Storm turned 15 in January and has been a visiting Therapy Dog for 9 years. He had 2 legs on his CDX when he developed a shoulder problem and was 'retired'. Diva was a bouncy little spitfire and left us at 13 1/2, four days after Bear. It was a difficult time. Jess came to us from B.C., a rescue, and has quite a "before" and "after" story. She has been visiting at a local nursing home (with Storm) for nearly six years now. Jess has a story on a rescue site for those interested: www.mistyisleshelties.com/rescue.html Jess is No.4 on this site. I am a big believer in things happening for a reason, or fate, or serendipity, or whatever you prefer to call it. We've had many dogs 'come to us' over the years, certainly when we were not looking or expecting to bring another dog into our lives.
Jess was so eager to go out and "work" when I would take the other dogs out, I decided to try Rally O with her. She loved it! So once again, we applied for a PEN# from CKC. Jess earned her Rally Novice Title in one weekend and was quite a hit as a little 13 1/2 yr. old. Like Storm, she also had a problem shoulder so I could not continue with her due to jumps. I decided to try her tracking and again, she surprised me. She loved it and she was good. So you know the story...we were on our way...
Jess earned a Tracking Dog Title at 2 months short of 15 years of age. Pictured with us is judge Dawn Sanderson from Thunder Bay. Although we haven't checked into this, we think it is possible that Jess is the oldest dog to earn a TD title. She started to learn tracking at 13 1/2 yrs.
Dogs In Canada Magazine requested her story for the January 2010 issue: www.dogsincanada.com/jesss-story-an-old-dog-learns-new-tricks
Jess' Story has been inspiring other dog owners to keep working with their older dogs, or like Jess...begin to do something with an older dog that is fit and still wants to 'get out there'...and tracking is a perfect venue for this!
