How time flies....

A year ago I wrote the following to one of the poodle email lists I am on:

It’s hard to believe it was this time last year when I started thinking about and looking for a companion for Keegan. Even though Keegan turned 7 in April of 2005, I wasn’t worried about bringing a new puppy into the household.

Our mini, Rocky, who passed away at age 15, was 10 years old when we got Keegan as a baby. They were inseparable for the last 5 years of Rocky’s life. Keegan had been our only dog for two years since Rocky’s death and frankly, was getting fat and complacent. When the DH said, “We need to get a buddy for Keegan,” grass DID NOT grow under this girl’s feet! I probably looked at every website on the net, called old friends from my show ring days (many years ago) and contacted every resource I could think of. I knew I wanted a toy male, preferred white or cream, wanted one that came from health tested parents, preferably from a show litter (knowing that not every puppy in a litter is going to be finishable in conformation, I thought maybe I could get one that might not make it in the breed ring but had the brains and spark to be a great performance dog). I had this wild idea that I was going to try to re-enter the show ring 25+ years after I left it.

I found Gail Bjorge’s Picket’s Poodles website and kept coming back to certain picture I couldn't get out of my head. A four-month-old cream male by Ch. Jaipur Scene Stealer (a gorgeous cream) out of Ch. Pickets American Dream (a stunning black). Gail and Eva Marie Mitchell co-bred the litter and he had been at Gail’s, following her around, stealing laundry (and her heart), and barking at the vacuum cleaner while she tried to find him a home. He was going to be oversize so would not be shown in the breed ring. After many emails and phone calls, we agreed to meet in the middle of Iowa so I could take a look at him. I had researched his sire and dam up one side and down the other, and knew their health test results and pedigrees by heart.

I told myself if he wasn’t exactly what I wanted I would come home empty handed (Yeah, right!) He was everything I expected and more. How many four month olds by themselves, in a strange environment, charge an adult dog (Keegan) through the exercise pen? That was the fire I wanted. Early on it made him hell to live with, but is also what makes him so much fun now. He will take on any new experience with zest, whether it's obedience, agility, or anything else. Cash may have started out as a companion for Keegan, but he is truly my heart dog. Everywhere I go, there he is. From the minute I open my eyes in the morning, to when they close at night, he is by my side. Never before, and probably never again, will I have a dog like him. Happy Birthday, little buddy!

And now a year has gone by and Cash is still my “heart dog”. He will be two years old on June 18th and will be with me on a fishing trip to Minnesota. He will ride in the boat, dock dive and generally just have fun for a week.

The past year has gone quickly. He started formal agility foundation training classes in February of 2006 at the age of eight months. He still has a ways to go before I enter him in another trial after our VERY short (four jumps before he went NUTS!) attempt at a NADAC trial in January of this year, however we have discovered rally obedience and has acquired his rally novice title (RN) and has one leg toward his rally advanced title with only being entered in four shows.

He is the coolest dog to train and work with because he THINKS and I can see him doing it. Present him with an unusual situation and he is confident and sometimes too brash, especially for his size, but he is never fearful. Cautious at times, but not afraid. Happy Second Birthday, ya little nutcase…. and many more!