First Post

Introduction and background. Since this is my first post, I thought it best to give a brief background. We've been in Virginia for nearly 12 years now. Ben and were married in May of 1995. Both of us grew up in the mid-west. Ben spent most of his childhood in the 'burbs of central MN, while I was raised in rural western WI. I was raised a farmgirl on 88 acres where my parents raised Appaloosa horses and ran a horse boarding business. We all worked hard, and greatly enjoyed country living and being among our animals everyday of our lives. I have fabulous memories of things my brother and I did on the farm. My brother used to love to go out into the pastures and build elaborate forts in the small patches of trees and brush left for natural shade and cover for the horses. He would take his trusty Golden Retriever, Kata and they'd spend all day together, often not returning home until dark. I can remember attaching one of the pony's to the toboggan with a make-shift harness of baling twine and padded cinches. Our driveway was very, very long and straight. In the winter Dad plowed it with the tractor, and we'd have a hard-packed snow driveway with banks that were head high or greater. We would trot the pony up and down the driveway with us and the toboggan in tow. Of course the ponies were not really broke to drive, and I wish that I photo of the 'harnesses' we'd make! But we made it work and I can remember having so much fun and laughing to the pee- in- your- pants point! Having horses, ducks, dogs, and too many barn cats we learned about life and about death, without any of it being sugar-coated or politically correct.

I learned that because you'd get hands dirty, or you were tired, or it was too cold, or it was too hot, were not acceptable reasons to not get a job done that needed doing. There were so many things that we just simply had to do, regardless of how much drive one had to get it done. Farm life is not for the faint of heart, or for un-selfmotived individuals. I am so thankful for the upbringing that I had. Along with having the farm, we showed horses. My brother and I showed until we were 18. This was our life. Many weekends all summer long were spent at show grounds with the horses, family, and friends. Like the memories of being raised on the farm, I have memories of these now very special days. At family gatherings, it's without doubt that we end up talking about the horse show days.

I believe that my love and connection with horses made a natural carry-over into dogs. When Ben and I got married he had just joined the Navy. He was in school for the nuclear program and we moved into a townhouse in Patrick Springs, FL. All I can say is YUCK! Not only is this area 100% city, Florida's weather is not to my liking, especially after growing up in WI. We were in FL for 6 months, then moved to upstate NY. Saratoga Springs is beautiful little town and that area is just simply gorgeous. We were 200 miles south of the Canadian border and 200 miles north of NYC. Several times we took day trips to the various parks in the Catskills Mts. Charlie was born in Saratoga Springs and was an infant when we moved to Virginia.

When we moved here, we had one weekend to find a place, get our things delivered, and hopefully be settled in, before Ben was to report to the ship. He was stationed to the USS Enterprise, which left nearly immediately after we arrived in Newport News. We (well, mostly just Charlie and I) lived in the townhouse in Newport News (dirty, crime ridden, and "all city") for the length of the lease, then bought our first house. We found a little rancher (little, as in 1000sqft) in a well established neighborhood where most of the people owned the houses they lived in. It had a front yard, albeit tiny (maybe 30'x60'), a driveway, a privacy fenced backyard (maybe 40x60), and a little shed. We were so very excited!! It seems silly now, but I guess that is the progression of things. We were just so happy to have our own yard for Charlie and Jake (our Lab puppy that we bought shortly before moving). We lived just minutes from Buckroe Beach, but the better find was the dog beach at the Fort Monroe Army Base.

Shortly after moving in, Dylan was born. Charlie was 2 1/2 when Dylan was born in June of 1998. We soon had 3 dogs and I saw agility one night on tv and was instantly in awe! The next morning I called a club that offered agility classes. The club was only minutes away, was in a climate controlled building, and offered night classes. I signed up for the needed obedience classes we had to take, and after a couple months, Jake and I were taking agility classes. Jake was in instant star, and I fell in love with the sport. Our yard soon became filled with jumps, weave poles, a small aframe and teeter, and a tunnel. Jake and I went to agility trials and did very well, right off the bat. Once reaching the Excellent level, I knew that I wanted another dog. Another dog that was better suited for speed and agility, and one that would be raised with agility in mind right from the get go. Jake was almost 3 when I started agility with him. He was such an awesome dog, and was - in every sense, very competitive. He was very clean and consistent. But he just did not have the build to do what these Border Collies were so easily capable of.

Part II to come this evening....