Award for Exellence in Writing

WARNING - TISSUES MAY BE NECESSARY

Not by me, but by my 11 year old cousin Jennifer.

As many of you know, my cousin Michelle lost her hubby in the line of duty 5 years ago. Recently, she rode 300+ miles from East Hanover, NJ to Washington DC on the "Police Unity Tour" and raised over $5,000 for care of the memorial in DC that has Mike's name on it. The ride went into DC to mark the begginning of police week 2 weeks ago.

As you can imagine, life has not been the same - the girls were 9 and 7 when they lost Mike. Below is Jenn's award winning essay in the Solano County Reading Association's Annual writing contest.


My mom sat on the couch and cried as she remembered my father. My dad was a good man with a big heart for his family. My family always went to church, dinner, and on vacation together. We were close and loved each other.One New Year's Day when we were camping in our trailer, my sister and I were awakened by my tear-eyed mom saying she needed to tell us some news. I had a feeling something was wrong when my grandparents sat at the table in tears.

I thought my dad must have been in the hospital since my grandparents had made the two hour trip during the night. As we sat on the couch, my mother announced the tragic incident that occurred the night before. She told us that as my dad helped a driver stuck in the mud on Hghway 17, setting out flares and calling CalTrans for backup, a speeding driver crashed into the back of the CalTrans truck. The truck then rolled forward into my father, causing internal organ injuries. She said he lay there until an ambulance came, hoping to rescue him, but unfortunately God had already taken him to Heaven. Later that morning, policie officers came to bring my family and me to our home.

Since that day, I have felt like my time with my dad was cut short. I felt sadness and a piece of my happiness had vanished. My heart knew he was gone and in Heaven , but my mind doubted he was actually gone. Ever since that day I have felt jealous of other peoples' dads but now I know to be happy for others and to realize how special my father still is to me. On the day we went to the funeral home to say goodbye, I remember kissing him and breaking into tears because I wanted him to respond to me when I said good bye.
I learned to lived for the moment because you never know how long you have left. I know now, you need to tell someone you love them when you feel the need and I would tell anyone who lost a parent that it takes time to recover and not to constantly cry. I feel blessed to know my dad is in Heaven with God and I will see him again. Although it was hard to realize it at the time, I know God did this for a purpose and one day I may come to realize why God took my dad from me. Until then, I will wait and treasure my memories.
- Jennifer Walker, April 2010, Age 11

BACK TO AGILITY!

We had a great day Saturday in Cleveland - all of us.

Our first run was our standard run - mom's timing was off on a front cross that caused her to take a turn too tight and drop a bar, but the rest of it was beautiful. She got lots of cheers when she came off the course from all her friends, many of whom told me if you didn't know she had been hurt, you never would have known. I was very, very happy and let her stick her nose in the treat bag so she could inhale them all at once.

We moved on to jumpers, where she got a record setting 8 pts! The course was wheeled very generously - meaning more yards and therefore more time. I just wanted a clean run - the course had some tricky spots - but was thrilled when all the bars stayed up. And then to find out the course time was 47 seconds (our time was 38.45) was the icing on the cake. Again, she got the opportunity to stick her nose in the treat bag and inhale again.
Also, we got to see Ace's sister Ella! She lives in Cleveland and her sister Reggie competed today at the trial. Ace enjoyed over an hour of play time with his sister (broken into 2 sessions), and they just went nuts. This picture below says it all...no question, Ellen, the breeder, had her hands full!!

Moose Baby

Baby Ace on his 3 month birthday, 5/13/10

Baby Ace and his sister on his 3 month birthday on 5/13/10.

                      And one for the ages, to celebrate our return to the agility ring this weekend!!! Ace is going to the trial also, and will see his sister, Ella this weekend, as she lives in Cleveland and will be at the trial. I will be sure to post pitcures.

What puppy?

With the exception of Little Girl (who weighed a mere 15 lbs last week), Ace and his siblings are getting close to the 25 lb mark. They were 12 weeks old on Saturday. Ace has lost his roly poly puppy look and all of sudden has HUGE feet and paws that are way too big for his body. It is definitely the start of the gangly puppy stage.

He is doing pretty well training wise for a 12 week old puppy. Some of his habits are less than desirable - he is a garbage mouth to the n'th degree (tonight's treat was ripping goose poop out of his mouth along the path by the river, which was just "fowl") and when he doesn't get his way, his first instinct is to reach out and chomp whatever is closest - your hand, the couch, my computer bag. Last week, I had Chelsie at Medvet for an eye exam - it was free for all service dogs, and as a TDI dog, she is considered a service dog - and some lady was there with her 6 month old lab because she thought he had swallowed a sock. He had. At our current rate, we will be there for Ace swallowing some sort of foreign object.

Here are some pictures from this weekend. They are not really all that great - but please keep in mind I am usually trying to either take something away from him he shouldn't have or take something out of his mouth. Just as soon as I correct him for one thing...he is off to the next. Oh the joys of a 12 week old puppy.

His sister in hanging in - becoming a little less tolerant and has actually told him to buzz off a time or two!!!