From: Dale
McElrath
Date: Mon Aug 4, 2003 2:35 pm
Subject: She was the best
A girl who was a shining light in our lives passed away last night. Tribbles (Ch. Arcadia Caliburn Smoky Topaz UD MX HC ROM)passed away at the age of 15 1/2.
She won the Denia Award for top agility dog in the country twice. Tribs was the second dog of any breed to go from novice through MX in AKC agility. I still remember the day she finished her MX -- Sharon Anderson, the head of AKC agility, came to the trial to watch her run. After Tribbles finished, they stopped the trial, brought a big banner onto the field and we had our pictures taken. It was a special moment for a very special girl.
At the Orlando specialty, they built the Excellent course just for Tribbles -- she was the only beardie in the country running in that class. Her jumping style was legendary -- she never knocked a bar in competition or practice. My computer screen shows this 20 1/2 inch beardie clearing a 24 inch bar by about six inches.
Her only litter produced eight puppies, four of them finished their championships. We still have her 12-year old daughter and best friend, Erin (Ch. Banquo's Blue Moves) to remember her by.
While she loved agility, she tolerated obedience. She got the most excited when she and Penny reached the directed jumping exercise in Utility -- she always started to bark -- which obedience people did not find amusing. She was good enough to be High in Trial from the utility clas at the regional Specialty in Timmonium, MD one year.
Our thanks to Jim and Diann Shannon for taking a chance on a couple of novices and letting us take home what was then a little fawn ball of fur. Also, our thanks to all the people who told us they became interested in running agility because of Tribbles enthusiasm for the sport.
She was the dog of a lifetime.
Ch. Arcadia Caliburn Smoky Topaz UD MX HC ROM
January 9, 1988 - August 3, 2003
From her loving family,
Dale McElrath and Penny Leigh
Banquo Flat Coated Retrievers and Bearded Collies
AKC AKC D697179 5/20/95 Novice A 20"-Leg 1 95 5/27/95 Novice A 20"-Leg 2 100 6/18/95 Novice A 20"-Leg 3 100 NA 6/24/95 Open 20"-Leg 1 95 7/15/95 Open 20"-Leg 2 93 9/2/95 Open 20"-Leg 3 89 OA 9/3/95 Open 20"-Leg 4 100 10/28/95 Excellent 20"-Leg 1 100 1st 10/29/95 Excellent 20"-Leg 2 100 1st 12/31/95 Excellent 20"-Leg 3 100 FIRST Beardie AX 2/4/96 MX 20" Leg 1 97 2/18/96 MX 20" Leg 2 100 3/2/96 MX 20" Leg 3 100 3/30/96 MX 20" Leg 4 100 3/31/96 MX 20" Leg 5 100 4/27/96 MX 20" Leg 6 97 4/28/96 MX 20" Leg 7 100 5/4/96 MX 20" Leg 8 100 5/16/96 MX 20" Leg 9 85 6/1/96 MX 20" Leg 10 100 FIRST Beardie MX 6/16/96 MX 20" Leg 11 100 8/6/96 MX 20" Leg 12 100 10/12/96 MX 20" Leg 13 100 11/9/96 MX 20" Leg 14 100 11/23/96 MX 20" Leg 15 94 FIRST AKC Nationals Beardie 11/24/96 MX 20" Leg 16 100 5/3/97 MX 20" Leg 17 92 6/7/97 MX 20" Leg 18 100 3rd/9 6/8/97 MX 20" Leg 19 100 3rd/10 6/14/97 MX 20" Leg 20 100 3rd/15 6/15/97 MX 20" Leg 21 97 Congratulations to Penny Leigh and Tribbles, the FIRST BEARDIE to be invited to the FIRST AKC Nationals, November 23 and 24, 1996 in Oklahoma City. There they earned two qualifying ribbons with scores of 94 and 100. Tribbles is truly impressive with her number of firsts, first AX, first MX, first AKC Nationals invitation, and first and second BCCA Agility Award, the "Denia Award" offered by Glenn Hamilton and Emily Venator,for being top AKC Beardie in 1995 and 1996.
USDAA USDAA #U102636 3/4/95 Starters 24"-Leg 1 Best Maiden Run 4/29/95 Starters 24"-Leg 2 Placed 4/30/95 Starters 24"-Leg 3 Placed AD April 96 Invited to participate on Master's Level Team "Herd Enough?" Fourth Beardie AD-4/30/95
BAD-Southeast
Beardies
Off to a BAD Start