7/6/06, Amy Steltz writes:
I am so unspeakably sad to tell you that we had to euthanize our beloved Jake last week. I haven't been able to muster the wherewithal to write and let people know, and putting it off hasn't made it any easier.
Jakey's decline was very sudden and swift, which was both a blessing and a curse- we are left wishing he were still here, full of vitality, as he was just a short time ago.
Mom is very much broken-hearted; he was most certainly her once-in-a-lifetime dog. She was all things to him, and he to her, and I am happy to have had a front row seat for their remarkable partnership.
The people and Beardies in our household are a bit like ships lost at sea without our blue beacon anchoring us. He's been the center of our universe for more than a decade now, it's unfathomable to consider the days ahead without him. I can never sum him up, or properly eulogize him- he was too broad a concept, too elaborate, too fine and too marvelous. But, alongside the searing hole in my heart is the gratitude and elation I feel for having been lucky enough to know him, be one of his loved ones.
Thank you all so much for the kind thoughts and prayers that you sent our way when we first learned the awful news, and throughout his treatment. We are still coming to terms with the expansive grief we feel- there is not a single facet of our lives into which he did not extend.
All our love,
Amy and all here
9/26/97 Novice A 20" Leg 1 95 2nd/14 53.35'/75' 1/16/98 Novice A 20" Leg 2 93 2/28/98 Novice A 20" Leg 3 100 1st/15 NA 5/08/99 Open 20" Leg 1 95 3rd/14 69.09'/71' 5/22/99 Open 20" Leg 2 93 3rd/6 75.72'/74' 6/26/99 Open 20" Leg 3 85 69.22'/64' OA 6/27/99 Open 20" Leg 4 100 2nd/13 67.37'/69' 9/04/99 Open 20" Leg 5 90 1st/5 61.63'/75' 4/08/00 Excellent A 20" Leg 1 100 1st/9 58.31'/65' 4/09/00 Excellent A 20" Leg 2 100 3rd/11 56.96'/62' 6/30/00 Excellent A 20" Leg 3 100 2nd/7 64.81'/65' AX 7/01/00 Excellent B 20" Leg 1 100 59.22'/66' 2/18/01 Excellent B 20" Leg 2 100 2nd/11 54.79'/61' 5/20/01 Excellent B 20" Leg 3 100 2nd/9 64.01'/68' 5/25/02 Excellent B 20" Leg 4 100 66.05'/68' 10/20/02 Excellent B 20" Leg 5 100 7th/19 61.45'/68' 2Q 1/12/03 Excellent B 20" Leg 6 100 62.97'/66'
8/16/98 Novice B 20" Leg 1 99 2nd/11 42.00'/41' 10/3/98 Novice B 20" Leg 2 89 1st/5 47.58'/41' 1/22/99 Novice B 20" Leg 3 100 2nd/17 37.27'/44' NAJ 3/06/99 Novice B 20" Leg 4 100 3rd/11 34.13'/38' 5/23/99 Open 20" Leg 1 96 1st/3 43.83'/41' 5/30/99 Open 20" Leg 2 92 2nd/10 42.76'/38' 5/31/99 Open 20" Leg 3 88 2nd/6 44.64'/38' OAJ 10/3/99 Excellent A 20" Leg 1 88 1st/4 46.73'/42' 6/30/00 Excellent A 20" Leg 2 97 2nd/7 47.31'/46' 7/02/00 Excellent A 20" Leg 3 100 4th/9 46.25'/46' AXJ 8/06/00 Excellent B 20" Leg 1 100 3rd/7 44.29'/47' 8/20/00 Excellent B 20" Leg 2 100 42.94'/44' 10/22/00 Excellent B 20" Leg 3 100 38.96'/39' 2/04/01 Excellent B 20" Leg 4 100 34.14'/36' 3/31/01 Excellent B 20" Leg 5 100 41.79'/42' 6/17/01 Excellent B 20" Leg 6 100 4th/14 39.56'/39' 7/22/01 Excellent B 20" Leg 7 100 1st/4 37.20'/38' 7/28/01 Excellent B 20" Leg 8 100 3rd/11 32.48'/37' 8/04/01 Excellent B 20" Leg 9 100 1st/8 40.77'/43' 10/21/01 Excellent B 20" Leg 10 100 41.50'/43' MXJ 12/30/01 Excellent B 20" Leg 11 100 5th/18 38.91'/43' 12/31/01 Excellent B 20" Leg 12 100 6th/16 42.17'/43' 5/26/02 Excellent B 20" Leg 13 100 39.01'/39' 6/08/02 Excellent B 20" Leg 14 100 39.66'/43' 10/20/02 Excellent B 20" Leg 15 100 4th/23 43.56'/47' 2Q 12/28/02 Excellent B 20" Leg 16 100 6th/20 38.17'/44' 4/18/03 Excellent B 20" Leg 17 100 4th/8 40.53'/42' 5/18/03 Excellent B 20" Leg 18 100 5th/10 38.53'/39'
7/01/00 CPs- 6 8/06/00 CPs- 2 8/20/00 CPs- 1 2/04/01 CPs- 1 2/18/01 CPs- 9 5/20/01 CPs- 4 7/28/01 CPs- 4 8/03/01 CPs- 4 10/21/01 CPs- 1 12/30/01 CPs- 4 5/25/02 CPs- 1 6/08/02 CPs- 3 10/20/02 CPs- 9 2Q 12/28/02 CPs- 5 4/18/03 CPs- 1 Total CPs-55 2Qs- 1
7/26/03 Novice P 16" Leg 1 95 4th/6 72.41'/85' 7/27/03 Novice P 16" Leg 2 95 2nd/3 57.83'/78' 8/16/03 Novice P 16" Leg 3 90 2nd/3 58.07'/78' NAP 8/17/03 Novice P 16" Leg 4 100 1st/3 41.35'/73' 5/02/04 Open P 16" Leg 1 95 1st/2 54.80'/76' 5/22/04 Open P 16" Leg 2 100 1st/1 58.71'/67' 5/23/04 Open P 16" Leg 3 100 1st/2 58.11'/64' OAP 6/13/04 Open P 16" Leg 4 100 2nd/5 66.73'/78' 8/07/04 Open P 16" Leg 5 90 1st/1 63.65'/70' 8/08/04 Open P 16" Leg 6 95 1st/1 71.28'/71'
7/26/03 Novice P 16" Leg 1 100 1st/8 24.01'/40' 8/16/03 Novice P 16" Leg 2 100 1st/3 32.47'/46' 5/02/04 Novice P 16" Leg 3 100 1st/1 33.84'/40' NJP 5/22/04 Open P 16" Leg 1 95 1st/1 42.90'/43' 6/05/04 Open P 16" Leg 2 95 1st/4 45.42'/48' 7/24/04 Open P 16" Leg 3 95 1st/3 43.67'/46' OJP 7/25/04 Open P 16" Leg 4 100 1st/3 39.19'/46' 8/14/04 Open P 16" Leg 5 100 1st/2 42.69'/45' 8/21/04 Excellent A P 16" Leg 1 100 1st/1 43.61'/47 9/05/04 Excellent A P 16" Leg 2 100 1st/1 41.94'/48' 7/30/05 Excellent A P 16" Leg 3 100 1st/2 41.13'/47' AJP
7/03/99 Novice Regular 24" 10 3rd/23 44.05'/52.99'
7/04/99 Novice Regular 24" 5 50.34'/56.77'
7/05/99 Novice Regular 24" 10 6th/19 42.09'/45.00'
8/14/99 Novice Regular 24" 5 44.05'/44.00' NAC
8/15/99 Open Regular 24" 5 3rd/14 57.49'/55.29'
4/30/00 Open Regular 24" 10 3rd/15 51.85'/60.07'
2/10/01 Open Regular 24" 10 2nd/21 49.18'/54.94'
2/11/01 Open Regular 24" 5 53.64'/53.06' OAC
2/11/01 Open Regular 24" 10 1st/20 51.60'/52.00'
4/28/01 Open Regular 24" 5 41.97'/48.29'
5/05/01 Open Regular 24" 5 49.89'/53.75'
5/06/01 Open Regular 24" 5 49.44'/52.13'
6/23/01 Open Regular 24" 5 40.01'/44.75'
6/23/01 Open Regular 24" 10 40.16'/44.75'
6/24/01 Open Regular 24" 10 49.48'/53.00'
9/08/01 Open Regular 24" 10 45.23'/51.83'
9/15/01 Open Regular 24" 10 48.20'/53.69'
2/09/02 Open Regular 24" 10 53.08'/56.43' O-OAC
2/09/02 Open Regular 24" 10 6th/15 50.12'/56.43'
2/10/02 Open Regular 24" 10 49.65'/51.20'
2/10/02 Open Regular 24" 10 50.37'/51.28'
6/22/02 Elite Regular 20+ 5 46.22'/45.60'
2/15/03 Elite Reg Vet 20+ 10 1st/5 58.11'/59.81'
3/08/03 Elite Reg Vet 20+ 5 54.38'/51.37'
1/17/04 Elite Reg Vet 20+ 10 56.52'/56.53' EAC
2/15/04 Elite Reg Vet 20+ 10 4th/8 55.96'/61.24'
2/28/04 Elite Reg Vet 20+ 5 49.92'/46.05'
2/28/04 Elite Reg Vet 20+ 10 45.87'/46.05'
2/29/04 Elite Reg Vet 20+ 10 2nd/10 47.04'/47.99'
2/29/04 Elite Reg Vet 20+ 10 47.00'/47.99'
3/13/04 Elite Reg Vet 20+ 10 4th/8 47.36'/51.12'
4/24/04 Elite Reg Vet 20+ 10 4th/7 50.05'/50.54'
4/25/04 Elite Reg Vet 20+ 5 3rd/8 60.54'/58.27'
4/25/04 Elite Reg Vet 20+ 5 4th/8 62.28'/61.54'
6/19/04 Elite Reg Vet 20+ 10 55.59'/57.20'
7/11/04 Elite Reg Vet 20+ 10 49.88'/50.45'
9/11/04 Elite Reg Vet 20+ 10 51.14'/52.92'
9/12/04 Elite Reg Vet 20+ 10 46.34'/47.81'
10/23/04 Elite Reg Vet 20+ 10 4th/9 49.80'/49.87'
1/15/05 Elite Reg Vet 20+ 10 4th/12 44.93'/49.35'
1/16/05 Elite Reg Vet 20+ 10 4th/13 44.12'/48.69'
1/16/05 Elite Reg Vet 20+ 5 49.82'/48.69'
2/05/05 Elite Reg Vet 20+ 10 52.41'/53.20'
2/05/05 Elite Reg Vet 20+ 10 4th/9 48.94'/53.20' O-EAC
2/06/05 Elite Reg Vet 20+ 5 50.12'/45.90'
2/06/05 Elite Reg Vet 20+ 5 3rd/9 48.09'/45.90'
2/13/05 Elite Reg Vet 20+ 10 45.33'/48.40'
3/12/05 Elite Reg Vet 20+ 10 49.44'/52.21' 230 pts for NATCH-1
3/12/05 Elite Reg Vet 20+ 5 2nd/5 50.69'/49.57'
3/13/05 Elite Reg Vet 20+ 5 3rd/7 53.90'/51.63'
4/23/05 Elite Reg Vet 20+ 5 53.75'/52.21'
4/24/05 Elite Reg Vet 20+ 10 2nd/8 46.26'/47.57'
6/05/05 Elite Reg Vet 20+ 10 46.91'/49.49'
265/230 Elite Regular Points for NATCH-1
7/3/99 Novice Jumpers 24"-Leg 1 22.41'/31.50'
7/4/99 Novice Jumpers 24"-Leg 2 5th/38 23.00'/31.49' NJC
7/05/99 Novice Jumpers 24"-Leg 3 6th/33 26.35'/36.28'
1/15/06 Novice Jumpers 12"-Leg 4-S 1st/2 19.09'/28.74'
2/11/06 Novice Jumpers 16"-Leg 5-S
2/12/06 Novice Jumpers 16"-Leg 6-S O-NJC
8/15/99 Open Jumpers 24"-Leg 1 2nd/15 24.54'/34.57'
2/13/00 Open Jumpers 24"-Leg 2 5th/25 34.16'/36.00' OJC
9/16/01 Open Jumpers 24"-Leg 3 27.49'/27.52'
6/22/02 Open Jumpers 20+ Leg 4 27.60'/27.90'
2/16/03 Open Jumpers Vet 16" Leg 5 23.37'/24.60' O-OJC
3/09/03 Open Jumpers Vet 16" Leg 6 1st/ 24.25'/28.31'
6/25/05 Open Jumpers Vet 16" Leg 7 1st/2 29.94'/35.80'
7/09/05 Open Jumpers Vet 16" Leg 8 1st/2 27.55'/31.22'
7/10/05 Open Jumpers Vet 16" Leg 9 1st/2 30.23'/31.22'
8/02/05 Open Jumpers Vet 16" Leg 10 Adjustment S-OJC
100 Open Jumpers points= S-OJC
2/14/04 Elite Jumpers Vet 20+ Leg 1 25.24'/26.62'
2/15/04 Elite Jumpers Vet 20+ Leg 2 26.81'/28.72' EJC
2/29/04 Elite Jumpers Vet 20+ Leg 3 2nd/5 26.54'/28.27'
3/13/04 Elite Jumpers Vet 20+ Leg 4
7/10/04 Elite Jumpers Vet 20+ Leg 5 4th/6 27.79'/30.44'
9/11/04 Elite Jumpers Vet 20+ Leg 6 28.41'/30.00'
9/12/04 Elite Jumpers Vet 20+ Leg 7 28.99'/29.26'
10/24/04 Elite Jumpers Vet 20+ Leg 8 24.47'/24.64'
10/31/04 Elite Jumpers Vet 20+ Leg 9 29.40'/31.68'
1/15/05 Elite Jumpers Vet 20+ Leg 10 28.60'/28.60' O-EJC
2/13/05 Elite Jumpers Vet 20+ Leg 11 28.97'/29.73'
110/130 Elite Jumpers Points for NATCH-1
4/30/00 Novice Gamblers 24"-Leg 1 26+20=46
6/24/00 Novice Gamblers 24"-Leg 2 6th/44 32+20=52 NGC
2/10/01 Open Gamblers 24"-Leg 1 2nd/19 31+20=51
6/23/01 Open Gamblers 24"-Leg 3 51 pts OGC
6/24/01 Open Gamblers 24"-Leg 4 60 pts
6/22/02 Open Gamblers 20+ Leg 4 3rd/14 50 pts
8/24/02 Open Gamblers 20+ Leg 5 45 pts O-OGC
2/14/04 Open Gamblers Vet 20+ Leg 6 1st/1 54 pts
2/28/04 Open Gamblers Vet 20+ Leg 7 1st/6 52 pts
3/13/04 Open Gamblers Vet 20+ Leg 8 1st/3 48 pts
3/14/04 Open Gamblers Vet 20+ Leg 9 1st/3 44 pts
6/19/04 Open Gamblers Vet 20+ Leg 10 3rd/5 47 pts S-OGC
7/11/04 Open Gamblers Vet 20+ Leg 11 2nd/2 46 pts
8/02/05 Open Gamblers Vet 20+ Leg 12 Adjustment
9/11/04 Open Gamblers Vet 20+ Leg 13 4th/6 60 pts
130 Open Gamblers Points= S-OGC + 3
6/21/02 Novice Tunnelers 20+ Leg 1 33.98'/41.60'
8/24/02 Novice Tunnelers 20+ Leg 2 34.17'/36.00'
6/20/03 Novice Tunnelers 20+ Leg 3 TN-N
3/06/04 Novice Tunnelers 20+ Leg 4 32.04'/35.75'
5/15/04 Open Tunnelers 20+ Leg 1 3rd/11 26.48'/26.76'
5/16/04 Open Tunnelers 20+ Leg 2 27.60'/27.78'
9/12/04 Open Tunnelers 20+ Leg 3 30.59'/30.67' TN-O
1/16/05 Open Tunnelers 20+ Leg 4 30.19'/30.44'
3/05/05 Open Tunnelers 20+ Leg 5 4th/5 31.72'/33.33'
6/04/05 Open Tunnelers 20+ Leg 6 24.32'/24.71' O-TN-O
3/06/04 Novice TouchNGo 20+ Leg 1 37.63'/40.75'
3/12/04 Novice TouchNGo 20+ Leg 2 4th/19 48.84'/49.57'
4/25/04 Novice TouchNGo 20+ Leg 3 45.11'/49.00' TG-N
6/05/05 Novice TouchNGo 20+ Leg 4 43.40'/45.75'
6/25/05 Novice TouchNGo 20+ Leg 5 34.16'/50.09'
11/27/05 Novice TouchNGo 20+ Leg 6 50.38'/53.81' O-TG-N
8/14/99 30th NAC
7/04/99 26th NJC
6/24/00 22nd NGC
6/20/03 9th TN-N
4/25/04 6th TG-N
11/27/05 2nd O-TG-N
2/12/06 6th O-NJC
2/11/01 18th OAC
6/23/01 11th OGC
2/13/00 16th OJC
9/12/04 9th TN-O
9/15/01 1st O-OAC
2/16/03 1st O-OJC (change with Bobby)
8/24/02 1st O-OGC
6/04/05 2nd O-TN-O
2/28/04 2nd OGC-V - no longer
6/19/04 1st S-OGC
8/02/05 3rd S-OJC
1/17/04 19th EAC
2/15/04 15th EJC
2/05/05 2nd O-EAC
1/15/05 4th O-EJC
22 NADAC titles
10/16/99 Performance I Standard 22"-Leg 1 Q 4th/20 57.09'/70' 7/22/00 Performance I Standard 22"-Leg 2 Q 3rd/8 51.73'/75' 4/14/01 Performance I Standard 22"-Leg 3 Q 1st/12 52.77'/63' PDI 4/15/01 Performance I Standard 22"-Leg 4 Q 2nd/12 56.61'/73' 6/30/01 Performance II Standard 22"-Leg 1 Q 2nd/3 58.32'/65' Second Beardie PDI-4/14/01
12/30/05 SP-Wildcard-Leg 1 1st/1 26.90'/36.00' 20 12/31/05 SP-Wildcard-Leg 2 1st/1 32.56'/34.00' 20 1/01/06 SP-Snooker-Leg 1 1st/1 40 points 25 12/31/05 SP-Full House-Leg 1 1st/1 28 points 20 12/30/05 SP-Jumpers-Leg 1 - 5 1st/1 40.73'/42.00' 15 Points toward Championship 100/750
| Class | Q points: 0 faults | Q points: 1-5 faults | Q points: 6-10 faults |
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7/2/00
Although you might not have noticed it, and while your local news stations were perhaps woefully remiss in not reporting it, this past Wednesday, the fabled Pacific Northwest Tradewinds scooped from the ocean an Auspicious Flow. The Flow traveled purposefully over the coastal ranges of the Olympic Peninsula, across Puget Sound, to a quaint burg at the base of Mount Rainier, Auburn. There the Flow alighted briefly, just long enough to hitch a northbound ride atop a little beige Subaru (with matching beige interior), transporting to Lynden its cargo of (among other things): one (slightly beige-ish) person, one blue tent, one blue crate, one blue chair and one blue dog.
The person, (we'll call her Mom), was bound for American Kennel
Club Agility trials, three days worth, at the lovely Northwest
Washington Fairgrounds in Lynden, Washington, home of.... I don't
know, probably daffodils, potatoes and berries. And farms. And
a bunch of Dutch people too, I think. Agility trials, once the
favored pursuit of this Mom and her blue dog, had of late become
dank, depressing, desperate events. The glimmer of advanced titles
had taunted our heroine for months, but the elusive "Q"
had evaded her grasp. The Q- how she had dreamt of it, longed
for it, wished there was a way to will it. The Q. "Qualifying".
Eighteen to twenty-two obstacles, to be performed without error,
in predetermined time, usually a minute or less. No mistakes.
"Run clean, run fast" they say, and many do. But, for
six months, our Mom was not among them.
First there was the "slow" period- oh, how we lamented
the poky dog, wandering about the course. But train for speed
Mom did, ushering in the "fast" period. But, while training
the dog to run fast, we forgot to speed up the handler, which
led directly to the frustrated period, in with the dog, now fleet
of foot and fast like the wind, was forced to take time out, on
the course, to yell at the handler for her inability to direct
fast enough. Along the way the fates introduced a few other wrinkles:
stinky equipment (I'm not touching that contact, or that one,
or that one, thought the dog through several four day agility
weekends. Oh, yes, that equals automatic NQ's for those of you
counting along); optional weave-poles (why not pop out early and
save a little time getting on with the next obstacle, thought
the dog. Oh, yes, that eats up time fixing those weaves and enduring
the ensuing argument with the dog, for those of you timing along);
and of course, that greatest of wrinkles- The Mounting Pressure.
The Mounting Pressure brought friends: The Weight Of The World,
Intense Gastro-Intestinal Distress and the Qualify or Die Gremlin.
The beige Subaru was packed on agility weekends- dark thoughts
so crowded the interior that the dog was forced to sit upright
to make room for them all in his crate. (Well, all right, that
last was a small exaggeration- he sits upright anyway. Yep, even
on an eight hour trip).
A little-known benefit of an Auspicious Flow is its gremlin repelling
aspect. Gremlins feast only on Dark Underbellies, Grim Thoughts,
Self Defeat and Twinkies. The positive ions of an Auspicious Flow
cause bad hair for gremlins and make their fillings hurt; they'd
just rather not ride along. So, to resume our story, off went
our heroes, one Mom and her blue dog, to Lynden, for Agility trials,
without gremlins.
Friday brought a jubilant news- a Q!! Excellent Standard, leg
number three- a new title! The AX- Agility Excellent title- was
theirs at last!! And later, more jubilant news- another Q!! Excellent
jumpers, leg two- another title almost within reach!! More good
news on Saturday, another standard leg, this time in Excellent
B- and with the leg came those sleek and sultry words... MACH
points. Points toward the pinnacle of dog agility- the Agility
Championship. They now had seven of them (and only 743 to go...).
It was a streak, I tell you! Not since Casey went to bat had the
sports world seen such triumphs! ESPN would surely show up at
any moment! Alas, the streak suffered a bump later on Saturday-
no more Q's. Sunday morning, again, the Q was narrowly missed.
Sunday afternoon rolled around- the last jumpers run of the weekend.
One run, one more chance to gain a leg, only one leg needed. Dear
readers, do you know what will happen? Can you feel the pressure
mounting? Are the gremlins circling, lured by the smell of fear?
But they're wrong! It happens- another Q!!! Another title- the
AXJ- the Excellent Jumpers title. Two titles, one weekend.
And so, you might think, our story ends. And, you might think,
why have I read through all this, only to be told of two agility
titles, titles earned all the time by all kinds of Beardies? Well,
we have held out on you. There was a third title in the offing,
an illustrious title, some say an UNACHIEVABLE TITLE. But, achieved
it has been, first by one (inimitable) Beardie, and now by another.
Yes, it's true, our blue dog is the Bearded Collie Club of America's
second Masters in Versatility winner. Best in Show, Champion Britannia
Good Day Sonshine, CD, PT, AX, AXJ, CGC, Pet Partner- or "Jake"
to his friends.
If you've read this far it's because we love you or you love us.
Or our dog loves you or you love our dog. Or something. We know
for sure we love our dog, and we are so proud to own him, and
so proud to have made this incredible trip with him. None of this
could have happened without the help, support and guidance of
our EXCELLENT teachers, Dawn Bailey, Jill Crawford, Pritamo Kentala
and Linda Shea. There is one person to whom we can't begin to
express our profound and unquantifiable gratitude, and of course
that person is our unparalleled breeder, Michele Ritter. She has
educated, consoled, commiserated and celebrated with us, at once
our best advisor, our idol, our compatriot and our friend. To
you, our friends, we say thank you for your support along the
way, for sharing in our successes and helping us to ride out the
losses. Last but not least here's to an illustrious breeding-
Spot x Sarah. Another feather in their caps- Still The Ones in
our book.
Love and Kisses,
Amy, Christiana, Billy and Jake
"Jake is the # 1 Owner-Handled Bearded Collie for 1998, # 2 Bearded Collie, All Breed, and # 3 Bearded Collie, Breed." - Christiana Taylor - 7/22/99
