The best part of the weekend was all the best parts. Banksy got to do agility again, and she did great. She ran perfectly normal and happy and I made some mistakes and she said she still hates start lines and tables, but I got to run Banksy in agility. Gustavo got to walk around and see so many friends, and there was a special mini dog award for Championship and Performance top scoring All American dogs like him. Even though he’s Mexican. And I got to walk back and forth from the car and see all my  friends and Otterpop got to sleep in the car and it was just like old times again. And I didn’t lose my keys or phone or sunglasses.

Frankly, it was amazing.

That’s some of Gustavo’s people at the awards ceremony.

Banksy ran 3 standard classes and 3 Masters Challenge Jumpers. I hadn’t thought I would run them all, but enter them all to have a choice and see how she was doing. She was doing great, so I just kept running and running and ended up running them all.

Banksy’s highlights.

Standard 1. I left on her collar and half way through the course the judge saw it while Banksy was not yet laying down on the table, hovering there begging me to just release her. Toes on the edge, staring at the next thing which I was already led out to, while she was not laying down on the table. I did release her as soon as the judge kicked us out for having a collar on, she was so happy! The rest of the run till that was great, with a hard dw exit right tunnel for Banksy! E

Standard 2. Her dog walk contact was dicey but not called. My hat fell off my head at the beginning and since it was tied to my head with a string it stayed on, but over my eyes. I ran approximately 5 things like that until I could see again while she was laying down on the table this time. Probably a Q.  I have this on video and I think I am running pretty good while hat blinded, actually. Oh, yep, won it and a Q.

Standard 3. A bar between a tunnel and the aframe. Smacked it pretty good. Her table started to be slow again and since I already had the bar I standed her which confused her a bit and she unstanded herself into a down. Rest of it was great, her rdw was not the best hit but it was a hit. We need to practice contacts. Oh, nobody Q’ed so she won this with a bar.

MC Jumpers 1. A beautiful, flawless run but she ticked the broad jump. I didn’t hear it but someone said it was called. That’s cool. How great is it to run Banksy again? I didn’t check to see if a Q because I actually did not give a rats ass at this point since we were actually doing agility. Oh, not called, won it and a Q.

MC Jumpers 2. Oh drat. This is where I sent her to a backside instead of a frontside. I had forgot to remember to do that. I had a refusal elsewhere where I was peeling off too fast for a blind. But I did get it quite nice after I fixed the refusal. I thought this was a nice run but for the enormous error of wrong side of a jump at the end. Even the dicey awful hard rear cross to a push back. Banksy was flying around and doing everything exactly like I told her, no complaints. E

MC Jumpers 3. Because she did everything exactly like I told her, when I told her front side instead of back side, she did this swell! Oops. One more E. I changed my plan, and that’s what I get. And a bar, I have this on video, she didn’t pick up her front feet enough which means I surprised her with that jump. Banksy no likey surprises. Me either. Her startline was gone by this run, but it was cool, we just ran off the start together, like we like to do anyways. E

No trophies. No dog of the year, which is the magic title you win by winning 3 classes in each division. Dog of the year! It’s a title mania! I don’t really get it but we had a good time. When we don’t win I usually say oh it’s cool we didn’t win. But am secretly a bit miffed I didn’t win. I do try hard and frequently don’t win because we still aren’t champions. But this time, I can safely say I was completely cool not winning. It was a thrill to run Banksy, and a thrill to have a Gustavo to walk around. They are totally the dogs of the year just by not being dead!

Probably by the next trial I’ll be miffed again with myself for not winning. I would like to hope not. Even if I make more of those just one or two boo boos per run which winners don’t do. Maybe I’ll write The Dogs Aren’t Dead in sharpie on my wrist in secret code, just to muffle the miffing. That should do it. You should try it, too.