Relic's sire, Midderry Frank is a very popular stud who’s been bred a lot and produced many awesome puppies which means issues are almost certainly going to pop up. But recently there has been an alarming number of his offspring testing with hip dysplasia, out of several different females. Of 31 hip tested offspring, there has been 13 with hip problems (41.9%) which is simply too much and too close for comfort for a breeding prospect. So despite Relic’s awesome temperament and all of her amazing traits, I am washing her from my breeding program and placing her into a permanent home. 

Relic's pedigree is stacked with very impressive herding dogs and she has definitely turned on to livestock. She is absolutely a delightful little thing. Relic is immensely friendly, sweet, outgoing and social. She loves every single person and dog she's met and has a calm polite demeanor in her interactions with people. With dogs, she's very playful and silly. She has high toy drive and loves to play, equally enjoying tugging, fetch, balls, discs, soft toys, any toys she can get her paws on. She's just as happy to entertain herself as she is to play with a person or dog. Relic also has great food drive and loves to learn. She picks up on behaviors quickly and is wicked smart. She enjoys training and is a pleasure to work with, very focused and cool headed. In general, she has a cool and calm demeanor about her around the house. She is a high drive young Border Collie and can certainly be rowdy but she's showing a lot of signs for great clarity and an easy dog to live with, with a natural off switch. Another thing to love about her is how affectionate she is! She has a lot of time for love and cuddles, she’s super sweet and not a big licker. Relic has already been BAER and CAER tested clear and is DNA panel clear by parentage. I’m also willing to have her hips x rayed before placing her, especially if she’ll be going on to do sports, to make sure she’s sound for the work but even if she herself tests perfectly, with so many half siblings failing hips I’m just not comfortable moving forward with this line. It’s very sad but I’m sure she’s going to make someone super happy.

​It seems as if we are reaching a milestone in her recovery process, as she’s been using her leg more! She’s becoming more stable on it and it feels like it’s finally gaining some noticeable muscle. The atrophy from the crate rest phase was intense and it’s been so slow to gain muscle mass but we’re finally seeing some changes for the better.

Unfortunately, her mental state still isn’t right where she had left off before the incident and I’m wondering if we will get back to it. As she’s grown up, she’s shown some temperament aspects that I don’t prefer to produce/pass on, which is why I was leaning towards washing her from the breeding program before the health things showed up. I am big on letting dogs mature before making final calls on them, unless it’s something that’s been very apparent from an early age and has remained consistent, and Daci does have so many traits I do like. Oh well! Some things aren’t meant to be. A couple of her siblings have what I view as unfavorable temperaments as well, mostly lack of drive and high arousal. While these are fairly “minor” issues and many don’t mind them, it’s not what I am striving to produce. Arousal does not equal drive! Many people can’t tell the difference between those two things but as a behaviorist, I’ve seen both and gotten to know both well. It doesn’t make Audacity or her siblings bad dogs whatsoever! They’re lovely dogs and only a couple of them have these “problems.” Mostly their owners are all super happy with them and I am so glad for that! But it’s certainly made me rethink the types of pairings I want to do and the type of Border Collies I want to be working with in my breeding program. After experiencing many full and half show lines through my own and also those I’ve done behavioral modification on, they aren’t my preferred representation of the breed. I prefer the genetics and temperament of working and some sporting lines and moving forward I will not be using show lines in my program. It’s cool to be in a breed with so much variety, as you can really choose what fits you best!

​Happy 4th birthday to Lapis!

The first Whippet of the family, she really turned us on to this breed. She’s such a wonderful dog. She is the picture of stability in all ways and is the easiest dog to be around! She gladly works for anyone, never has met a stranger dog or human, has so much enthusiasm and energy for things like training, play and of course hunting but she’s also the biggest couch potato and is more than happy to sleep in all day. She loves puppies and is a great nanny dog. She is so sweet and light hearted. She gets excited to meet people and say hi then settles right down into her usual lovely home body ways. She’s great in public, unshakable by the environment, and only ever reactive to small and furry - as any Whippet should be! And boy when she’s on a hunt, she is a sight to behold. It’s like she turns into a different dog, she becomes like a machine with only one goal in mind. And even in the heat of those hunts, she’s never not came back to us when called or after the chase is done! Lapis is a fabulous dog and everyone could use one of her. I could use 10 more myself!

Happy birthday little Whippet.

09/13/22
​Lapis is always such a consistent energy in the house. You can always bank on her to be resting on the couch, running roughshod on the other dogs or hopping around them as they wrestle, rummaging in the pantry for dropped kibbles, or if you have food she's never far away. She always gets excited when people come over & she zooms around briefly, jumps up once or twice, then is pretty much over it. She likes to sniff your nose & mouth but rarely gives kisses. She loves to sleep under the covers at night with her head out on the pillow like a human. She loves to play & race around the house with a toy in her mouth, jumping to the couch from halfway across the living room.

Lapis is my first Whippet & without her I probably never would have fallen for the breed so hard. Aside from Border Collies, I had a few breeds on my list to potentially own but there's a good chance I never would have branched out & actually got a non-BC. My partner Daniel is the one who took the leap! She was a very challenging puppy, she was hard to crate train, she would jump onto counters, she screamed whenever I would get another dog out to play or train with & she was always running Calypso down & making her cry. They were the closest in age for a long time! Calypso was about 10 months old when we got Lapis. They both spent a big portion of their adolescence growing up during vanlife which may sound hard but it was actually a great time & such a cool way to socialize our young dogs.

It's very interesting to see the differences in drive within different breeds. Lapis is very high drive for things like hunting, food, & sometimes play but not for everything like my Border Collies are. She has great focus & she knows a lot but some things do have to be on her terms! Lucid is already proving to be quite different in a lot of ways but so very similar in others. I can't wait to have more Whippets & to see puppies out of Lapis! I couldn't even tell you how many inquiries for Border Collies I get & think to myself... you actually want a Whippet. 😂😅

J​on is my first personal male dog in a long time. We have Pancetta, the APBT, but he is my partners dog and we got him at 7 months so it was a bit of a different experience. Not to mention a very different breed!

One of my first personal dogs was a male and he was my first service dog as well. We had a deep bond and he never gave me any of the typical “boy dog” troubles! After training many an adolescent male dog and with how much I like girls, I have been hesitant to have a boy. It’s very early to say yet how it will go with Jon and if he will be a teenage delinquent like most boys are, but so far he’s really been a pleasure! The main differences I’ve been seeing are that he’s more affectionate, more into me, calmer and more easily redirected to me off exciting things (think calling off playing with the other dogs), and overall he’s just a really great, perfect puppy. He loves playing, loves training and is picking things up FAST, and is such a lover! He hasn’t had any real hormones hit yet so we’ll see how things go as he becomes a teen, but I’m hesitantly very optimistic. He’s been nothing but a dream so far. So confident, outgoing, sure of himself, biddable, friendly, sweet, and the cutest thing I’ve ever laid eyes on!

I am so eager to get into sports with Jon. It’s going to be awesome having a dog who won’t have to take time off for reproductive things like heat cycles! He’s showing great signs towards service work so far and he’s taking to his agility foundations so well. I can’t wait to get him herding! I want to pursue a lot of different sports with him whenever I have the chance to do them and hopefully make him into a great representation of what type of Border Collie I want to produce. A versatile working dog who can still be an amazing companion.

​My pretty girl Vintage for the first post of 2023.

Rightly so, as this dog holds my heart in a special way! She’s everything I hoped for out of Abigail and the amazing @marley_workingsheepdog. She has drive coming out of her ears, she’s friendly with every person she’s met, she’s very dog savvy and social. She loves herding, disc, tug, toys and play of all kinds, loves training for food, tricks, heel work, her agility foundations class was super. I don’t know if I’ll pursue agility with her as I want to focus more on herding and there’s only so much time. She’s a wonderful demo dog for our training business. She would happily work for any handler! She’s a truly high drive dog and bless her heart she’s also low arousal. She’s literally perfect and I could go on and on!

She’s been going through the typical 1.5 year old fear period, suddenly spooked by very random things (like the toaster 😂) which is odd for her since she’s never really shown any fear or concern about anything. She’s rock solid and I live for it! I’m sure she will come out of the fear period with grace, as I am quite good at navigating them appropriately and setting the dogs up for success.

This year my goals with Vintage are get more into herding, ideally going at least once a month. And to get her some other titles, as I don’t quite expect us to be trial ready for herding soon, but you never know!

Update on Audacity.

I keep hoping she will get back to “normal” but in reality I think we are just going to have to get used a new normal. She’s not anywhere close to her previous athleticism and the healing journey is an extremely long one. While she is improving, it’s just so slow and it still hurts to see her slip, lose her footing, and limping around.

She’s still her usual happy self and she loves her housemates, deeply enjoys helping out with puppies, loves training and playing even though her capabilities are limited now and she tires quickly. She’s been really enjoying getting back to hiking, but now she stays on a leash because it helps her to use the leg more if she’s going at a slower pace.

She’s mentally not in the best place and she’s become more selective with dogs and has a harder time being “left out”, like when we are working with other dogs, and it seems like she’s having some withdrawal symptoms from coming off such high doses of medication.

It’s not easy and it is requiring such patience to get through this. It’s hard trying to envision the future and what it’s going to look like for Daci. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.

This puppy has been very special since the moment he was born, and of course, he's been a fan favorite. When he was born, I said "another black and white male" and started wiping him off. But as I dried him, I realized that he was not indeed another black and white! Calypso surprised us all and saved the special prize egg puppy for last.

Although my husband has been saying he would stay from moment one, I kept telling him we'll see how he turns out, he has to grow up some, I don't want a boy. But as he grew up, he kept showing me little moments and glimpses that I loved. He has been the most confident, self-assured, cool headed puppy. He's got the same sweetness as Velvet and Denim but also something different. When I was hopeful that Velvet would be my keeper, I was considering holding 2 back to see how Corduroy continued to mature because behaviorally, he has stood out to me a lot.

As I have mentioned before, temperament is my first priority in my program, and it is the thing that affects our day-to-day with dogs the most. When evaluating the best dog for me and for any of their future homes, I consider each puppy’s temperament and fit for each home's goals first, and everything else follows—so Corduroy is staying! His stunning looks are just a bonus.

Daniel has been really hoping for a big Border Collie boy to use as a demo dog for our training business, as well as a dog for him to handle in herding. I have been a little nervous about keeping a boy, but the more time I spent with him, the more I was so happy with the choice. I am hopeful for a service dog prospect, trick dog, and agility dog who won't have to go off season for heats and pregnancies. So far, I already am feeling a really deep connection with him, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the future holds. I have such high hopes for this toasty little marshmallow of a pup to carry on the legacy of his amazing parents.

Meet Jean-Luc Picard, affectionately known as Jon. Old Hemp’s Make it So.

​Happy birthday to my entire heart! Abigail.

How she is 7 years old today eludes me. Abbie is connected with me in a way I've not experienced with another dog. She and I speak the same language. From her bedtime sillies to her public access seriousness, she's the perfect dog to me. She's not the most versatile dog in the world because she's just not in it unless it's with me and for me in a big way. She isn't a dog I can throw into anyone's hands. She's MY dog in a deeper sense than any of the others. She only has eyes for me and she's been that way since she was a puppy. I went and picked her up off a cattle farm in California and she squirmed her way over on her belly like a little worm. Her breeder said she was the one he would keep if he were keeping any it became clear why quickly. Despite being raised as a working farm pup often is, outdoors entirely and not socialized or trained a lick until after I got her, she is such a wonderful, adaptable, stable dog.

Abigail isn't my most highly titled dog but she's the dog who has been with me through the very most. Recovering from PTSD, trauma, divorce, homelessness and worse. She's been my rock through some awful times. All the way through our climb to a good life, she's been there and she kept me happy. She inspired me to become a dog trainer. To expand my knowledge about behavior and breeding. To become a better me.

There will never be another dog like her but I am so grateful for the wonderful pups she's given me, pieces of her that I will continue to pass down through generations so I can always have a part of her with me, even after she's gone. But I hope she never goes because I don't know how I'll recover. Please live to 20 at least.

Love is What Makes Me - Subaru

My darling Subie. 

Always ready to play. She has always had very high toy drive and such an imagination! She comes up with her own little games with dog toys, strange foods and a favorite - bottle caps. Subaru is my little workaholic for toys and play. She is amazing at disc and I wish we had competitions or a club near us because I know she would do great. She catches frisbees with great precision, rarely missing even one of my worst throws. Afterwards she loves to cool off by laying down in some water like a little stockdog in the stock tank. She loves an empty jug to chase and carry around the yard, growling and putting on a show. 

Always intense! Ready to go, work, full of drive, enthusiasm and energy. She never quits. Her displacement is expressed by going harder. As a pup, she would begin to bite so hard, sometimes drawing blood, so that was my cue to cut her off before she reached that level. She's been on livestock several times and she is very keen and showed good signs. She's a heelwork extraordinaire. She's very sensitive and soft, but has her tough and resilient moments. She defaults to training in a serious way and almost never needs any reminding.

She's a wonderful puppy nanny. She is tender, gentle and sweet, giving them endless patience. I have never seen her become overwhelmed or impatient with a puppy. She has the best of times playing with them, kissing them, laying on her back to let them maul her. She really has a knack for it and it's one of my favorite things about her. 

Now while all of this sounds so good and it is, she also has some negative traits which have been challenging. 

Subaru is a reactive dog. While this is not at all uncommon for the breed, Subaru's reactivity presented aggressively. She used to be very forward when seeing dogs although through my training, we have overcome this 99%. She has also tested the pack hierarchy here at home more than once. I do not run a "dog park" at my home and things are always structured and well supervised, not leaving much room for error, but she even most recently fought Lapis, which is unheard of. Lapis is an extremely passive dog who has never been in an altercation otherwise and tried hard to get out of the one she and Subaru had, but Subaru persisted after her even as she tried to escape. 

Subaru lacks an off switch. She is very on the go and hasn't been the type to settle naturally. She's learned an off switch through training. She is better when she's out of the crate but crate time is a fact of life here because I don't have just my dogs. I have client dogs, I have people coming for lessons, I have lessons to leave to attend and that all requires my personal dogs to have a fair amount of crate time. Subaru doesn't thrive on this. She destroys her coat by chewing her fur off her whole body in excess. I know she's not in a good state of mind when she's doing that.

She is very sensitive to corrections, even if they are not directed at her. This makes it challenging for her to be out when any clients or young dogs are also out. As an example, we'll be doing placework with dogs who are newer to the concept and they break and are sent back. While this is not a dramatic event, no yelling, no harshness, Subaru takes it hard and thinks that any dog being corrected must mean she is at fault. She gets a wide eyed worried look on her face, ears pinned back, head low and struggles to recover.

All of these things have been my experience with Subaru in my situation. Over the summer, she went and stayed with my best friend while we had their dog here for training and many of these issues were not present when Subaru could have endless 1 on 1 in a far less busy environment. Due to these things and some personal reasons with her breeder, I have decided Subaru will not be a part of my breeding program. I have had a feeling for a long time that this would be the case but I try to wait and let dogs mature before making any serious calls because adolescence looks bad on MOST dogs. And she could still very well grow into a perfect dog at a later age but I still wouldn't feel right about producing puppies from her. I wouldn't want to put other dog owners into the shoes I've been in with Subaru; the confusion, frustration, helplessness, stress. I have worried myself to death about her issues, am I doing enough, what can I do better, and that's not a comfortable place to be. 

While this has been one of the hardest choices I've had to make in a long time, I want Subaru to have the best life she can. I want her to be her happiest self. I know she has not suffered with me but she isn't thriving to the fullest extent. We have found that she can be happier with someone who has more time to dedicate to her, with fewer dogs, more access to sports. Although my heart says I should just keep her, I know that is selfish and I should not hold her back. It breaks my heart and I've cried several times writing this and far more before I even had the words. 

Subaru is going to be living with our dear friends and clients, Ashley and Jeff. They own another dog who came to us for a board and train and during the pick up days, they fell so in love with Subaru that we approached the topic, discussed it and decided to give it a try. They wanted a dog to do herding, agility, disc, dock diving, and Subaru deserves to get to do those things and enjoy being the center of attention. We have entered this tentatively because there's always a chance it won't work out and maybe Holly won't accept Subaru or maybe Subie won't adjust to the household. But Subaru spent the summer with them and during that time, her fur has grown back 90%. She's been going everywhere with Ash. She even started unexpectedly alerting to some medical things for Ash, which was not the goal but with the training I have put into her she's fallen into the role of a service dog with grace. Her brilliance and all of the work I have put into her is really shining in their hands and Subaru is happy. 

I would not have let her go to just anyone and I never planned to let her go at all. She's easily one of my most highly trained dogs that I've put so much into. But this situation has been so perfectly aligned and I'll still get to see Sube often, living her best life. As with any dog who comes from me, she always has a home here and endless support, even though she wasn't a dog I brought into the world. She was MY dog. And in some ways, that's even more special.

​My perfect teenager. Vintage has been such an awesome dog to raise and love and train. She's the picture of stability, drive, and just about everything I think the breed should be.

Despite being a teenager and all the typical struggle and qualms that generally comes along with, Vintage has been an exceptionally easy dog for me. A healthy relationship and good strong training can eradicate so many of those "teenage issues." I'm sure it also helps that she was born and raised here! Audacity, my other bred by, has also been very easy to raise.

Vintage doesn't know a thousand tricks yet but she does have a 100% reliable recall under any distraction, a perfect stay with full stimulus control, impeccable loose leash skills no matter who's on the other end of the leash, she has work ethic for days, toy drive and willingness to engage with me despite the world around us, lovely dog social skills, impressive body awareness, and a deep affection for every human she meets. She's my perfect girl and I am so happy she's mine! I really don't think I'd change one single thing about her. It makes me sad that we probably won't get anymore Abbie babies but I'm so glad to have some dogs out of her to carry on her legacy. Vintage here in my own home, Penny as my darling co-own who I have the pleasure of spending lots of time with, Retro as another very hopeful up and coming co-own, and a couple Vintage sisters that I can take pups back from later if they're bred. There's even a slight chance of puppies off Abigail's first daughter, from her first litter, who wasn't purchased as a breeding prospect but has passed all of her health testing with flying colors and is a great dog. I've shared about her some before, her name is Sage and she's from the Spices litter.

All of our eldest dogs fill such important spots in our day to day lives, pack dynamics, and even in our careers and business. But it's so inspiring to see our young dogs stepping into their roles, finding their dignity and becoming such special pieces of our lives! Even though not every dog stays here forever, they all get the same respect, countless hours of work, and endless love.

I went on a quick trip last week to pick up something very special!

Meet "Lucid" - Don't Wake Me SonicWorkaholic. She is our second Whippet and I have been waiting for about 6 months for her. I got on the waitlist for her mother's litter before the stud was even picked out! But I was super happy with the stud choice her breeder made. Lucid comes from @sonic_workaholic_bc and made her way here all the way from Poland. Her dam is a small Whippet from racing lines with a natural retrieve and her sire is a very accomplished flyball dog. I couldn't be happier to add her to my family and hopefully in the future to my breeding program! Her breeder has been such a pleasure to work with, even from so far away, and we also had some great help from a few of the other litter owners who helped with getting importing all figured out.

Lucid flew into Chicago and I flew there from Reno to get her. While I was there, I got to meet @covencollies for the first time although we are already great friends via the internet and I got to meet @puddlemere.k9s who welcomed me to stay in her home while I was there. She is so kind and I appreciate the help a ton! I hope we can reconnect again one day.

So far, Lucid is very driven, she is a big time "people dog" and wants to be with me constantly, she has fantastic toy drive, she's met my pack and is fitting right in. She's a super confident puppy! I am so happy with her. She will get to be a versatile sport dog and maybe even help Lapis catch some jackrabbits.

Lucid will be the demo dog for my puppy raising series which can be followed on my Patreon! 

Welcome baby Lucid!

Audacity had a freak accident on a hike and crashed with another dog. Immediately I knew something was very wrong. I palpated and could feel that her hip was dislocated. We rushed to the emergency vet in Reno, an hour away, and arriving at 8pm we waited 9 hours before she was seen by the doctor. X-ray confirmed a dislocated hip. She was treated with a closed reduction that morning, which presented as effective. She was on crate rest for 2 weeks afterwards. 

08/07/22
My love. My heart. My darling girl.

Audacity, my precious puppy. I've loved you since the moment you were born. I waited with bated breath to meet you. I meticulously planned your bringing into this world. And you have rewarded me so. With your heart of gold, your personality, your silliest and your sweetest moments, watching you grow up and creating this bond we have has been one of my greatest pleasures. To know you is to love you and everywhere you go, everyone you meet falls for you. You are my treasure and to see you in pain breaks me. The moment it happened I immediately knew something was very wrong because you cried out... you never cry. You're so tough and so strong. But you cried and you hobbled to me and you couldn't put your leg down. We carried you back to the van and rushed you to the emergency, waiting all night wide awake to hear what was wrong. To hear that you were going to be okay. You're home now and the procedure is done and I am hoping against hope that you will still get to live the life you were meant to. You are such a superstar, you're brilliant and you're fast and you're capable and I know we can go so far together. But even without all of that, I am just happy you're okay. The road to recovery will be long but I am right here with you, and we will make it through this.

08/11/22
My darling girl Audacity has been really spirited these past 2 days. She's so happy and loving. She loves being carried outside to the puppy patio to potty and she happily greets the cat and sniffs all over and stands for affection. She's still not putting any weight on the leg that was injured but she's getting around okay on the three legs, the brief moments I do let her walk around. Still keeping her strictly crated and making sure she has plenty of down time to heal. She has a crate set up in the living room, the media room aka her "uncle"/ my brother's room where we watch TV and hang out, and a crate in my bedroom. So I alternate her around in the different ones so she doesn't feel lonely and can stay where her people are.

Yesterday a good friend and client came by to drop off their dog, who was a veterinary technician for a very long time so I had her look Audacity over and she was happy with how everything was feeling, so that was reassuring. I'm still worrying over her constantly and regularly on the verge of tears or throwing up from the stress and worry but I am doing my best to keep it together and not dwell on it too much.

Audacity and I both love ice time when I put a cooling pack on her hip and she lays with me and we cuddle and I pet her and kiss her and tell her how lovely she is. She's been quite peaceful despite all the crate time and I don't know if there was ever a better reminder for why I crate train and normalize using the crate on a daily basis. She doesn't think it's super abnormal to be crated and it doesn't stress her out at all. She doesn't like being left out when the other dogs get walks or work but I always make sure she's got a good lasting treat and doesn't have to directly watch. She always knows anyway but we are doing the best we can.

08/19/22
It's been almost 2 weeks now since Audacity's injury. She's been on plenty of medications to sedate her but I only give her the low end of how much is prescribed because she's truly an angel and she's taking all of this down time in stride.

It is so hard to think about the future for her now and have to consider the facts that she may not get to have the future we had planned. She may never get to do agility again, even though she was so quickly picking everything up and steadily approaching surpassing her mother in speed. She may never get to catch a disc again, one of her favorite things of all time. I don’t know if she will get to be a mama. I don't even know if she will be able to do off leash hikes with the pack anymore. It's all so uncertain right now until we know how she's healing and if she will need further corrective surgery. It's so insanely hard to think about weighing the pros and cons and quality of life.

My first bred by, my Calypso baby, my up and coming sport dog, my treasure may never be the same and that's incredibly difficult to come to grips with.

I hate going out and doing things she should be a part of without her. I hate that she's missing out on showing off all her amazing skills and her darling personality while we have friends here. Today I am going to agility class with Calypso and I hate that Audacity isn't coming. It hurts seeing her limping anytime she walks, it hurts wracking my brain and hovering over her and constantly tensing about if she's going to hurt herself further or if she's even healing correctly. I feel over her with my hands every day and that hip still feels different to me than the other one and I worry about it constantly. But there's nothing I can do, nothing I'll know until we get into the vet who couldn't see us until September 1st, so until then I just hope and worry.

Fortunately Audacity is still her good natured sweet self and she's thrilled every time she gets to come out for a little bit. She doesn't worry, she doesn't stress, and her cheerfulness does help me.

It's been busy but I wanted to make this post because it's a lot of things that have been on my mind. We're all okay and I'll be posting more soon.

09/02/22
Yesterday I went into the vet with Audacity and Calypso, confirmed Calypso's pregnancy via ultrasound and also got the news that Audacity's hip has dislocated again.

It's been almost three weeks since the injury and because we don't know exactly when it came back out (although I suspect it's been since day 1, because it never felt quite right to me) she isn't a candidate for an open reduction or toggle surgery. Now my options for her are either total hip replacement or femoral head ostectomy. I'm not sure yet which route we'll go and I'm gathering more information regarding both and speaking with more doctors and people who have experienced these procedures with their dogs.

It feels like such an impossible position to be in with my 1.5 year old dog. She was so promising and showed so much potential. While I know no matter which option I choose, she will be happy and cherished and she will live a good life, it's hard to consider that we won't be able to do agility together, we won't be able to do disc, she will never be back to her full pre-injury athleticism. It's also really unfortunate to think about the fact that she'll likely never get to be a mother. While every dog kept in a breeding program is only a prospect for breeding until proven otherwise, I still put a lot of hopes and dreams and money and effort into my dogs, praying that it will work out. Audacity has even already been nearly fully health tested. OFA eyes, patellas, shoulders, thyroid, spine, hip prelims, Optimal Selection DNA testing. I don't normally do much of any health testing prior to 2 years old but with her I did. I'm glad I got a peek at those hips before this injury occurred.

So while this has been a devastating blow, I am still very eager and excited for Calypso's upcoming litter and I know Audacity will enjoy being a big sister. Sometimes the good and bad news come together and I'm thankful for the good to balance out this bad.

09/08/22
Today is the day. Audacity is in surgery.

Please keep her in your thoughts and send good healing energy our way. I'm not comfortable speaking about what procedure I chose or anything else surrounding the situation at this time so please don't ask. I'm sick to my stomach with worry but mostly I am just eager to have my dog back to herself. Leaving her wasting away in the crate as her muscles atrophied further with each passing day, leading to a harder recovery... I'm just glad that part is over. Now we can get on the road to actually recovering and Audacity can have her life back.

I'll have the link for the GoFundMe up in my bio, if you'd like to donate. It's greatly appreciated! Thank you everyone for all of your support and thoughtfulness for my sweet little Daci girl.