OFFICIALLY RETIRED

I have started this blog many times. I've had multiple versions in my head but none of them seemed right. Life has been busy lately and I thought about just doing a short, sweet blog about Marley's retirement. But then I got to thinking. Marley has done so much in her life and she deserves her agility retirement to be acknowledged. I know, she's a dog but she's my soul dog and she is owed this tribute.

The 2017 agility season is nearing its end for us. This was the first year KK competed alone. No Marley. This year Marley retired from agility.

I knew Marley's agility career would be short when she was diagnosed with bilateral hip dysplasia as  a puppy. Marley had many highs and lows during her career. When I brought home that cuddly blue eyed puppy, I had so many dreams and expectations. While my dreams of big titles and accolades may not have came true, Marley excelled in so many other ways. She pushed me to be a better agility partner and took me into the obedience and rally world. She pushed me to stand up for her, to fight for her. More importantly, Marley became my soul dog.

Marley was never the fastest, most accurate agility dog. Sometimes she walked the course, sometimes she ran all out, sometimes she would both walk and then full out run. I never knew what dog I was taking to the start line. Sometimes there were tears on my part. Frustration from Marley not achieving what I had planned. But nevertheless, Marley persevered. She raked up agility Q's and titles. She had an article written about her in our local paper after being recognized by the AKC for being the top All American Dog in Arkansas. She ran in four agility organizations. She earned a Snooker Super Q in Texas. I will never forget that run!

No amount of love, tears, hard work and prayers could change the fact that Marley's agility career would end before I was ready. Even after she recovered from her bilateral hip replacement surgeries and the surgeon cleared her to do agility again, it wasn't the same. I was afraid to jump her. I thought I would cause her to damage her new hips. By then, KK was running agility consistently and it made for an easier transition for me. Marley still went to trials, but she didn't compete. We had started doing a lot of NADAC trials and they have this great event called Tunnelers! It involved no jumping, no weaving, no contacts, just tunnels!!

Marley loved tunnelers. I felt no pressure. I just took her to the start line and let her go when the judge said 'good luck'. Then Marley and I just ran. If she off coursed, it was ok, because I was getting to run my dog. The dog so many had written off. The dog I fought for. The dog I shed so many tears for. I got to run Marley. She made my heart full and now I cried tears of happiness.

The last time Marley ran agility was Sunday, October 23, 2016 at the Run as One trial in Texas. It was a tunnelers run. Her favorite type of agility, not a weave pole in sight. She was a happy girl. She wanted to run with me and I wanted to run with her. She ran her tunnelers run with her usual Marley flair. Bouncy, clunky but happy. She finished her run with a big smile on her face, matching the smile on mine. I'm so lucky that Hazel caught that moment with her camera. It sums up Marley's career.

I didn't go into the ring that day with the decision made that Marley was retiring. It was just going to be a tunnelers run. An opportunity for us to run together. No pressure, just a run that Marley and I could enjoy together. Later, I made the decision to retire her completely from agility. It was not an easy decision but a decision that needed to be made. She will still go with us to trials, but she may not get out of the RV. She loves her home away from home!

I was blessed that I got to run agility with Marley. I'm so happy that Marley retired on her own terms and she left the competition ring happy. I'm thankful that we got to run together as long as we did. I'm very proud of what Marley achieved while she was competing. But what I'm most proud of is that Marley is my dog. She is my dog and she is loved deeply.