Lucky was my very first Aussie. He was originally purchased for use in the medical school in Columbia, Mo. They didn't use him there, and gave Lucky and a couple other dogs to the Veterinary School in Columbia where my friend Vicki Monnig was attending as a student. One by one, the other dogs were put down and frozen for the next anatomy class, until Lucky was the only one left. No one could bear to put him down, and finally Vicki asked if she could take him home. The professor quietly told her to take him. A month or so later, Vicki asked me if I would like a new dog to work in obedience. Since my Brittany Ginger was rather old, and was enjoying life as a couch potato rather than an obedience dog, I told her yes. And I am forever grateful! |
Rolla, MO, Spring of 1989. |
Lucky came to live with us in May of 1984. He was an incredibly special dog. He was smart, and learned quickly, never complained, and most of all was loving and affectionate. He must have had some basic obedience before he came to us, as he soaked up all the basic commands with almost no practice. I registered him with ASCA as an LEP (Limited Exhibition Privilege), as we had no papers for him. By Nov. 1984, he earned his CD in three straight shows, placing each time, and including scores of 195, 193 and 192 1/2. He went on to earn his ASCA CDX, again placing each time, with a 1st for his last leg. He later earned a HIT from Open B. Once Aussies were accepted into AKC, Lucky quickly earned his AKC CD. I figured it would be a snap to get his AKC CDX as well, but after working with him to get his straight recalls in the ring for his CD, he never again did a down on recall successfully in competition. He came close to competing in Utility, but could not grasp the idea behind "scent" articles - he thought he was supposed to taste each of them (and I didn't train initially with food on them!). Despite retraining several times over a couple years, we were never able to overcome this. |
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Leaping Lucky!
Lucky loved to jump! This was a fun picture to take. I had Lucky sit and stay, then focused the camera. When I was ready, I sent him over, taking the picture when he was in mid-air. It turned out better than I ever expected, and won us a 2nd place at one of the NCOTC photo contests. |
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| My boy was happy and healthy until the very end. We decided he was 3 when Vicki rescued him, making his birthday in 1981. He died Aug. 5, 1997. He simply stood up that evening, and staggered across the room. I thought he was having a seizure. Once he got to me, he layed down, but was straining up towards my face frantically. I bent down, and he gave me a kiss on the lips (a special thing he always did), then he lay back, content. My Brittany used to have seizures, so I wasn't particularly upset, and simply stroked him. About 20 minutes later, he simply stopped breathing. Apparently he had a major heart attack or stroke. Fortunately, up until then, he had been a healthy 16 1/2 - continuing to jump in and out of my van, on the couch, etc. It was so hard to believe he was gone so quickly. But he knew, and gave me the kiss good-bye.
Lucky was truly a once in a lifetime dog, and I thank Vicki from the bottom of my heart for taking pity on me, and letting me keep this dear dog who was only supposed to come for a "short time" for training and showing. |
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1993 ASCA National, Puyallup, WA This was our very first ASCA National. We sure had loads of fun! Lucky didn't pass in Open B, but he and Di placed 3rd in Brace Obedience. What a great week. |
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