AM.CAN.CH Lothlorien Coniston NFD FMX CGC CG AM.RAE CAN.RA AM.CD AM.ME CAN.JE NW3-Elite NW3-C NW3-E NW3-V NW3-I RATS TKN CA BTCA-VX BTC-VX

"Colin"

11 December 2003 - 25 August 2022

Owned, missed and cherished beyond measure by Donna Sapp, co-owned and loved by Pam Dyer & Jo Ann Frier-Murza, admired by all who knew him.

His titles, tell the story of a talented dog with a dedicated owner but that is not the whole story, the rest is embedded in a treasure trove of memories, countless shared adventures and 18 plus years of unconditional companionship.

Colin's focus in life was always hunting. He would do obedience or rally obedience if enough food was involved. Conformation was okay in small doses, again with food. Flyball and agility were fun, but not enough to put everything into it. A nice quick trot was sufficient.

But nosework, barn hunt, earthdog! Now those were worth his full attention. Colin was able to go out for real earthdog work as a young dog and he loved every minute of it. Finding an active earth, the anticipation of getting to the quarry, and being able to act as a draw dog were some of his favorite times. Nothing frightened him and he quickly learned how to get a hold without being bitten. Although I do have a memorable story of trying to hide a groundhog bite on his nose when he was scheduled for a calendar photo shoot right after a hunt.

Unfortunately, due to his handler, he was never able to do as much as he wanted. Nosework and the rest had to substitute and he did enjoy them. In Nosework, he became the third ever Border Terrier to get the NW3 Elite title after Gretchen Ganz's two girls and the first ever male.

Colin also had a peculiar sense of humour. He found some things extremely funny and liked to play jokes. At least his version of jokes. One, in the flyball lane, earned him the BTC Molly Award. He was so serious most of the time, then he would suddenly decide it was time to be really silly. But he always got your attention first. He wanted an audience for his silliness.

True to his genes, he was able to compete well into his veteran years. However, I did retire him from barnhunt as in his excitement he would forget that at 12 plus years, taking a flyer off bales stacked three and four high wasn't in his best interest....or mine.

At 14-1/2 he tried lure coursing and earned his AKC CA in three tries over 3 days. At 15, I condescended to having him clipped instead of subjecting him to stripping, something he never especially enjoyed. but clipped or stripped he was still my handsome boy.

The last couple of years his adventures may have been limited to "toodling" at his own pace around the yard or snoozing wherever he pleased but they were just as precious.

He will be forever in my heart, my companion, my steadfast terrier, a true credit to the breed, my Colin.

Donna

THE MOLLY AWARD COLIN'S STORY

My Border Terrier, Colin, is hard as nails, "game as they come", and driving in attack.......when he's attacking...whether the prey be a fox, a groundhog, or treats he's being given. When he's not attacking though, he's a very sensitive boy. This was shown dramatically when we were at a flyball tournament. Colin was running as the anchor dog and height dog for our team. That weekend, he had started to get into this flyball thing and was starting to really pull on his collar. I decided that maybe we should try a harness.

After he was done one of his races we walked to a nearby vendor and purchased a snazzy harness in the team colours. I put it on him, making sure that it was fitted correctly, not too tight or too loose. He very proudly strutted through the crowd watching the tournament and got many compliments on his new snazzy look. When we returned to where the team was crating, he stayed out with me rather than being put into his crate. He sniffed around the chairs looking for dropped food, relaxed a bit, drank some water, and did a few tricks for spectators walking by, interested in him and the breed. finally his next race came up.

We went outside so that he could empty his bladder and then proceeded to the racing lanes. On the way over to the lanes, just in front of them, he rolled on the ground a bit. I didn't think anything of the rolls as my other dog had done the same in the same place. It's not uncommon for either of them.

Since the other dogs on his team took up all the warm-up time, Colin didn't get a chance to do a warm-up run. "Not a problem", I thought, "as he knows and likes flyball". The judge asked the first dogs if they were ready to start and everyone got focused. I knelt with Colin in front of me. He was staring down the lane, and quivering a bit in excitement. The first dog ran, the second, the third, then it was our turn. I let Colin go and he flew forward. He took the first jump, the second, then the third. One jump left to the box and Colin dropped to the ground. I yelled to him, "Get the box! Get the box!" and then he slowly rolled on to his side. The judge looked at me. "Is he hurt?", his expression said. I told Colin "Get the ball" and he struggled partially up, turned toward me then dropped to the ground again. I thought, "maybe he is hurt" and called him, "It's okay Colin come back". He struggled up again and in a crouching way, as if the world was on his shoulders, he popped each of the three jumps, came to my feet and again collapsed back down onto his side. Then I noticed his tail. His body might be prone on the ground, but his tail was wagging a slow wag....and he was grinning. I know my boy. He wasn't hurt. He was feeling clever.

I took the obviously very, very heavy, to him, harness off of him and he immediately ran down the lane and grabbed his ball and returned without any command from me. I mentioned to him later that he could have noticed and told me that the harness was bothering him at any time during the 45 minutes he wore it prior to the race, but he just wagged his tail and grinned.

Donna