Yeap, I think I have set up my personal record with not-updating my homepage… It has been one year already. And a great year it was. It is impossible to share everything, but I will try to give you the most important parts…
Kiša`s puppies have grown into handsome (well more or less ) boys. They all live an active life with their new owners.
We did quite a lot of competitions this year.
I competed with the whole gang at the European Open, and I guess we stick to silver. Like last year, we came home with one individual and one team silver medal. This time, Kiša was 2nd in finals, which means a whole lot to me. Not because it would be better than all the Šja`s silvers or gold’s, but because it is my first great result in large, and she is my second dog that can do well on a top level.
Little Šja was great as well, together with Silvia`s La and Le and Daša`s Katka, she was silver in teams for second year in a row…
And Šaj… well, she was pretty…
Both Kiša and Šja qualified for the Agility World Championship. Kiša had great runs, sadly she dropped a bar in two courses, and in the final round she had to deal with me, forgetting the course. I am sorry about that one, because it was a kick ass run. So her best result was the team silver medal we won in jumping, together with Silvia`s Bu, and Matej with Witch and Criss. Little Šja run only in team this year. Great clean jumping, elimination in agility. Šaj did not run the AWC, but she had a great period just before that. She ran more clean runs than ever (no bars down!), and she was very fast, she actually was faster than Kiša, and won lots of runs… Let`s hope next season is hers…
In November we participated at 2nd Croatian Sheepdog working championship. Both of my girls were just awesome, but Kiša was unstoppable. She competed in all the working disciplines of the championship (agility, tunnel cup, herding, bikejoring, obedience, protection, tracking, frisbee, search and rescue). 9 disciplines, 8 medals, 4 gold (agility, protection, herding, tracking), 3 silver (frisbee, bikejoring, obedience), one bronze (tunnel cup). Šaj won frisbee, was 3rd in obedience, 4th in tunnel cup and 5th in bikejoring. They were both on a podium in the combined result, Kiša was the overall winner, together with her brother Rudi, Šaj came second.
And last but not least – I started competition carrier with a little white furious thing called Ru. She is a Parson Russell Terier, owned and trained by my friend Tinca Furlan, who simply does not have the nerves to compete with her. And that dog is just way too good to be on a couch and way too much fun to say no to… I am looking forward to competitions with her!
In the end of the season, my supergirl Kiša faced another challenge. And she did it in her loud, fast and furious style. She passed IPO2, with high scores, although her obedience was not on the level it normally is. She got 95 for tracking, 87 for obedience and 93 for protection.
In 2012 I have travelled a lot, met a lot of new interesting people and make new friends. Apart from my strictly working trips, I got the chance to enjoy the beautiful Norway in the summer – absolutely loving the beautiful nature all around and spending time with my friends, who are more than just a great company and hosts. Simon, Dorte and Line, thanks big time for everything you did for me!
And in the very end of the year, I was lucky enough to fulfill one of my childhood dreams – to visit South America, Chile and Brazil. And it is safe to say one part of my heart stayed there. My Brazilian team (Dan, Carol, Sammy and Tiago) was responsible for almost 3 unforgettable weeks, and I just hope to go back soon! And my friends in Chile – I did not forget you. Our last dinner together was probably the craziest dinner I have ever been to. In the most positive possible way. And when we are not traveling around for competitions or seminars, we are enjoying in our little corner of the world.
In order to appreciate all the good that happens in life, you have to also experience the bad. In the end of April, I had to let my sweet goofy Toby go due to cancer. It happened really fast, so It was quite a shock, but rationally, that is what I was hoping for. He lived his 14,5 years free of pain and worries, and I am pretty sure he is happy wherever he is now, running around like he always did…
