As a lover of historical events (though not exactly a fan of history as a whole), and as the sister to an amateur vessel photographer, I went up to Staten Island's North Shore, which looks out towards New York City, to watch a ship commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Titanic's ill-fated sole voyage depart from New York Harbor.
Naturally, Marge tagged along, and every photo I took mirrored those that my sister took, except for the fact that Marge was present in mine, but not in hers. While they were the focal point of my sister's images, for me, the ships provided a backdrop for my lovely dog!
We were also shown on the New York Harbor Webcam, waving to hundreds of people streaming the cam live from their homes as they watched the ship set sail. Anything for a little publicity for my gal.
(The man in the image is the person who owns the company that streams these cams from popular ports. Tracking and watching ships is apparently a hobby, much the way I go plane spotting. My dad looked on somewhat quizzically as all of this went down, but it was all in good fun.)
The week also included not one, but two trips to go see 1997 film, Titanic, during its re-release in theaters. Yes, I am a Leo fan. No, that doesn't have much to do with this blog, so I'll stop right there!
Yes, it seems that three weeks have slipped by without a single blog post from little old me. As I sit in my bed at just past 1 AM on this dreary, rainy night, I think it's finally time for a little update!
The first week in April, we went to one of my favorite trials, a two-day event about forty five minutes away. MargeDog and I were lucky enough to get to stay in my friend's new RV (she literally traded in her smaller one and bought this new one only about 48 hours before the trial!).
I won't post everything from the trial since it was so long ago, but we had two nice runs in Standard (including one where we NQ'd on the second to last obstacle, and another where our only mistake was the weave poles), one wonky Jumpers run on a super hard course, and one clean Jumpers run for Marge's fifth MXJ leg out of ten needed.
We had a lovely run and the course played extremely well to Marge's running style, but encountered a bit of trouble at the back tunnel. Some judges call a tunnel entry like that as a fault, and some do not. I have been on both the winning and losing side of that call.. and that day, I was on the winning side. Lucky.
I also ran Spirit, the Golden Retriever, to her AXJ, while her mom was at a bridal shower, and had a smoking run with Arrow, but bars came down. We got to watch Amy and Layla earn their AXJ as well.
Anyway.. now to a bit more modern times! Today, Sunday, I had a 1-day agility trial way out in Long Island, about an hour and forty five minutes away. Rain was in the forecast and I strongly deliberated about not going, but Louie and I took a chance on it.
We got through the morning without much weather trouble. Thankfully, when it was my turn in the ring in Standard, no rain was falling. I always hate to run Standard in the rain, since I don't think Marge likes climbing on wet obstacles. Fortunately, it wasn't an issue.
She had an absolutely beautiful Standard run. I really liked her speed, her focus, everything. Her teeter looked wonderful and it was so quick that it actually took me by surprise a bit (hence the botched front cross!). We managed a Q for 15 MACH points, putting our total number of points at 55. Only 695 to go!
With a double Q on the line, I decided to stick around for Jumpers. The rain was really starting to come down, but since there were no contact obstacles involved, I didn't mind giving a run in the rain a try.
Marge was quite animated outside of the ring, barking and jumping, so she didn't appear to be too bothered by the weather. When she got in the ring, she was definitely moving at a snail's pace, but picked things up a lot at the end.
We didn't qualify, because I didn't support the double after the weaves and she didn't even think of taking it. She also went in the wrong end of the tunnel at the end of the course.
Oh well. I appreciated her effort, since I know running in the rain isn't her most favorite thing in the world, so she got a whole snack baggie full of meatballs and chicken after the run.
Well, I've got lots more to update about, but I'll save it for another post.
MargeBlog started in early 2009 as a training journal for my newly adopted, skittish Lab mix, Marge. Marge's world was small back then; her fears really limited the things I could do with her. Aside from trips to the park and attending beginner training classes, Marge was mostly a stay at home gal - not because either of us wanted her to be, just because the demons from her unsuitable upbringing continued to haunt her.
Slowly, the fear diminished, her world grew. Now, Marge is a fun-loving, squirrel-chasing, winning Agility and Rally dog who accompanies me to a wide variety of places. Here, you will frequently find detailed training updates, snippets from Marge's every day life at home, and photo-filled posts detailing our many outdoor adventures.
This is more than just a dog blog - it is an actual look in to what one shelter dog's life ultimately became when she found her first and forever home and began to blossom.
About Marge
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A rescue from Georgia bounced around from shelter to shelter and state to state with her siblings, Marge did not have the luxury of living in a home - my home - until just past her first birthday. A life behind bars had taken its toll on Marge, whose obvious fear of people, noise, and city life in general left a lot for her to learn about how to get by in New York.
Marge is a different dog now than she was back then. It took years of new, positive life experiences, but her fears, which used to consume everything we did, are now only one theme in a great big book of adventures.
These days, Marge enjoys going to training classes, taking trips to agility trials, having play dates with friends, and eating anything that's even remotely edible - not bad for a dog who spent her puppy days in cages.
My time with Marge has been a learning experience for which I am ever grateful. As my first dog, she has taught me and continues to teach me so much more than I ever imagined about dogs, training, and behavioral/fear issues. She's a fun dog with a sense of humor who loves life and learning.
