OTCH Red River’s There’s Always Hope UDX3 OM4 RN TD JH CGC TDI
10/14/2010. Hope earns an OTCH and wins High in Trial and High Combined. Photo by Kit.
Hope’s Journey to OTCH
Hope arrived from breeder Rick Van Bergen in Minnesota, a long-time field-trialer who almost exclusively runs (very successfully) bitches. She came out of the crate at the airport barking with a Swedish inflection, and her first act after pottying was to leap from the ground into the front of the SUV.
Hope earned her TD 10 months of age, and her JH at 12 months. Her Novice debut was at Golden Gate Labrador Retriever Club, where she went HIT. She finished her UD 6 months later, also becoming Therapy Dogs International certified during this time period. During her quest for OTCH Hope went to two Labrador Retriever Club nationals, getting HIT and HC at both. Hope is an active therapy dog, visiting Ronald McDonald House, foster kids and hospice patients. She has also acted as my assistance dog on a regular basis and will literally pick up anything she is asked to (and only rips paper a little bit!). As independent as a Lab can be, Hope is also a retrieving maniac, and likes to do nothing better than fetch bumpers and birds on both land and water. We are both very, very grateful for Dee Dee’s teaching, guidance, treats and toys and Hope’s OTCH would not have been possible without her.