Featured Dog

Chase
After surgery in January, my beloved Chase passed away February 19.  So, he is our featured dog.  Chase was almost 13 years old, just 3 weeks shy.  He was my constant companion for the past 12 years.  He came to me at a very young age from a “breeder” who didn’t know the importance of keeping puppies with their siblings until 8 – 10 weeks old.  He began tracking when he was 6 weeks old and showed great promise.  He would continue to track for sport, people and pets the next 10 years.  His work ethic was unsurpassed. 

Chase was the dog each dog had to impress during the interview for daycare in the early days and his decision was final.  He competed in obedience, rally-O, tracking, field work, herding, carting, breed; he had passed his AKC CGC, U.K. CGC and the Australian Canine Good Citizen test and was a registered therapy dog (TDI) also.  By far his favorite “job” was going to kindergarten, first and second grade classes to assist with our Bite Prevention presentation.  He loved children and it showed, he understood children who were a bit frightened and he would approach them so slowly, the children who had no fears would receive all his wiggles and kisses. 

He always had a big grin for anyone who took the time to greet him.  Because he was such a good neutral dog, he aided me when working with aggressive dogs, he was very intuitive about how to deal with these dogs.  He also did many great demos in class and helped set the bar high for owners.  Many times his demos were taken as challenges and the following week owners would come back to class to show off what they’d taught their dog.  I always enjoyed that.  He loved being the center of attention, when the Board of Supervisors broke ground for the new Monterey County Animal Shelter, Chase went up and began to dig; it was joked that they could save a lot of money on bulldozers if they just hired him to move the earth. 

Having more hours at training seminars than many trainers, he was always welcomed.  It will be difficult to attend seminars without him.  We always knew he was a very special dog but the cards, emails and letters we have received really do remind me how many other lives he touched.  He will be missed.