Family

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Gito – we will miss you

Gito aka Chango, aka Changito, officially known as Bev’s Murcia Milagro
12/10/2013 – 9/12/2024

Our Gito earned his wings a few days ago, though he was an angel on earth too. He was such a wonderful and perfect boy. Gito was a rescued Spanish Podenco from Beverley Farmer in Spain. She posted a video in April 2014 and I saw Gito (fka Rio) and just knew he was meant to be part of our family. I contacted Bev and she informed me that he was slated to be adopted elsewhere. She called me in late May as his adoption fell through and I jumped at the chance. His NY aunties helped: Bonnie getting him from the airport, Deb fostering him, and Diane housing me. I flew home with him on my lap and the remainder of his life he traveled by car, visiting 48 states. He loved traveling, happily hopping on the bed at every hotel and building his pillow fort. He went to dog shows and Aunt Robin would watch him while I showed his brothers. He went to coursing and barked at anyone who got too close to the car but happily walked around and made friends with everyone. He was loved by everyone who met him. He was a playful and loving companion to all the dogs in our pack. We joked he thought he was a Pharaoh Hound, but in his heart he was. Even our vet clinic identified him as such. He was a fierce backyard hunter, easily dispatching of squirrels, mice, voles, and rabbits. The neighbors’ cats avoided our yard after many near misses.
We tried coursing and agility, but those weren’t his things. He wanted to be with his pack of dogs and hunting live critters.
A few times he got loose at lure coursing trials, but he wouldn’t dare go on the field – plastic was boring – so he’d walk around and visit all the people, waiting for me to return. Except the fateful day he chased a jack rabbit that was bigger than him — oh what joy he had! A few years ago he took himself to the park to hunt rabbits, after a worker left our gate open. Matt found him carefully walking on the sidewalk! He was quite smart and relished stealing candy from the kitchen counter, his favs were jelly beans and peanut butter m&ms.
His favorite spot was curled up or being held by me. When I judged coursing, I’d walk the coursing field with him and he’d find holes that needed to be filled in. He loved to eat and patiently waited his turn, usually bouncing into place and sitting politely. He taught all our puppies proper dog behavior and would play with them endlessly. Cuddling, soft beds, pjs in the winter, chasing squirrels, going anywhere in the car, leisurely walks in the park — he had the most amazing life. His favorite thing in the world was to go outside. We spent the last few days basking in the sun, soaking up all the love.

He was adored by so many people but especially his Grandma Cyndi and Auntie Kayla. Thank you for loving him as much as we do.
I’m so glad it was meant to be and we shared this life. We love him so and will miss him terribly.

A kiss for luck

Cayper and me, at the start of lure coursing for the 50th Grand National – Colorado Lure Coursing Association’s premiere event. It’s the longest running lure coursing event in North America. A challenging one at that! The Best in Event run features a 1400-yard course, with a required 3 runs prior to that on that day. It’s grueling, and exciting.

I always kiss him for luck and tell him to be safe and come back to me. I adore him beyond words. He’s wearing his signature purple slip lead made by Hamilton Hounds. Thank you Megan for capturing me and my sweet boy. It means more to me than you know.

And worth it

I love this meme because it’s true. My boys can be really loud, a lot. I adore them. The stress part comes when they’re sick, and one of ours is right now. Gito has PLE, protein losing enteropathy. We’re trying some things, within reason. He can’t handle anesthesia, so further testing is out of reach. He’s such a loving, sweet, and wonderful boy. I don’t want him to suffer. The prognosis is not good. And it breaks my heart. He had a stroke today. It was so scary yet the worst part was I had phone calls to make, emails to answer, and a ring time. Life is, as always, busy, busy, busy. I read somewhere that ‘busy is a choice’ and for the most part, that is true. Often, with work, it seems to be never ending. Luckily, Gito made a good recovery, and no more blood thinners for him. Not sure how long he’ll be with us, but I’ll love him every single day.

July 30, 2024
Countries, Family, Travel

Serenity

Santorini was by far the best part of our trip to Greece. It was so peaceful with stunning landscapes and architecture. Our resort was perched above the sea and afforded us beautiful sunrise and sunset views. I took this on our last day here, while we waited for the Uber to arrive. A short flight from Santorini back to Athens and then the long flight (11 hours) to Chicago. And, then another flight on to Denver. I’ll cherish this moment of serenity, and be reminded of all of those I’ve experienced this trip. A good week of recharging, and much needed! We’ll be back next year – girls trip 2.0!!

April 2, 2024
Countries, Family, Friends, My Boys, Thoughts, Travel, Vision Board

We travel …

not to escape life, so that life does not escape us. I am reminded, constantly, about what little time we actually have. It’s why I rarely watch TV, or sit on the couch, or scroll aimlessly on social media. When I’m not working, I’m usually at dog events or traveling somewhere on my bucket list. And, when I have down time, I read, I play with my boys, and spend time with my friends. It’s so important for me to invest my time wisely as we only get so much of it.

Just GO!

With my change in job, and losing Cayman in September, I haven’t felt much like doing dog events, or traveling (probably since I travel nearly every week for work.) I knew Cuest was fast approaching 6 months of age, and that’s the magic age where he can compete at a dog show for points. I also have a goal of finishing Disco, my co-owned boy from the Cayper x Bernie litter who lives in So Cal. So, I selected a dog show in Tucson with the dual purpose of seeing my parents whom I haven’t seen in a bit. We rented an AirBNB that allowed our 4 boys, and had a great pool and comfy sofa. Cuest had a fun time at his first show, but really shined that second show – going Best of Breed over 4 specials for his first major win (that’s points towards his championship.) He got fitted for two new show leads (because why not) and took a spin around the group ring for fun and practice. He looked like he knew what he was doing and we had such a fun time. Thank you to my Dad for taking Cuest back in for Best of Breed and kicking all the specials’ butts! We had fun in the warm Arizona sun and it renewed my Just Go spirit.

One Impossible Goodbye

KABA
Multi-BIF DC Naha Atomic Blond Revival, RN, MC, NAJ, AXP, NFP, CA, CGC, TKA, LCM2, V-FCH, HIC, VCX
12/13/2006 – 6/16/2021
I’m impossibly sad that my love has left this world. I am forever grateful that he chose to stay so long and that I had the honor of being his Momma. Thank you to Carmen, Kaba’s breeder, for taking a chance on a girly girl in stiletto boots. Thank you to Rebecca for pointing me in Carmen’s direction and being so welcoming into the world of Pharaoh Hounds. I’ve met countless friends throughout the dog world because of Kaba.
Thank you to Caly for helping Kaba and loving him.
Thank you to Grandma for always watching him while we traveled. He sure loved you a lot even though he sulked while I was gone.
Thank you to Jill Clark for dropping everything to capture Kaba’s last sunset. I cherish these pictures.
Instead of sharing how he died, this post is about how he lived. From the day I brought him home in February 2007, Kaba was my heart. He filled a void we had after the loss of Chili. He was super smart and took over the household — managing the Weims and cats. He helped show countless Weims & Weim-wannabes the ropes of our home while we fostered them. He slept about 4 hours a night that first year — so I used that time to teach him tricks and train for dog shows.
Dog shows were not Kaba’s thing but he would do anything for some treats.
He picked up his first 2 majors at 6 months old in Dallas, TX — handled by my Dad. We traveled to a lot of shows across the country, but struggled to get more points. By 2009 he only needed 1 point to finish. At the 2009 Pharaoh Hound National in Eugene, OR he finally got that last point handled by Don Delmore. I stupidly tried to show him as a veteran at a specialty. He faked a limp and I asked to be excused, only to have him hop around quite happily outside the ring. Message received – no more shows.
Lure coursing was absolutely Kaba’s thing! I saw Kaba chase the lure for the first time in Falcon, CO at the Zoiboyz Ranch — the sheer joy on his face hooked me for life. He was ridiculous going to the line for a number of years – barking, lunging, pulling, and usually dragging me down and getting away from me to go shred the bags. He usually barked the entire course, bringing joy to all who watched him. 2008-2009 we traveled the country going to lure coursing and dog shows, attending the 2009 “Bogswell” ASFA II where he earned his ASFA field championship and a grueling 9 trials in 6 days in Columbia KY where he earned his AKC field championship.   He loved to fake out the lure operator and slow down so the lure would slow, then he’d easily catch the lure, which was the whole object of the game to him. For years I had a giant summer sausage so I could catch him at the end. Eventually we moved to smaller treats and even blueberry muffins — those were his fav. He had a long coursing career and while he earned enough points for his Veteran LCM, he did not have enough placements. He helped certify over 40 dogs, mostly Ridgebacks, simply because he loved running so much. In 2018 Kaba retired himself from coursing. I’d let him run a 10-20 yard fun run whenever he wanted but he usually only wanted to go with me wherever I was going.
We tried rally, obedience, dock diving, and scent work — not really our thing. Being loose in an outdoor obedience ring, at 7 months old, panicked every onlooker who came to see the idiot that thought trying this with a Pharaoh was a good idea… his recall was epic, thankfully! But we found our shared sport in agility.
Agility — our biggest accomplishment as a team. He loved spending time with me and worked for his soup and treats at the end. We played “run fast and jump jump” for 8 years picking up many titles and ribbons. However, it took us 4 years before we earned our first title and found our rhythm. I never gave up as he truly enjoyed the time with me, and I with him. As we’d wait in line for our turn to run, I’d sing “Don’t stop believin” to him. He’d get all excited and bump his nose into my cheek. Probably because my singing is terrible. When we entered the ring, I’d kiss him on the head and ask him to stay with me, then remove his harness so we could go. There was no start line stay — that wasn’t the game to him — we’d leave the start line together and we’d finish together. Kaba was invited to the Agility Championship in Orlando 3 times as one of the Top Pharaohs in the country.   We went once — Kaba did not like to fly so it was a challenge getting there — but he did well and did everything I asked.   Our team retired in 2018 at the spot where we earned our first title. I treasured every single run.
Kaba was more than all the titles earned, he was my cherished, constant companion. He slept under the covers with me every night, head on my stomach. When I worked at home, he slept on the office sofa closest to me. When I’d come home from a trip, he’d greet me with the biggest smile ever — and only smiled for me. He would even say “Momma” when he saw me if I’d been gone for many days. He was my shadow.
In his last years, Kaba went on many road trips and was Cayper’s best buddy. Kaba’s last road trip was to pickup our latest addition, Calyber, and he had such a fun time visiting our GA family’s home. Although he was naughty and ate the bird food from the pantry, as well as attempted to escape the confines of the yard by wading in the lake… he entertained us all. Thank you to Sandy and Jerry for welcoming him.
These last 14 months of being homebound due to the pandemic have been a gift because I’ve spent so much time with Kaba.
We had so many adventures together across 48 states and 2 countries, most by car. I have so many fabulous pictures to remember him by, but it’s these last pictures truly show our love for one another.   I can’t imagine my life without him.
In closing, I feel these song lyrics are fitting for Kaba’s 14.5 years on this planet:
   I, I did it all
   I, I did it all
   I owned every second that this world could give
   I saw so many places
   The things that I did
   Yeah, with every moment spent
   I swear I lived
Until we meet again, KK I am forever in your debt for all you gave to me.

July 12, 2020
Family, Thoughts, Travel

Ugh – another postponement

To say I was looking forward to our Ireland/Scotland trip is a understatement. My parents and I planned a long trip, driving to various destinations, and seeing the sights. Well, with COVID, it is not meant to be this year. We will reschedule for 2021, yet I feel very disappointed. I get it with all that’s going on in the world, it was something nice to look forward to… and now that is postponed. After Portugal was understandably postponed in May, this feels like even more of a let down. I’m really looking forward to the Peru trip in November with my friends!

Norway, here we come!!

Probably one of the most strange, and exciting, phone calls I have received in a long time. I was sitting at a gluten-free brewery in Golden, Colorado with my sister (she lives in Anchorage – and we are both Celiac, hence the gluten-free.) My Facebook messenger phone was ringing…and it was Simon of Bazinga Pharaoh Hound fame… telling me it was “time” to make travel arrangements and come to Norway. During the call, Simon mentioned I could take Cayman to Sweden for lure coursing and a dog show – seriously, pinch me! Ok, yes, I am weird 🙂

Less than an hour later, I booked my flight leaving July 23rd and returning August 3rd. Now, to make the complicated arrangements of traveling with a dog, internationally. Yet, I could not believe I would get 2 more countries on my list plus add to my family! What excitement!

Manifestation

When you put it all out there — what you truly want as a goal, the Universe (God or whatever you believe in), conspire together to make it happen. I used to think this was a bunch of hooey – and found out it DOES work this way. Here’s my story on how it worked for me this year… and how it relates to #60by50.

One of the items on my vision board was adding another Pharaoh Hound (dog) to our family. We were a family of 3 and it felt like something was missing since our Weimaraner Jake passed away in August 2014. Our youngest was going to be 3 years old, and I prefer to space my dogs 3-4 years apart (more on that in another post!)

Keep in mind I ran a nonprofit, all-volunteer dog rescue for over 10 years – and while I will always wholeheartedly support responsible rescue groups, I also do that same for responsible breeders. Full disclosure – both my purebred Pharaoh Hounds, Kaba and Cayman, are intact. While Kaba will never be bred, I find it is healthier (through years and years of proven peer-reviewed studies.) Cayman has sired 1 litter to-date, and I did not keep a puppy from that litter (though I know exactly where each and every puppy he produced lives and that they have wonderful families.) If you are going to judge, move along to another post about travels. You have been warned.

I wanted a puppy, a male since I only have males in my house, from Cayman but I needed to find an ideal match for him before I would agree to let him sire another litter. This is not a simple process. Cayman is fully health-tested (results posted online at ofa.org and available to the public) and he has a CHIC number, which means he passed all the tested required of our parent club (Pharaoh Hound Club of America has guidelines of which health tests this breed should have completed before being bred.) The female must have all her health testing completed. Then, since the gene pool is a bit small for the breed, we have to ensure there is not too close of a relative. And, I want to make sure the female complements Cayman, adding components I would like to improve. Further, the female must be a show and field champion – like Cayman – has proven their abilities in both venues. Above all, and the most important aspect to me, is temperament – the female must be very outgoing, friendly, good with children and other dogs, and not overly hyper. It’s a tall order.

In order to fulfill my goal, I started conversations with several breeders of Pharaoh Hounds, most of whom I’ve known for a number of years and only a few I had met. One stood out to me, due to his in-depth knowledge of pedigrees and ability to speak very honestly and frankly about the good and not-so-good points of the females. With that being put out into the Universe….all I had to do was wait (and pray.)

And, today… my prayers were answered – we found the ideal match! Talking via Facebook messenger (did you know there are FREE international phone calls using this app??!!) – we hatched a plan for me (and Cayman) to go to Norway!! SOOOO excited!! Now, we wait, for the ideal time. But, 2016…Norway… here we come!!

#60by50