Hmm, Maybe Again?

 I'm thinking about starting the blog up again. I miss the days of coming online just to see what people and their dogs are up to, rather than news, opinions, and ads. 

I lost Zephyr in 2017 and 10 and a half. It was hard and I miss him every day. I lost Astro in 2021 at a little over 11. From 2015 to 2019 he and I had so much fun doing agility together. He got his Agility Championship, MACH, in 2017. Zephyr and Astro will always be missed.

Ginger came in July of 2017. She's the sweetest girl who also loves her agility. Gromit came in March of 2018 and he loves his agility too. The both love hiking too. Thankfully they at least got to grow up with Astro. We moved to a new house in May 2022 and now have a big yard that we can do agility it. We're still close to the forest and trails too.

                                                  Ginger

                                                  Gromit

Oh, The Places You Will Go, Astro!

I came home from work one day in August and checked the mail.  There was a letter from AKC.  I thought it was an advertisement at first.  But then at the bottom of the envelope I noticed it said something about the #8 Greyhound and somewhere else on the envelope I noticed it said something about the AKC Agility Invitational.  I didn't really think it could be, but I rushed and opened it right there at the mailbox.  Yes! Holy crap, Astro was invited to the AKC Agility Invitational!  

It's in Orlando, Florida, so at first I thought, I don't think I can go to Florida.  And then I thought about it and talked to a few other people who had gone.  They all said it was an awesome experience.

And then, I thought, I think Astro and I are going to Orlando, Florida!

And we are here! My Dad was super sweet and volunteered to drive with me on the way out so I wouldn't be so exhausted when I got here.  We made without any troubles and Astro did great with the drive.  I'm so excited to be able to meet others who do agility with their greyhounds!

Today we went to a local agility site and practiced a little and then we went to check out the show site (one of the rings above).  This is a huge show with agility, conformation, obedience, dock diving, etc. going on.  The show doesn't get into full swing until the weekend, but I wanted to have Astro get used to the site and practice on the turf.

Astro did great! He wasn't too bothered by all the activity going on.  Best of all his focus was pretty good on the practice jump and he was happy, playing with me, giving kisses, and eating treats! Sometimes in new areas he gets distracted and a little nervous and won't do those things easily. He can also get a little zoomy and distracted in the agility ring when were in new places.  When the show starts on Friday it will be even louder and busy, but we will do our best.

My sweet love Zephyr is doing great! He doesn't compete in agility, but he often comes to practice and does a little agility, but mostly he loves to run and chase his ball or play chase with me. 

He couldn't come to the show, which is probably best for him anyway, and is staying with my parents.  I will be so happy to see him when we get home!

He's an Excellent Boy!

On October 25 Astro and I finally got our Excellent Standard title!  It was exactly 2 years to the day after we got our Open Standard Title and started competing in Excellent.

It took us so long because Astro had a few toe injuries, and he also suffers from having a team mate who was/is still learning how to be a good handler.  ;-)

But, Astro doesn't really care what happens as long as he can share kisses afterward.  Here is the run that we qualified on.  Despite the overcast sky and judge's sweater making it look cool, it was actually almost 90.

Astro's Excellent Adventure

Finally got our Excellent Jumpers Title, 10-25-14

Astro and I have been working on our Excellent level Standard and Jumpers with Weaves titles for over a year.  We were sidelined last May when he hurt a front toe while running like a crazy greyhound with Zephyr.  So we missed a few trials.  Things looked good in October, 2014, so we entered a trial.  Astro did a great job and we got our Excellent Jumpers title along with our first Masters level Jumpers Q.  I was, of course, super proud of my boy!

This is our Excellent Jumpers title run.

And, this is our first Master Jumpers qualifying run the next day.

Getting our last Excellent Standard Q has been rather difficult.  We've had a lot of good fun runs where we came really close.  But, it hasn't happened as of writing this post and we've been in a few trials since these videos were taken.  I thought he did really well on these standard runs, but I'm always making a mistake. 

Saturday's Standard run

Sunday's Standard run

Hopefully I'll be able to get my act together one of these days and get this boy his Excellent Standard title.  In the mean time we will have lots of fun and he will get lots of treats. 

Imogene Pass Run

 

At the start of the race

I don't usually post about things I do, and this is long overdue, but it was pretty cool and I wanted to put it on the blog.  Last summer a group of friends and I trained for and did the Imogene Pass Run.  It's a race that goes from Ouray, CO to Telluride, CO.  The race is 17.1 miles long, goes up 10 miles and climbs about 5,300 ft to the pass, and then down 7.1 miles into Telluride.  Imogene Pass is at 13,114ft.  It's in a beautiful area, although I spent most of the time looking down at the ground so don't remember most of it.  :-)

The pass is the at the reddish brown area to the left of center at the ridge top.  This picture was about mile 8.5.

 We spent the whole summer training by doing a ton of hiking/trail running that had a lot of hard climbing at high elevation.  Luckily living at about 7,000 ft in Flagstaff makes the elevation training somewhat easier.  Yes, I was in some sort of pain the entire summer and after the race.  :-)  I had never done a race like this before.  The really good people run the whole thing, but most people including my friends and I, do a combination of fast hiking and running when you can on the way up, and then run down.  It was one of the hardest and funnest things I've ever done.

Super happy girls at the end of the run!

We all made it and in good time.  I hoped I would come in around 4 hours and I did at about 4 hrs 3 min, which turned out to be 17th in my age group.  So, I was super happy.  Post race celebration included a large lunch with drink, large ice creams, cookies, hot tub, and a large dinner with drink.  I'm hoping to do it again this year.

Zephyr Turns 8!

Zephyr received this birthday card from a friend and now he wants me to buy him another car.  I had to buy them a new Toyota Sienna this summer so as to insure that he and Astro ride comfortably with all their stuff.  But, he says the next one is for the babes.

My sweet Zephyr turned 8 years old on January 6.  It's hard to believe that he's that old, but in some ways it seems like he's been with me forever.  I still feel so grateful to have him with me everyday.  He has been super healthy and has even managed to not injure himself in the past year. 

To celebrate the passing of his eighth year I cooked some bison burger to add to his meal.  He loves it and bison seems to sit better with his belly than beef.  The bowl was licked clean.  Zephyr has become even more sweet and loving as he has aged.  He loves to just push up against me and others for some serious love and rubs.

Astro greatly appreciated Zephyr's birthday celebration too.  It's also hard to accept that this boy will be 6 this summer.

Our winter has been fairly mild again this year.  We've had a couple snow storms but then it warms up into the 40s and even 50s.  So, we've been heading out to the agility field in Cottonwood to enjoy the nice weather. 

Happy New Year, 2015!

Happy New Year to all our blog friends!  Once again, I'm sorry to not be keeping the blog updated.  But, things have been going well for the most part.  Pablo did pass away in August, eleven years didn't seem long enough for him.  With the exception of Astro trying to recover from a toe injury that happened in early May, everyone has been happy and healthy.  The boys had a great run at the agility field the other day.  I hope everyone out there is doing great!

Pablo

Pablo (left) and Riley, January 2014

In the last couple months Pablo has had some trouble and last week I found out he likely has gastrointestinal cancer.  In February I noticed that he was shedding a lot, even for the mild winter that we had.  He usually has a super thick coat with a full undercoat.  Over a month or so he lost most of his undercoat and a lot of his regular coat.  Soon after he started to lose weight.  He wasn't overweight to start with and went from about 10.5 lbs to 8.5 lbs.  He suffers from allergies and takes cyclosporine (generic Atopica) which sometimes makes his stomach upset, so at first I thought the weight loss was related to that.  But, he was actually super hungry and eating more than normal and still losing weight. 

Last week I took him to the vet for blood work, etc.  She suspected a thyroid problem because his symptoms matched hyperthyroidism, or possibly renal failure.  All of his blood work and urinalysis came back normal.  We then ran the more specific thyroid test and that came back normal too.  Thinking this might be a side effect of his medicine we decided to try taking him off it.  Within 24 hours of no pill he didn't want to eat, so I thought I try giving the pill every other day and gave him one that night.  In the morning he felt better and ate all his meals that day.  Skipped the pill that night and by the morning he was throwing up.  I could also tell he was starting to itch. 

This was Friday, so back to the vet we went because she said to bring him in for a shot if he was itching.  I also wanted to talk about what could be going on.  She was feeling his belly when I mentioned that since our last visit I wondered if he might have a tumor.  She said she was now wondering the same thing, or inflammatory bowel disease.  She thought his GI tract felt thickened.  An x-ray showed that most of his GI tract was thickened.  An ultrasound showed that it didn't look like inflammatory bowel disease, but more like a gastrointestinal cancer.

After shedding some tears, Palbo and I went home.  He's back on daily cyclosporine because he does better on it, and she said it could be helping because it's an immune suppressant like chemotherapy and steroids.  We're waiting to hear from an oncologist about other possible medications.  Although he might not do well with other treatments because he already struggles with his allergies/immune system.  Surgery is not an option because it's not really a tumor, it's spread throughout.

Pablo hanging out in his heated bed this weekend.

Pablo is eating, drinking, and cleaning himself, but he can't eat as large of portions so I'm feeding him more often.  His energy is low, but he's still getting around and very happy for lovin' and extra yummy food.  I'm giving him about 100 ml of subcutaneous fluids a day to make sure he's hydrated and I think it helps him feel better.  He's not in pain.  He's only 10 years old, which seems too young for something like this.

Brothers II

 Today was a snowy spring Saturday.  The brothers of the house were very cuddly today.

And a sister, who was cuddly with me.  :-)

Astro's Open Standard and Jumpers Titles

 It's been awhile since this happened, but it was a pretty big deal so I thought I should share it.  The last weekend in October 2013 Astro earned his Open Standard and Jumpers with Weaves titles.  I was super happy and proud of him.  Astro and I are learning agility together and I couldn't ask for a better partner.

 Astro was also very happy about getting his picture taken with the judge for his Open Standard title.  We finished our Open Standard title Saturday morning with a really nice run.

 He wanted to make sure that Judge Dan Butcher knew how much we appreciated him.  :-)

This is our Jumpers run from Saturday.  It was our second qualifying Open Jumpers run.  Pardon my shrill voice, I was a little nervous.

 

 On Sunday we had our third qualifying run and finished our Open Jumpers with Weaves title.  It was a great run with lots of turns that he nailed.  I thought it was smoother that our run on Saturday.

We are working on on our Excellent titles now and have also started entering Time 2 Beat and FAST.  Astro loves Time 2 Beat because the courses are designed to be open and fast.  When I decided to try agility I didn't really know how it would turn out because Zephyr and Astro are my first dogs, so of course I was/am learning along the way.  I'm so happy that we've made it this far.  The Excellent level courses have been really challenging.  The courses are harder and there is much less room for error.  But, it's a lot of fun.  So far Astro has one Excellent Standard qualifying run and two Excellent Jumpers with Weaves qualifying runs. 

Firepups

 Spring has been here for awhile now.  In fact, unlike many other parts of North America, we barely even had a winter.  It was one of our driest winters, less that 2 ft of snow fell at our elevation of about 7,000 ft and there has been hardly any spring rain.  A normal winter has around 100 inches of snow followed by some rain.  So, now we are very dry and windy and have extreme fire danger.  To top it off, in the past week or so it seems that there is an arsonist around Flagstaff that has been lighting forest fires.

One day in March, a time that usually still has snow cover, the boys and I went out for a hike.  The forest roads were still closed at this time, so people can't drive into the forest.  It was a Red Flag Warning day, which means it was super windy and dry with high fire danger.

 This is what we came up on in the middle of the forest.  Someone must have come out and made this fire and then left it very hot with lots of coals and embers.  Within a minute of me taking this picture flames came up from the wind blowing on the embers.  I had about 3 cups of water that I poured on it that put them out, but then I dialed 911.  In Arizona we've had devastating forest fires start from things like this.

It was quite a hassle getting the fire department out there.  I actually don't have a smart phone, so wasn't able to give them coordinates.  However, I knew where I was and I'm really good with maps, roads, and directions (former geologist), but I'll make a long story short and just say that the people I was stuck talking to were not.  Very frustrating, I hope I'm never hurt in the middle of the forest and have to give directions to be saved.  I do have a GPS and have started carrying it more.  As I was walking along a small road toward the main road to try and meet the fire truck I met a man who was also walking his dog.  He helped get them the coordinates and came back to the fire with me.

 When we walked up to the fire it was in flames again.  At this point we had been told to just cover it with rocks, so we kicked in the pit walls to cover it.

Finally the local fire department came and they uncovered it, dug it up and dowsed it.  This was about a mile from houses.  This week our national forests, county, and city put fire restrictions in place.  Yesterday I was so happy to see that a forest road that people camp along and that comes within 1/4 mile of my neighborhood, but has technically been closed for a few years, finally has signs saying it's closed.  Just need to block the road now.  It can be scary living next to the forest, but it's hard for me to imagine living somewhere that I can't step out and be in nature with the dogs.

Sedona Hike

 Zephyr, Astro, and I went on a nice hike in Sedona.  We took the Brins Mesa - Soldier Pass - Cibola Pass loop which is about six miles.  The weather was beautiful in the 60s.

 This month is the 3 year anniversary of Zephyr getting encephalitis and it's been a little over 2 years since he finished his chemotherapy treatments.  Everyday I remember how lucky I am to have him.  He's a super healthy boy.

 

Zephyr and Astro met lots of people on the trail and received some nice comments on how sweet they are.  They were on leash for the hike.  I just took their leashes off for the pictures.  They would have loved a run around, but there are cactus and it's a pretty public trail.

 

A beautiful day.

Happiness is .....

running in the forest with a deer leg in your mouth.

Not the best pictures because they were taken with my phone.  But, they were so happy with their find.

Dog Worker

Zephyr and Astro got the Dog Worker puzzle by Nina Ottosson today.  I've wanted to get it for them for a long time, but it's a little pricey.  But, I finally just did it and I'm glad I did.  I think it will be a lot of fun.

This is Zephyr's first time seeing it.  I was really happy with how he went right at it.  He likes to use his paws and nose.

Astro was game from the start too.  My click was late and then he didn't find his treat, but he continued.  I first saw this puzzle done by the Greyhound Carly, with Joan Malak.  Astro is related to Carly and I think it's neat that Astro used his mouth to lift the blocks like Carly.

Arizona Highways

 Last March Astro and I were asked to be part of a filming of the agility club in Cottonwood, AZ for the Arizona Highways Magazine television show.  It was a lot of fun and it was part of a show that aired in late May.  Here is the clip from the show.

Astro on Arizona Highways Magazine television show

All is Well

 Just wanted to do a quick post to say that we are all doing well.  Just haven't been able to update the blog in a long time.  Sorry I haven't been around to visit my blog friends in so long.  I've just been busy with work and basically just everyday things.  Astro is doing great in agility.  We are working on our Excellent titles in Standard and Jumpers with Weaves.

 Zephyr turned seven on January 6.  We celebrated with Surf and Turf, beef bones and salmon.

 We celebrated Christmas in Phoenix with my parents.

 The weather was lovely and the boys always enjoy the grass.

 Both Zephyr and Astro have been super healthy.

All of the fun left everyone feeling like this.  Hope everyone is doing well!