OTCH Culynwood Mystic Stargazer UDX2, RE, JH “COMET”
3/23/2003. Comet. Photo by Chris Anderson.
The year 2007 started out with little expectation, quickly became the best year of my obedience career, and ended, as all good things do, coming to an end. Comet and I started on the long road to an Obedience Champion Title back in 1997, when he was born the end of March. He was my little red boy.
We entered our first trial in September of 2000, with a run-off for HIT. That was quite a way to start his Novice career. His second try for the CDX title was a year later at the same trial site in September of 2001, where this time he took HIT. Utility was not as successful. We started in March, 2002, and didn’t get our first leg until April, 2003. It took a lot of lessons with Dee Dee to work out all our kinks. It was July of 2003, when we finished the UD title and could start on the competition road.
We had added the JH title to his name in March 2002, and I tried my hand at Agility until I ruptured the Achilles tendon on my left foot in May of 2002, and had to have surgery.
We continued to collect points and had all our first places, but I had to take off more then a year for health reasons and after only collecting 18 OTCH points in 2006, having over thirty points to go, and Comet reaching his tenth year, I made the decision in the beginning of 2007 to show just for fun and not worry any longer about the OTCH title. Low and behold, the first show of 2007, Santa Clara DTC, Comet took first place in the Utility class with a score of 200. My first and only. What a thrill! Not only that, but it was worth thirty points. He needed ONE more point to finish. We received that one point at the San Mateo Show in San Francisco in February.
Comet continued to show for the rest of the year, doing some placing and earning some more points, but I began to notice problems with his hips. He is still active, happy and willing, but I feel he has given me all I could ever ask for and it’s time for him to be my little red boy again. So he is retired as of the end of 2007. It’s time to go play.
– Joan Folla