And so it begins.

Above all, we have love. 

Love for our dogs. Love in seeing them happy.  And, when those furry guys play agility, they are most certainly happy.

We savor their smiles, the playtime with them, their achievements. We savor being in the moment and small victories.  Like, when Gus recently overcame his fear of the dog walk and teeter. Or, when Henry throws down a flawless 19 obstacle course in practice just because he can.  Those accomplishments may not seem like much in the grand scheme of things, but factoring in the time spent over the past year(s), each little remarkable milestone means we're continuing to become that thing called a 'team.' A jump, then two. An a-frame. A sequence. Then more. We've come a long way since Henry's meltdown in his first trick class.

No matter how frustrating a particular training session can be, we always seem to bounce back, have fun, and walk away from the A-frame or a jump or the teeter smiling. It's what we do. It's who we are. This isn't a job for us; it's a way we bond. A way we play. The stresses of our day jobs disappear in that minute (or less...thanks Gus) in the ring, because all we have to do is play the game with our dogs.

Progress hasn't been easy, but it's happened. Slowly, at times. Quickly, in others. In November, Henry began his agility career by participating in the AKC Agility Course Test Program ("ACT") -- a program designed for baby dogs and newbie handlers. He earned his ACT 1, and he was one run shy of his ACT 2. Gus couldn't participate because he'd decided to contract a green, goopy eye infection. But, in March, we tried again. A new venue for Henry's confidence, a new experience for us all. The boys passed with flying colors.

Proudly showing off his ribbons!

The ACT led us to Bella Vista Training Center and the great experience (including an extremely favorable temporary height measurement) at Bella Vista prompted us to sign up for our first AKC agility trial....one which fell on Gus' second birthday. A second birthday meant an official (and hopefully another favorable) height measurement by that same judge.

It was clandestine, really. Few people knew of our plans, and the trial was scheduled for a Monday/Tuesday (we only did Monday). In some ways, it was better that we didn't publicize what would come to be an amazing beginning to our adventure. At the facility, though we saw familiar faces we didn't know anyone. There was no pressure. Just us, our boys, and our goal: to have fun. 

Standard came first.  With standard, came this:

BOTH Gus and Henry earned a qualifying run AND first place accolades. Henry is running 12" class preferred (one jump height lower than what would be normal for him); Gus is running 12" as his measured height.  Despite some of Henry's usual hangups with strange people in the ring (he got pensive on both the A-frame and the dog walk), he didn't shut down on me. That in and of itself is HUGE. Despite being afraid of the dog walk a month ago, Gus handled that course like a boss. 

Did we get lucky? Maybe, a little. But, I'd like to think that teamwork beats luck any day of the week.

And then, at the end of the day, came Jumpers With Weaves.  And with JWW came magic.  Up first was Henry. And, he ran his heart out.

Henry was WITH me, and I with him.  We had each others' backs, and with that confidence we scored another Q. He was so confident in JWW, in fact, that his cheeky self didn't want to leave the course! Yes, he's a different dog than he was six months ago, and he's a much different dog than a year ago. 

As for Gus. My sable Ferrari. My little amazing rock superstar! He banged out the JWW course in 18 seconds,leaving Jen gasping in the process. Is there anything better than laying it all on the line with our best friends? I couldn't be more proud of the two of them and the team they've become. 

Two different dogs, two different styles, yet each was perfect (and perfectly imperfect) in his own way.  Though we may not know where the road will take us, we will always relish and remember the pheonomenal way we celebrated Gus' second birthday, for we somehow managed to catch lightening with these two boys.....again.

He smiles.