Ch.Tiffany CD, AD, and JD

My big sister Tiffany has passed another trial and got more letters after her name. She is now a Jumping Dog, and she did it with a First Place! The pic shows her with her sash and trophy. The run went well and Keith did not forget to change sides. He did get behind because he has a cold and could not breathe, shout or run fast, but Tiffany waited for him to catch up at the Tunnel and they got round in the fastest time.

I could not be there to see her pass as I am still in quarantine because of my SRMA. I am on less steroids now and I am putting on weight, but my immune system is still not up to strength so I have to stay home with Kathy. Maybe next week I can start going out again, and then I can get letters after my name, just like Tiffany.

Hannah on the mend.

Hannah went to see the vet today and has had her steroids reduced. This means that she is being weaned off the steroids so her immune system can start working again. It is a slow process that will take a long time, but at least she is on the mend. It will still be a couple of weeks before she can go out and mix with the other dogs.

She gets very tired easily, and needs to put on some weight, but you can see from the picture she is looking good.

We have had a quiet week end with just us and Kathy.

Keith disappeared again, this time for 4 days, while he went to WA and we had to stay home. Maybe next year we will all get to visit the West.

Super Models

We have got new coats for the winter. Hannah and I are shown modelling the coats in the photo. The coats cover our backs to keep us warm and dry, but are short enough to let us run about unrestricted. The coats also cover Hannah's bald spot where she was shaved. It took ages to get the photo shoot, we had to get dressed up, then posed, but it was worth the effort. Do you know there are millions of females in the world, but only half a dozen Super Models? That is half a dozen Super Models and two Tollers now!

All the results are back from Hannah's tests. She has SRMA, it did not come from her fur mum, it was possible that she has had it for a long time and the crash into the clothes line stirred it up, but basically, no body knows how she got it or why. Her immune system took a dislike to the lining of her spinal cord and started to attack it. The Steroids will fix it, but it will take a long time. In a few months she will be back to normal but in the meantime we have to be careful with Hannah.

Hannah and SRMA

I am feeling a lot better than I was last week. Tiffany has been very gentle with me as I could not move my neck and it hurt whenever I moved. Thanks to the drugs I am on, we can play a bit again which is making both of us happy. The pic shows where they shaved my back so that they could do a Spinal Tap to draw fluid from my spine and send it off for analysis. The results are still not back yet, so I am still on the temporary treatment. They think I have Steroid Responsive Meningitis Arteritis or SRMA. The link will take you to a report from the University of Glasgow that explains what it is, if you can understand the big words. Not many people had heard of it before although there is a lot of information on the web about it. There is no clear cut cause, the diagnosis is often mistaken for ear problems or physical injury so it is difficult to identify. It looks like I will be on steroids for a long time with regular check-ups. Keith said the vet ordered a new Mercedes as soon as we left the surgery. Not true, it was a Lexus.

Tiffany had a good day on Sunday, she passed her first Novice Gamblers trial and just missed one colour on the dog walk for the closing sequence of the Snooker trial.

Trials Over

I had a good weekend at the Trials in Mount Gambier. I passed 4 of 6 attempts, getting 3 out of 3 for Agility Novice, with 2 first places and a title, but only 1 of 3 Jumping Novice trials. Keith had to judge the fourth trial, and they wont let me run under him. The pic shows me touching the colour on the way over the scramble. Thank you to Kelly's sister for the photo.

Hannah however did not have a good week end. She was feeling well enough for the show on Friday, but Saturday and Sunday she was in a lot of pain and stayed in bed for most of the time. We came home early on Monday so she could rest at home. Today she seem a lot better, but she is still not right. Her left shoulder seems to be the main source of her pain, but her neck still wont bend very well either.

Tiffany AD

We finally did it, I got Agility Dog as a title after my name (subject to Keith paying the money to get it registered.) The pic shows me with all the sashes I won today. We did the morning trial with judge Joy and got first place, then the afternoon trial was with Judge Dave. Keith got everything wrong. He forgot to change sides at the scramble so I had to cover for him, then he forgot to change sides again at the table. I could have bitten him. Anyway I got round the course despite Keith. This pass was the third one and so I can claim the title Agility Dog. The last time Keith got an Agility title was with Tisha the Golden Retriever in 1992, also under Judge Dave. We also passed a Jumping trial today so I need one more to get Jumping Dog title. Maybe tomorrow will be the day.

Hannah is still crook. She could not go into the show today and she has been in the caravan with Kathy all day. I am getting very worried about her.

Hannah on 54 points

Hannah has 54 points towards her Champion Title. Despite suffering from the injury to her neck, she has gone through the ring with her tail high, stepping out proud as punch. I had a bit of a chat with her before she went in to boost her morale, and she went out and did everything right. She was getting tired by the time she went for Minor in Group, and she was glad to come out and have a bit of a kip while we had lunch.

After lunch we went for a run at the dog club grounds. I did some agility training, but Hannah just went for a quiet walk. Tomorrow Hannah has another show, and I am in the Agility trials.