!  Turkey’s are new to this area just the past year or so and that was my first encounter!  Holy CowDog, I wanted to chase that big ole’ bird…but darnit, I was tied…

Shortly after that, Mom let me loose – she was tired to trying to keep up with my Tripawd Trot!  There are good things that have come about being a Tripawd and one of them is I get to be loose a whole lot more on our walks now!  Yeehaw!!!!

So we’re bee-bopping along having a great walk, I stop and gnaw on some fresh new grass, take in the smells…do a little hillwork and then we take a little break before turning around to go back.  The crappy part of being a Tripawd, or at least for me, is my walks aren’t very long anymore….but that’s OK,  I guess I’m OK with it…especially on today’s walk!

So, we start heading back from the same direction we had begun…my Mom is getting a little paranoid cause she can’t see around the turn and she’s lookin’ at me like she thinks I’m lookin’ at something.  She moves to my side of the trail to see if she could see what I was lookin’ at…and just as she did, I BOLTED like lightning, I tell ya!  Yup!  I can FLY when I wanna!!!!  My Mom just caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a deer!!!  Yes, Mom, it was a deer!  I was in hot pursuit!!!!!!!!!!  Whoopie!  Yeehaw!  Been a long darn time since I’d chased a deer!  Shhhhhh!  Don’t tell the game wardens as they’d be after me!!!  But maybe they’d feel bad with me bein’ a Tripawd?

Oh don’t worry you Game Wardens, I didn’t catch that ole’ deer…in fact, as fast as I chased him, I came back to Mom not 5 seconds later….with the BIGGEST, HAPPIEST smile on my face!  Wahooooo!!!!  FUN!

Mom said there’s another good thing to being a Tripawd….I don’t  seem to venture too far off the beaten path now..well, geez, Mom…the woods was REALLY thick where that deer went…I lost sight of him…you know after I loose sight of a moving animal, I give up!  What’s the sense?  I’m not gonna chase an imaginary deer like my stupid little sister would! 😉

And the adventurous walk doesn’t end there!  So, by this time, you can imagine my Mom put me back on my flexi leash…dag nabbit…oh well, walk was almost done by then.  She makes me take a break for a bit, so I layed down and she told me what a foolish, foolish dog I was.  There was a day way back when, she would of gotten mad at me for doing that but for some reason now, it just makes her smile when I’m bad! 😉

We had just gotten done our break and started walking and NOW here comes a four wheeler!  Imagine that!  On a four wheeler trail!  haha!  But seriously, Mom never sees ANYTHING on her walks in the woods with little sister, Haley…rarely ever…and my walk tonight was VERY adventurous…I think it was planned all for me!   So we stepped aside for the four wheeler, they stopped to chat – I have no problem chatting…well, it’s called barking ’cause you are an intruder on my trail barking – but Mom stuffs treats in my face and I stop 🙂  Those people said they hadn’t seen a thing on their ride…my Mom told them all we’d seen.

When I got home I just boasting to little sister, Haley, what I’d done and seen!  Wahoo!  Yup, THIS Big Sister had a terrific walk tonight!  But phew, I was due for a break!  Here’s me taking a break after my eventful walk!

So, I’m looking a little tired and hot!
Getting rested for more great woods walks!
Well, that’s all from this neck of the woods!
Maggie

A Tribute to Tripawd Maggie done by my agility friends!

The following is a letter I sent out to my agility list. Another totally, supportive dog family of mine!!! 🙂

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To Northeast Agility Enthusiasts Competitors – Greenfield, MA Trial

I just wanted to let everyone know by the use of the NADAC list to hopefully contact everyone how much I appreciated the “welcome back” this weekend after a 10 month hiatus from agility.

During the morning briefing on Saturday, Erin told us there would be a new award given out in honor of Chester and Yola – Erin Wadja and Lynn Smitley’s now deceased first agility dogs. As Erin was speaking of this new award, I started thinking about my first agility dog, Maggie, who is still with me today but as of yesterday, has been a Tripawd due to soft tissue sarcoma on her left rear leg, for eight months now. It was a rather tough road for Maggie and I during her recovery to say the least but she is well now albiet lacking a lot of stamina and a leg. She is a fighter through and through, not wanting to leave this world with me yet!

Then as soon as the thought of my own first agility dog popped in my mind, Erin stated that she wanted to welcome me back from my long hiatus. I was extremely touched and then I was even MORE touched as many competitors then took off one shirt to then show another with a drawing of Maggie on their shirts from www.tripawds.com that I belong to!!!! Unbelieveable….I looked around behind me and even more people with my beloved Maggie on their chest – as a Tripawd!

As Saturday continued, I was in tears many times watching people run their own dogs with Maggie hugely displayed on their t-shirts. Maggie wasn’t there with me physically but she was everywhere I turned that day! I especially loved seeing her run courses again 🙂

I wanted to just publicly thank everyone that bought a t-shirt in honor of my dog, Maggie. What a hugely touching gesture you all did for me and what you did in support of Tripawds.com as well for purchasing the t-shirts from them. I found Tripawds.com two months after Maggie was amputated and I had dearly wished I had found them before and during her amputation. I felt scared to death of what I was about to do my first dog, my first agility dog, amputate her leg. Would it be the right decision and what/how would I treat her cancer and all the anxieties that seem to come with the recovery of Tripawds. I am grateful for the Tripawd family and I am also sincerely grateful for my extended agility family.

Thank you all…you left me speechless and in total awe! I want to also thank Claudia MacGuire for giving a donation to Tripawds.com in honor of Maggie for their current fundraising event to help “Keep the Lights on in the DogHouse”. An amazing couple, Rene and Jim run Tripawds, started it as they owned a 2 year osteosarcoma survivor Tripawd, Jerry, the founder of Tripawds.com. If you ever get a chance, come on over to the forums and the website and peek around. I hope none of you ever have to deal with cancer and amputation in your dogs but if you do, may your first source for information(after your vet of course) be Tripawds.com! And I have NO connection with the site other than grateful of their support and educational resources, in my journey with Maggie as a Tripawd.

Maggie does the “hoop weaves”!

Last night, in an attempt to include Maggie with agility practice that Haley and I were doing…I pulled out some hoops to put in a straight line to weave!  These are a ligitimate agility obstacle in NADAC’s class called “Hoopers” and also in the new Wag It Games that we are training for.  Maggie hasn’t weaved a set of weaves(be it hoops or regulation weave poles) in well over a year.  And do you know what, YOU CAN’T KEEP A GOOD AGILITY DOWN!  Memory of an elephant!

She also did a couple straight tunnels ~ she was some happy to be included into agility practice 🙂  After all, she thinks she is way smarter than that little bratty sister of hers & had to show her how it’s done!

In this first video, you’ll have to excuse the end where my husband is recording his shirt!  He didn’t know how to shut my camera off.

What FUN Maggie and I are having this summer….quite a contrast to last summer where it took FOREVER to figure out what was wrong with the poor girl.  She sure deserves some FUN!!!!  🙂

Tracy

Rally-Obedience Practice!

I had the absolute BEST time last night with Maggie in Rally practice – I just had to share!  Reminded me sooo much of when we did agility together 🙂

I set up a Level 1 course – Maggie hasn’t done a course since our trial the first part of May.  The first run, I did her first before her little sister, Haley.   Maggie been lazing around all day – she doesn’t like the heat and I can see it works on her more now being a Tripawd.  I know how it drains me…so I can understand why it would drain her more being on three legs vs. four.  

She did everything I asked but my ‘agility thinking cap’ came on and our 2nd run was awesome!  It’s funny how even in Rally I see the differences in how I run each dog….I’m more “up” myself for Maggie vs. more “calm” for Haley…same as it is/was in agility.

Maggie’s 2nd run was soooooooooo much fun!  She loves it so much when I really interact with her more and am not some sort of robot that thinks she should be doing all the work 😉  Then after, we tugged and played in the grass just the two of us with no tormenting sister(she was in the kennel being a good girl 🙂

We had a blast…yet again, made me choke up and glad she’s still here to enjoy playing together!

Enjoying a walk in the woods - no I'm not eating that stick!

Signed,

A very happy and proud Mother, Tracy,  to Miss Maggie Moo ~ aka the AgileCowDog 🙂

The latest happenings..

Hey all my Tripawd friends!

Not much happening here in Northern Maine but thought I’d share some photo’s and a video of me(and my little annoying sister!)

Did you know that I am part Beaver?   I like to take chunks of wood and I chew on them and spit it out as I go…aren’t I just a talented dog ~ maybe I do have a  little Beaver in me! See that little pile off to the side of me?  JUST like a Beaver…

Here’s me tugging a toy with Mom.  Do you think what I really want to tug on is my bratty big mouth sister?? 😉

Last night, me and Mom went on another walk in the woods!  Yahooo!!!  I hope she plans on taking me more cause I’m impressing the heck out of her!  In Mom’s words:

I took Mags for another very short walk(10-15 minutes) on the woods trails..she got her hill work in.  She is so wonderful to watch in the woods  on rough terrain.  Hippity, hop..doing so great & being so agile.  I got to the wooden bridge..it is made of spruce logs laid down for a bridge…there are gaps between the logs and Maggie being her agile self with FOUR legs could always walk across it and never get her foot caught nor did I ever worry she would.  But when I got to it, I told Mags…we can’t go across Mags…not anymore…I’m afraid you’ll get a paw stuck with your Tripawd gait.  So we turned around…

She’s such a great dog on a flexi-leash…or skijore line when she could skijore…listens to ALL my commands – “Whoa”, “easy:, “let’s go”, “this way”…..all with ease and never an argument.

She wanted to go longer but I didn’t dare with it being rough terrain/hilly-ish.  We’ll shoot for longer, later…  She is so beautiful to watch.    I didn’t get a video of course…forgot to bring it.

Signed, her very proud Mother, Tracy…

Here’s a picture of me walking on ‘safer’ terrain off leash..

Well, that’s all from this neck of the woods….Keep on truckin’ ‘ Tripawder’s!!

Maggie