Stitch is the new addition to my family. He came to me through Mid-Atlantic Jack Rescue and is half Jack Russell, the breed that I love, and half Border Collie: that’s most likely the closest I will come to owning a Border Collie.

But after several weeks I started to wonder what I had done. Stitch came with most of the behavioral issues I see in my students’ dogs. Yes, I know how to deal with individual issues but he has many of them, making solutions less straight forward. So why did I pick him? The cuteness factor rates highest on my list. (One of these days I might consider the smartness factor too). Besides, Hoot just adores him. I wake up to puppy wrestling every morning. More aptly I wake up to HAPPY DOG, wagging his tail and rolling on top of me.

What he has taught me so far is expectations are equivalent to pressure. This means the rest of his bio is not written yet. I will continue to train silly pet tricks, agility foundations and manners but who knows if he will be my next agility dog, nose work dog, hiking companion, or some other dog altogether. Stitch will fill the page in his own way. Hopefully with things other than porcupine encounters!

Stitch’s footnote:
I am proud of how far I have come. Why didn’t someone tell me that jumping up while greeting people was so much fun?
Love agility sometimes but sometimes……

Zuki was the Cinderella of the house, underestimated, overlooked, but always cheerful, eager to please, and ready to go to the ball. She had to live in Mikey’s shadow, but that never bothered Zuki. She was “here for the party”. Life was good.

Zuki was listed as a Pooka-Aussie. In Irish folklore, a pooka is a fun-loving, mischievous spirit. Zuki was always willing to step up to the start line - even when she did not have a lot of training under her belt. When Mikey was injured, Zuki jumped into the spotlight like an understudy just waiting for her chance to take center stage.

My goals for Zuki where very different from my goals with Mikey, but I loved competing with Zuki because it was an adventure every time we walked into the ring. Zuki had her Jumpers Masters and Relay Masters titles. In the competitive 22” class, she had 14 snooker Q’s, one of which was a super Q.

Although Loki always walked to the beat of a different drum, it is hard for me to admit I am where I am today because of him. He is responsible for me finding the world of agility and clicker training, not to take myself too seriously, agility is just a game, for me becoming an agility instructor, acquiring too much agility equipment and finding the nice dog folks and best friends around.

BREED DESCRIPTION: Loki was an Oxford Terrier. An Oxford Terrier is a unique and odd, little dog that originated just south of Norwich, in the small town of Oxford, New York. They are also known as a Rough-coated Rathound. Do NOT let the cute looks of this breed trick you. They are an extremely mischievous lot. They are known to bark like a howler monkey, jump out of agility rings for amusement and vanish when you least expect it. The survival of the breed is due to their ability to be utterly entertaining when their existence is threatened.

Loki was an excellent representative of the breed. He was named after the Norse god of evil or mischief. He lived up to that name until the day that we put him to sleep.

The Loki Award

Every time Loki and I entered the agility ring it was an adventure. No one ever knew what to expect of him. He never acted the same. But the biggest challenge was just to keep him in the ring with me. Most folks did not appreciate just how hard that was.

To that end, the Loki Award was offered. At the ACE trial it is given out to the Novice dog that has the most faults but has not been eliminated. Think what a challenge that has to be to the handler.

At Saratoga the award was offered to the DAM team in last place. Last year was the 10th Anniversary of offering the Loki Award at Y Agility’s Memorial Day Weekend trial. The members of the team earning this honor received embroidered leashes saying “MAY THE COURSE BE WITH YOU!” The winners of the Loki Award have been: