Halloween 2018: Disney!
Goofy ( Lager)
Donald Duck (Hooch)
Cinderella (Limoncello)
Snow White (Margarita)
Belle (Whiskey)
Beauty…or BEAST?!?!?!
Monthly Archives: October 2018
Whiskey’s Painting
As we arrived and set up our spot in “Dog Town,” at the 2018 DockDogs World Championship, a friend of ours presented me with one of the most amazing surprises ever!
He was going to paint Whiskey in between competitions!
This was one of THE most thoughtful and loving gifts we had ever received!
Hooch’s Subaru Gig!
Hooch was chosen to do a photo shoot for the 2019 Subaru Forester seat cover!
He is currently featured online in the accessory options when building your own Subaru Forester online, as well as in the accessories brochure within the dealerships. Some dealerships also have a window cling that Hooch is featured on!
Did you know that Subaru works with the Southeastern Guide Dogs, a non-profit organization dedicated solely to the task of helping blind men and women achieve independence through the means of a guide dog. Subaru sponsors a number of events that fund the training and development of guide dogs, who will ultimately be paired with people who need them.
During the month of October, through the “Subaru Loves Pets initiative,” Subaru retailers also collect new pet supplies to donate to local animal organizations in the dealership’s communities, and provide shelter supply kits for fur-kids awaiting adoption. They also donate starter kits for new pet-adopting families.
Secondary IDEXX Laboratory Taurine Test
On October 18, 2018 Limoncello had a check-up with our primary veterinarian, Dr. Helen Campbell at Old York Veterinary Hospital to have a Taurine test done. This time the test was performed through IDEXX Laboratory.
It has been two months since we had deleted all legumes from our pack’s diet, and switched them all to kibble that included good grains. It has also been two months that Cello had been on an increased supplemented amount of Taurine.
Limoncello’s Taurine plasma level had now risen from 50 to 216. This was high considering the normal plasma range is 60-120. However, when we consulted Cello’s cardiologist, Dr. Bossbaly, she suggested that we still keep Limoncello on all the same supplements and doses, including the 1,500mg of Taurine twice daily.
2018 DockDogs World Championship; Knoxville, TN
I am disappointed in myself for falling behind on this blog, but writing about Margarita’s Lymphoma journey each week has prompted me to remember the whole reason I began this journal of posts in the first place: to share all the memories that have been gifted to me by my fur-kids. It’s important to me to be able to look back on just how blessed we are to be spending a part of our lives with each and every special 4-legged angel included in this blog.
My first “catch-up” post is the 2018 DockDogs World Championship!
This was our 4th consecutive year that we have been fortunate enough to have all competing dogs qualify for the World Championship. Even though two out of our five do not compete, we have a “no dog left behind” policy, so we travel in our camper as a family to this exciting event!
Of course we updated all of our team “bling!”
2019 Trading Cards
Team Banner:
Team Shirts:
Special Shirt Made for Whiskey’s First Year:
RV Window Decals:
This is the 2nd year the World Championship was held in Knoxville, TN.
Getting ready to leave, and tracking our miles along our road trip:
My mom was waiting outside of her house to wish us luck!
We were worried about how Whiskey would handle such a long trip…but she didn’t seem to mind one bit!
Every year one of the DockDogs clubs puts out a Road Trip Bingo game for all team handlers to play along the way!
We did get Bingo, but did not win first place!
Some road trippin’ fun along the way:
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- Rita loves to roll in the bed pillows!
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- Hooch using Rita as a pillow
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- Road trippin
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- I get to snuggle while Brian drives the RV
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- Truth!
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- Cello and Rita
We are HERE!!!!!!!!!!!
Check-in:
The moment we’ve all been waiting for!!!!!!
Dog Town:
The amazing lady in this next photo is one of the people who helped Whiskey (then known as “Wish”) on her freedom ride from the kill-shelter to our house in NJ. Not only did she do several legs of the transport in TN, she sent Whiskey with special treats to wish her well in her new life. When she heard that Whiskey had made the World Championship, she booked a hotel and came out to meet us, visit with Whiskey, and watch her up on the competition dock! As you can see, the blur-that-is-Whiskey was just a “little” excited!
As we arrived and set up our spot in “Dog Town,” a friend of ours presented me with one of the most amazing surprises ever!
He was going to paint Whiskey in between competitions!
“Paint me like one of your French girls.”
This was one of THE most thoughtful and loving gifts we had ever received!
Limoncello: Team Coach
Cello is now retired due to heart disease. She very much enjoyed hanging out at the team canopy and getting lots of attention from her DockDogs family!
Hooch
Hooch was fired up, but his normal 23+ foot jumps were just not there.
Round 1:
- Big Air:
- 21′ 7″
- 21′ 5″
Round 2:
- Big Air:
- 21′ 0″
- 21′ 8″
Lager
Round 1:
- Big Air:
- 17’8″
- 18’3″
- Extreme Vertical:
- 5’8″
- Speed Retrieve:
- 9.873 seconds
- Iron Dog Score:
- 2579.84 points (ranked 21 overall for Round 1)
Round 2:
- Big Air:
- 17’3″
- 18’11”
- Extreme Vertical:
- Double-missed (no score – which unfortunately also disqualified him from getting a qualifying Iron Dog score)
- Speed Retrieve:
- 7.582 seconds
Margarita: Team Cheerleader
Rita enjoyed “helping” during setup! 
She also enjoyed hanging out with her main-man, Mr. Spock the English Pointer!
Whiskey
This was Whiskey’s first trip to the World Championship, but not her first time in TN… Whiskey was born in TN and dumped in a kill shelter before we took her in as a foster pup with Pointer Rescue, Organization in May 2018.
Round 1:
- Big Air:
- Timed-out (refused to jump)
Round 2:
- Big Air:
- Timed-out (refused to jump)
Although Whiskey refused to jump, she sure put on a show for the crowd!
Although none of our competing dogs performed as well as we had hoped, we are thrilled we had another opportunity to be a part of such an exciting event, and honored to have competed against the best dogs in the World! People asked us if we were disappointed in our dog’s performance – NEVER! Would we have liked to have made finals? SURE! But, what’s most important is that our dogs had a blast, we had fun competing our dogs, and we learned from the experience.
Brian and Lager
Jenny and Hooch
Jenny/Rita and Brian/Cello
Jenny and Whiskey
We are very much looking forward to the 2019 Dock Diving Season!
Southlake RV Park: Knoxville, TN
Limoncello, Hooch, Lager, Margarita, and Whiskey stayed at Southlake RV Park while attending the DockDogs World Championship in October 2018.
The campground was decorated for Halloween.
Our campsite:
What a great view and a huge area to walk the dogs!
Whiskey on Pointer Rescue, Organization’s Shirt
While Whiskey was still our Pointer Rescue, Org’s foster dog, “Wish,” I had shared a screen-shot of her from a video I took of her on “point.”
One of the volunteers took that shot and turned it into one of the rescue’s fund-raising shirts!
You can view the fundraising event and buy a shirt by clicking HERE!
We are so proud of our little girl as her image helps other needy Pointers!