So the past few weeks have been kinda slow for me – but still, a few notable things happened. If that makes any sense at all.

First, this past weekend marked the final field trial of the season, at least in Florida. While most of the country is thawing out and gearing up to get back into the field, Florida is heating up, so mid to late March is about the latest that you’ll really see any events happening down here.

We can manage to train our dogs over the summer, but that typically is all done and over with by 9 am – after that, it’s just too damn hot to really be able to do much with them safely other than let them swim.

Anyway – so what has happened lately?

First – a couple field trials have happened. And I wasn’t at any of them. Between building a house and starting a new life, it just hasn’t been in the cards. While it will be worth it in the end, (hopefully), it still hasn’t been easy. Running dogs is my hobby. It’s what I love to do. Whether they’re good or bad, I enjoy my time in the field with my dogs. This is a temporary thing. Expect to see me in the field next year. Eleanor will be primed and ready to go.

Second – despite very limited competing, Eleanor was a good girl and did me proud. Of my top 5 biggest placements across several dogs over 20 years, Eleanor has 4 of them – including one I will treasure more than all. We won the Jim Spencer Classic in February, besting 25 other dogs and going home with our names on a trophy and a beautiful take-home trophy that will have a notable place in my new house.

Third – This past Sunday marked the 7th anniversary of Shooter’s passing, (I know, I know – OMG he’s talking about Shooter again).

But what’s notable about this time – it didn’t occur to me until today, 2 days after the fact. Time does heal. As I mentioned in my last post, as awful as it is to lose that special dog, you do get to the point where it’s easier to remember the good times than the bad. He was my boy. My best friend. I think about him and I miss him every day. But I’m now so much more able to focus on all the wonderful memories I had of him vs that one awful day. March 19th, 2016.

At some point, we will talk about that day …

That’s all for now. I hope everyone reading this has had a wonderful season with their pups and built some nice memories. And if your season is just gearing up – well, my best wishes towards creating some special moments in the field!

Until next time …