Lifetime Achievement

Ollie finished his USDAA Lifetime Achievement Award Bronze this morning. For those who might not know what that is, it is 150 total qualifying scores (Qs) at the Masters/PIII level with a minimum of 15 Qs in each of the 5 core classes - Standard, Jumpers, Gamblers, Snooker & Relay. Ollie had already finished the 15-in-each-class requirement in the spring of 2011 when he finished his ADCH Bronze. Despite being a little Q-machine who qualifies much more often than not, it took us a little over a year to rack up the remaining 75 Qs (or how ever many we had left at that time since we'd already been chipping away while finishing the 15 each requirement). That's because I don't trial a lot and I've cut back more and more over the past few months. Now I may only enter one or two classes per day or even per trial. I have a couple more goals I like to finish out with him in 2012, but as it stands now, I am planning to "quasi" retire him at the end of the year. Meaning I may still run him in the occasional trial just for fun if the mood strikes me - especially in snooker (our favorite) or if we get asked to do a PVP team. This decision has nothing to do with Ollie himself - he's been running great this year, even better than the last couple. I'm just at a point in my life where I'm ready for new challenges both dog related (e.g. training all 3 dogs for nosework and starting Hokey training for agility) and non-dog related. But it will be good to know that Mr. Reliable will be around when miss running him and want to take him for a spin every now and then.

Since pictures speak louder than words, I put together a little retrospective photo gallery - mostly him posing with big ribbons - highlighting Ollie's bigger accomplishments in USDAA over the past few years.

Sept 2006 - our first USDAA trial. We entered 2 classes: Starters Standard & Gamblers and Q'd in both.

June 2007 - Finished his Agility Dog title

Another picture of Ollie with his AD ribbon and two other class specific titles he finished at the same trial

Spring 2008 - Flying through the last obstacle finishing his Advanced Agility Dog title

Spring 2009 - Master Agility Dog title

August 2009 - Agility Dog Champion (ADCH)

 

Spring 2011 - ADCH Bronze

December 2011 - Master Performance Dog

Mid-Atlantic Agility Showcase 2012 - believe it or not, this the first time we did a USDAA Regional. I only ran him in team, PGP finals and PIII snooker. We won both team and regular PIII snooker, were 5th overall in team out of 41 total PVP teams, and placed 2nd in the triathlon.

And now, July 2012, Ollie has finished his LAA Bronze and only needs a single Q to finish his PDCH.

This dog who was once in danger of being euthanized in a WV shelter has gone on to become quite an accomplished agility dog and I can't thank him enough for being the best agility partner a person could ask for. I am so grateful for each and every run we've had together and for the time we've had playing together. Most importantly, he has enriched my life so many ways, both in and out of the ring. Good job Buddy! Good job!