Departure of a Champion- Always Missed, Always Loved

   After two months of silently and deeply grieving the loss of one of my best friends, I must announce with great sadness the passing of SilverStar's CPE champion, Sargeant Major (aka Sarge).  He will always be a part of this family and always be missed.  Sarge passed suddenly in the early hours of the morning while I was away traveling for work in Kentucky.  It is my deepest regret that I was not there to hold him in his final hours.  There will always be a piece of me that will always burn with that knowledge that I left for a trip and came back to one less family member.  My heart aches and it has taken me months to be able to write my final goodbye....mostly because it seems so final.  That perhaps writing this means acknowledging his passing- something I haven't been ready to do.  Losing him and receiving the news four hundred miles from home was one of the most heart wrenching moments I can remember.  I never got to say goodbye and perhaps that is the hardest part to this.  The following is my recognition of the one of the best friends I've ever had.

      I know most outside of our family knew Sarge from his agility achievements and trialing.  He was a delight to have in the ring and to work side by side for these awards.  Sarge would always give his all no matter what.  He would tackle every challenge as if life depended on it and I know my off course yell prevention (SARGE!!!!) could be heard for miles.  I was often told that people in the next county knew when we took the stage.  When we attended nationals, I never dreamed of anything more than a good time with my best friend.  While we brought home first place in the Veterans' games, it was never our focus.  We were both highly competitive and liked to push each other to learn more and be more- this held true even outside of training.  Some people dream of parties or huge soirees, but we dreamed of simple weekends where we could enjoy our work together and enjoy the company of other like minded individuals, canine and human alike.  The next time I set foot in a ring, he will be running with me in spirit, of this I have no doubt.
    Sarge was and always will be the champion of our hearts.  While he graced many stages and won many awards, this was his greatest gift to us- his heart.  Sarge was intuitive and sensitive to our moods, knowing when we needed a shoulder to lean on or a simple hug for support.  He was there when family members passed and there when our grief was the lowest.  Though he couldn't offer words of comfort, his eyes spoke volumes, always saying, "Never worry,  I love you. I have your back always."  Well now buddy, it's time for me to step up and have yours.  It's time to say goodbye and wish you God's speed.  The simple things that I hope he knew was that no matter what, love was a constant in our relationship.  Goodbye and I love you....

 

A Year Gone By Already!!

   I can't believe its been almost a year since our last post- it's crazy how the time has slipped by us.  So much has happened in our pack, I'm not quite sure where to begin.  Our life has been full of crazy husky moments and covered in husky fur 24/7 and we wouldn't trade a thing.
   Back in June, our German Shepherd, Sarge, went to the CPE agility nationals for the first time in his career.  Unknowingly (until I tripped on it going out the front door from where UPS put it), Sarge had received first place in his jump height in Veteran Games.  Once I opened the box, I did a little happy dance.  A few months later in October, Sarge earned his first CPE championship on a Snooker round of all things.  Now we can refer to him as C-ATCH Sarge.  He has been amazing all year long and just being his crazy self.  There are days when we run and compete that he turns into the class clown and has me laughing the entire way and others where he is so serious about his job, he reminds me of how he got his name.

Sarge's C-ATCH
Judged by Lesa Layman

   Aside from Sarge's achievements, we have also added to our pack, having taken in an owner surrender one day after Thanksgiving.  After learning her personality, we decided to keep her former name and register her AKC name as SilverStar's Saturn Sky.  It is doubtful she had seen a vet previous to this week, but our vet just fell in love with her and saw the same potential in her that we did.  She was chocked full of worms, in need of heartworm prevention, and needed to be vaccinated for everything.  After being wormed and receiving some TLC, Sky is back to being her healthy self and trying to find her place among her new siblings.  She does lacks a lot in dog socialization and isn't sure how to greet them or get them to play with her.  The others are not thrilled with the lack of manners and have kept the play to themselves.  I'm positive with time she will figure it out, but for now the pack seems to be studying her and trying to figure her out.

SilverStar's Saturn Sky: Enjoying her first major snowfall

   Tundra, Mac, & Revvy have all started their conditioning for sled season and are doing an awesome job.   Tundra is maintaining his 2.5 mile runs and working on keeping his speed at a min of 14 km/hr since he seemed to have gained weight on the off season.  Revvy is going back to basics and struggling, but we are hoping she will pull her way back to the top in no time.  This year, we are heavily considering running her in point to give her a break as I worry she might be souring on leading the team.  Last year's addition, Mac, continues to stun and impress me on his work ethic and willingess to go out and get the job done.  He has almost tripled his last year's mileage and is maxing his run out at six miles.  His short runs at 2.5 miles have him doing under 6 min/mi.  Our new addition this year, Sky, has started her pull training and seems to be taking to it like a fish in water, preferring to run while pulling heavy loads and hasn't given up no matter what I've asked.  I will be looking hard at her and Mac as up and coming leaders to replace Revvy and Tundra out front next season and move those two back to team.  Also, in addition to the changes, we are also interviewing with a rescue on a possible sixth addition to the team.  If it comes to fruition, we will have to start calling ourselves the SilverStar Six because every time we go out, the dogs always give their best, usually resulting in us being on someone's six lol.  Overall, we are super-excited to see where this season takes us!
   In addition, we would like to thank those who have been following our doggie adventures.  We really appreciate your loyalty and support more than you will ever know.

Mush Love and Happy Howlidays to everyone!
The SilverStar Team

A Snowy Adventure

     SNOW!!  We finally got enough of the white stuff to hit the trails and the dogs couldn't take off fast enough at the trail head.  They had me off the sled and dragging on the ground for a few good feet after the first turn.  Training a yearling wheel definitely has some drawbacks....like skating along the trail on your belly after your newbie decides to cut the corner turn too tight and you didn't anticipate soon enough to swing the sled wide.  I proudly faced down that tree and managed to avoid it, while still remaining in once piece along with our sled.  From the look of things, Mac and I are gonna have to get used to how to do things together and I have to remember he's not going to run like Tundra in wheel.  Thank goodness my leaders, Revvy and Tundra, decided to obey my whoa! command or I'd still be somewhere on the trail being drug along by my lot of overzealous Sibes.
     Now, while being drug along behind a sled team, belly down, clinging stubbornly to the sled might seem like a bad day to some, I'd still match my worst day on the back of the sled to my worst day at work and still choose a day with the dogs.  Lately, with all the bruises I've been sporting, I've been asked repeatedly, why do you do it?  Why do you mush?  My answer is simple.  Sledding is my zen when I'm having a rough week and need to recharge....being out in nature, removed from people, with only you and a team of your best four-legged friends is hard to put into words.  There are no judgments, just a simple bliss.  My dogs and I are a truly bonded team and I wouldn't change it.  To those who would challenge me that running dogs is cruel and abusive, I return your challenge.  Come out to the races and show me a dog without a smile and one that isn't jumping like crazy at the sight of their harness.  They love it!

Alum Creek State Park 2013
Lead: Tundra (L) & Revvy (R)
Wheel: Mac Truck (L) & Kamrie (R)