Have you ever received an unexpected gift …and realized later – that unbeknownst to the sender – the arrival of the present was actually perfectly timed? On Friday, September 23, I leashed-up Lager for his walk. When I opened the gate, a beautiful bouquet of red-white-and-blue flowers greeted us! A very special person sent this amazing bouquet along with a note that read “Sending pawsitive thoughts and prayers. Stay strong. You got this!” When I reached out to thank her, she said, “Something kept tugging at my heart to get those sent.”
With the help of Brian, I have been checking Lager’s surgical area since he had his mass removed. When we returned from our walk, I asked Brian for assistance to check Lager’s mouth. To our dismay, it looked to us like the mass has already begun to grow back. I contacted Lager’s primary veterinarian, Dr. Helen Campbell, who agreed that it appeared to be regrowth from the photos I sent her. Panic and distress overwhelmed me. We knew achieving clean margins during Lager’s initial surgery was not going to be possible. However, I was taken aback at how rapidly the mass had returned…and at the size that it had grown already. It was then that I realized that the beautiful patriotic bouquet arrived just in time …that the something (or someone?!) tugging at my friend’s heart made sure of that…to remind me to be honest with myself about the current situation, but to also have hope – and look forward to positive outcomes.
“Take a walk outside – it will serve you far more than pacing around in your mind.” ~Rasheed Ogunlaru
Once you hear the word “cancer,” it’s easy to let your mind wander in a million different directions. I’m definitely guilty of letting my mind march itself right down it’s own panic-stricken path. I have found that walking with Lager helps lead my “pacing” mind to find a refreshed, positive course. I talk to Lager, I pray, I plan, and I enjoy. I let Lager set the pace and allow him to create our adventure, stopping and exploring anything he wishes along the way. Although I use an app on my phone to track our walks, I do so more to celebrate our time together, rather than race to get done.
9/20/20229/21/20229/23/2022
Lager’s medical team is aware of the new re-growth of the mass. Thankfully, I was able to move up Lager’s oncology appointment to a sooner date. Brian and I will continue to check the mass, and I will be in contact with Lager’s primary veterinarian as well as his oncologist to keep them informed of our observations and any changes we note.
Brian and I are extremely grateful for all of the private messages, prayers, kind gestures, encouragement, and support. These are all reminders that we are not alone on this journey, and we appreciate that beyond what words can express.
🎂Happy 8th Birthday to the bounciest, happiest, most vibrant and insane-in-the-membrane dog we know! At 8 years old, he’s still tons of fun and keeps us laughing each and every day! We love you buddy! 🎈
8 Years Old
Lager was born in The Netherlands, so Brian made him traditional meals from that region:
Breakfast: Pannenkoek (a style of pancake with origins in the Netherlands. They are usually larger and much thinner than their American or Scotch pancake counterparts, but not as thin as crêpes. They may incorporate slices of bacon, apples, cheese, or raisins).
Pannenkoek
Dinner: Slavinken (a meat dish consisting of ground meat, wrapped in bacon)… with a side of green beans and potatoes
Slavinken
Dessert: Dutch Apple Cake
Dutch Apple Cake
Lager’s birthday was the first birthday celebration during our quarantine at home due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Location: Gettysburg, PA Sculptor: E. A. Kretschman Dedicated: 12/13/1901
“Sallie,” a brindle Staffordshire Bull Terrier, was the regimental mascot for the 11th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. Given to 1st Lt William R. Terry as a four-week old puppy, Sallie grew up among the men of the regiment. Sallie followed the men on marches and to the battlefield. At the Battle of Gettysburg, the dog got separated from the unit. Unable to find her way, Sallie returned to the Union battle line at Oak Ridge, where she stood guard over the dead and wounded. The dog continued her faithful service through February, 1865, when she was struck by a bullet to her head in the battle of Hatcher’s Run, Virginia. She was buried on the field of battle. For her devotion to the men, Sallie is memorialized at the 11th Pennsylvania monument erected at Gettysburg.”
*All information obtained from the Vietnam Dog Handler Association ( http://www.vdha.us/content15795.html )
Dogs fly through the air at Dockdogs competitions in Virginia Beach
VIRGINIA BEACH
Whether detecting explosives in Iraq for the military or jumping into a pool to fetch a toy, Lager takes his job seriously.
The German Shorthaired Pointer, who lives in New Jersey with his owners, came to Virginia Beach on Friday to show off his skills in the annual DockDogs competition, part of the Pet Lovers’ Extravaganza outside the Care-A-Lot headquarters near Shore Drive.
Outfitted in a patriotic swimsuit, of course, Lager jumped twice in the qualifying round and will compete in the Big Air competition today and the Extreme Vertical competition today and Sunday with a few hundred other dogs from around the country.
Jenny Beadling, Lager’s owner, said they often bring him to events in Virginia. He practices his dock dives at home off the family’s 40-foot pier and also does agility drills, running exercises and strength training.
“I think that he takes everything like it’s his job,” Beadling said.
Lager was retired from the military because he would get distracted by water, so when he came back to the states, the contractor who worked with him wanted him to be in that kind of environment.
He earned an invitation to the DockDogs world championships last November in Iowa and placed fifth in the senior division. His leaps average about 19 feet, 9 inches, Beadling said.
The Beadlings call their dogs “The Liver Killers” because of their names: Lager, Limoncello, Hooch and their newest one, Margarita.
Another competitor Friday was Leia, who lives in Virginia Beach. She competed in the Iron Dog Warrior Competition in Iowa, another DockDogs contest, last November, coming in second in the world.
Her owner, Karen Cummings, named her dogs after “Star Wars” characters – Leia, Chewey and Vader. Leia, a Lab, was in the qualifying round for Big Air on Friday.
Cummings said Leia also competes in the speed retrieve and extreme vertical events. She trains locally by doing a lot of jumping, muscle training and agility competitions.
Along with the competitions, the event includes dozens of pet-supply vendors, and Care-A-Lot is having its biggest sale of the year.
The speed, height and distance events continue throughout the weekend. Other contests, for less athletically inclined canines, include best kisser, best dressed and best at, well, eating treats.
Three months after returning from Iraq, two months after joining our family, and after competing in only 2 National events, Lager earned his invitation to the DockDogs World Championship for Senior Division Big Air! Words cannot express how proud we are of this boy!
With the hopes of getting Lager an invitation to the 2015 DockDogs World Championship held in November, we took a short day trip to Elkton, Maryland with Lager only, since Limoncello and Hooch had already earned invitations for multiple disciplines.
In less than 2 weeks after Lager joined our pack, we were entering him in his very first official DockDogs competition! Three Rivers DockDogs hosted an event at Cabela’s in Triadelphia, West Virginia.
LIMONCELLO:
Big Air:
21’5″ 21’2″
21’3″ 22’2″
20’4″ 20’7″
19’10” 20’9″
Extreme Vertical:
5’0″
Speed Retrieve:
8.489 Second Place Express
HOOCH:
Hooch was up on the dock when a gust of wind blew a banner off of the side of the pool, freaking him out completely . It was a tough weekend, as Hooch had a difficult time gaining enough confidence on the dock to run and jump at his full speed.
Big Air:
22’7″ 15’9″
21’2″ 22’11”
13’0″ 14’11”
23’0″ 22’3″ Third Place Elite
22’5″ 23’6″ First Place Elite
Extreme Vertical:
5’10’ Second Place Cadet
LAGER:
Big Air:
13′ 4″ and 13′ 11″ First Place Junior (with Brian)
15’7″ and 16’2″ (with Jenny)
16’9″ and 18’2″ Second Place Senior (with Jenny)
17’0″ and 17’5″ (with Jenny)
Extreme Vertical:
This was Lager’s first attempt at EV. Lager missed both times, but was very determined – we had no doubt that he will excel at this in the future!
None of the pups made the finals at this event – first time all season!! There were some HUGE jumping dogs here! We had a great weekend camping with friends, and enjoyed watching Lager have a blast on the dock at his first official event!
Bill Rohrer from Fox News did a story on Lager! It was nice to meet Bill – he was so nice, and made us feel very comfortable while filming the story at our home. Brian and I had great fun doing this story, as Lager is a very special pup!
Click HERE for the link to the story, and the video of the news feature that was aired:
Nora Muchanic visited us at our home to do a story on the Liver Killers!
See the full story, plus a video of the news segment – click HERE!
Tuesday, September 01, 2015
MEDFORD LAKES, N.J. (WPVI) —
Most people just walk their dogs. But Jenny and Brian Beadling’s dogs go for a flying leap.
The German Short Haired Pointers (GSPs for short) are two of the top dock diving dogs in the country and also rated internationally.
Brian says, “They are fun, happy, energetic dogs who really love competing and playing. And they think of all of this as play, which is really exciting for us.”
And Jenny tells us, “They need extreme exercise and what you would think of as your exhaustion point is just their starting point.”
The dock at the Beadling’s Medford Lakes cabin has become a launching pad as these two pooches practice each day. In competition they are judged on how high, long and fast they can jump.
A room inside the Beadling’s house is filled with ribbons and medals.
Hooch is the number one ranked GSP in the country for “big air”; Cello is ranked number one for “iron dogs”, the canine equivalent of a triathlon.
Jenny says, “They can run for hours and hours and hours on end. And they will keep going, they’re working dogs. They will keep going until you shut them down.”
The newest member of the family is Lager, a former bomb sniffing dog for the U.S. government who served in Iraq.
Now Lager regular leaps into the lake with his new companions.
He is clearly adjusting to his new digs.
They are highly trained and these dogs may be world class dock divers, but if you ask me they look like they’re just having fun.
Brian explains, “The humans involved take the competition seriously. The dogs just enjoy being out with the owners, jumping in the water. To see them just have fun and love life it’s really fun for us as well.”
Jenny a special education teacher and Brian a mortgage banker, travel with the dogs to competitions several times a month. The cash prizes Hooch and Limoncello win are turned over to a GSP rescue group.
Jenny says, “The amount of work that goes into it and the enjoyment you see in the dog is the best.”
Minnesota: Certified as an EDC (Explosives Detection Canine), passing the National Odor Recognition Test Validation at Dogs For Defense International, LLC
Brian and I had been talking about getting a third dog for quite some time, but found ourselves getting cold feet in the process. We had inquired about a couple of dogs, waiting for “that feeling” to emerge to indicate that we found just the right fur-child to add to our family. Brian and I had been talking about this one particular mixed-breed we both saw online in a rescue, but kept having mixed emotions, so we held off on advancing any further. On Friday August 21, 2015, as I sat on our porch waiting for Brian to get home from work, I thought I would tell him to go ahead and call about the dog we had been talking about so much to find out more information that may help us make a definite decision one way or another. Not even 30 minutes after that thought, I received a phone call from our friend, Gwen, the President of Tidewater DockDogs, one of the affiliated clubs of the DockDogs organization that we belong to, explaining that SOC had a 3 year old male GSP, who is a retired Explosives Detection Canine, in need of a home. With the dog’s best interest and love of water in mind, John, the man in charge of the dog, contacted Gwen of Tidewater DockDogs to inquire if she knew of anyone involved in the sport that is familiar with the breed, would have access to water at home, and would get the dog involved in dock diving. (There are other affiliated clubs closer to John’s location – However, Gwen was the only person listed with a phone number in reasonable proximity!!) Gwen called me immediately. During this conversation with Gwen – without even having seen a picture of the dog – there it was – – “that feeling” kicked in.
Gwen forwarded an email from John, the man who had the GSP at his company’s facility. The email included some information about the dog, 4 pictures, and a video of the dog training to detect explosives. In the email, John explained that the dog’s name was Nayt (pronounced Night), and included that he was born in the Netherlands. John also listed Nayt’s birthday, weight, and training (Single purpose Explosives Detection Canine, certified under the ATF National Odor Recognition Test standards for 33 explosives). John stated that he would have adopted the dog himself, if it weren’t for the fact that both his condo in Virginia, and his primary home in Florida do not have the space for Nayt to play. John stressed that his company’s desire is to have someone adopt Nayt that will provide the opportunity for him to play, exercise and enjoy himself – with access to water, which he loves. John stated, “If Nayt sees water, he’s in it – and it usually takes 45 minutes to get him OUT of it!!”
Here are the pictures included in John’s email:
We love the German Shorthaired Pointer breed, and are fascinated with how different each GSP’s markings are, as they can be solid black, black and white, black roan, solid liver, liver roan, or liver and white. If the GSP is not a solid color, the American Kennel Club refers to their markings as patched, patched and ticked, or ticked. Although we think every GSP we see is unique and stunning, we are very partial the solid liver and liver roan coloring – and even chose our dock diving team name to be The Liver Killers (a “play” on the coloring of Cello and Hooch (liver) with the human liver, and their alcoholic-beverage-themed names. When I viewed the pictures of Nayt, I saw that he was liver roan, and was in love for sure!
Also included in John’s email, a video of Nayt training to detect a specific explosive:
Shortly after I received the email, Brian came home. I relayed my conversation with Gwen to him, and showed him the pictures and video. I could tell immediately “that feeling” had set in for Brian as well. Brian almost immediately called John. Brian felt very comfortable with the conversation he and John had, and John felt we were a good fit for the dog.
On Sunday, August 23, 2015, the entire Beadling pack (minus our cat, Loki) set out on a road trip to Martinsburg, WV to meet Nayt and John.
When we arrived at the facility in Martinsburg, John met us outside. He led us all inside, where we were able to secure Cello and Hooch in separate crates so that Brian and I could meet Nayt before introducing him to Cello and Hooch. We were greeted by a friendly and very energetic GSP with a toy drive like no other! After meeting Nayt, and speaking with John and one of Nayt’s trainers, we introduced the three dogs on-lead, walked them all together outside, then into a fence-in yard to see how they interacted. All went well outside in the yard with the three dogs socializing appropriately. Nayt quickly won our hearts over with his vibrant personality, and handsome build – -and the decision was made to adopt him into our family. He came home with us that very day.
Nayt had his own soft Captain America blanket to lay on for his ride home.
Unsure of how the three pups would ride together for our 3.5 hour ride home, I sat in the back seat with the two boys…
…And Cello got to ride Shotgun on her Queen Elsa blanket, using Olaf as a pillow … (what a Diva!)
More about Nayt…
Nayt is 3 years old, and served the United States of America for one year as an Explosives Detection Canine in Iraq. He decided that his GSP instincts and love for water were more fun that searching for explosives, and was discharged from his duties. He can identify over 30 explosives, and his journeys have led him to quite a few states here in America, and even to a couple of countries overseas. This world traveler has been to The Netherlands, Iraq, Jordan, North America, Minnesota, Indiana, New York , Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and now, New Jersey. Check out maps of his travels by clicking HERE.
Nayt is now known as Brogan’s American Lager – “Lager” for short.
Brian’s grandmother, Fran Brogan, who loved Cello and Hooch, had just recently passed. Lager’s name incorporates Brian’s grandmother’s last name (Brogan), our country’s name (America), for whom he served, and a continuation of our “Liver Killer’s” alcoholic-beverage-themed names – with a “play” on our log cabin (logger) and a type of beer (Lager). The word lager is also of German origin, linking his name to his breed. 🙂
Lager had some themed toys waiting for him at his new home… Captain America, a stick of dynamite, and his very own Chuckit training bumper for the lake! 🙂
So far, Lager is doing well, and our family is adjusting nicely. Lager has not yet met our cat, Loki. We plan on slowly introducing them in the near future, as to not overwhelm Lager or Loki. Lager is enjoying playtime with Cello and Hooch in our side yard, goofing off in the baby pool, and has already displayed his love of water and diving off our dock! We plan to enter him into a dock diving competition before the 2015 season is over, to see if he would be comfortable jumping into a clear-water pool.
