Monday, January 21, 2013

Ceilidh Remembered

Today, marks what would have been Ceilidh's 10th birthday. She's been gone over two years now and I still find that I miss her, some days just terribly. Maybe it's because her life was cut short or maybe because I just miss her quiet presence.

As quiet as she was (most of the time anyway), she was a little firecracker in the agility ring. She gave me some of my most memorable runs and not necessarily for the Q's but for the energy she brought to the game. My most memorable run was her first Masters Jumpers run which was her first Masters Q. I felt throughout the run that I was seeing it a split second before it happened, it was like watching a movie, but at the same time I felt we were connected by a band from my chest to hers, every little move I made was reflected in her movement.  The last three jumps of the run were straight down one side of the ring and there this connection ended and I watched her fly away from me to clear those last three jumps. I never told anyone for months about how the run had felt to me, I thought that they would think me crazy or something.  It was the most exhilarating feeling; every run since then has been to see if I could once again be so in sync with my canine partner and feel that way again. Ceilidh's last Q, a fantastic Snooker run gave me very nearly the same feeling; maybe she wanted to leave me with that wonderful feeling once again.

Ceilidh - 2007 AAC Ontario Regionals

Ceilidh - 2009 AAC Nationals
Ceilidh - 2009 AAC Ontario Regionals
Ceilidh and I were lucky enough to qualify for Nationals before she passed away. She even managed a 7th place finish in one event at Nationals, surprisingly in Gamblers the one event in which she never got a Masters Q. There's a lot to be said for no refusals in the Main Gamble.

This year Beckett surpassed her on the AAC Top Dogs list and that made me a little sad, not because he had passed her but because SHE wasn't still running the agility game. I'm sure she would have been an awesome little veteran dog, who may have even finally achieved her ATChC (darn those stupid Gamblers); but in any case she still is the Champion of my Heart.


Ceilidh was not one who liked to be picked up and hugged, her idea of a cuddle was to rest her muzzle on my thigh and let me scratch her gently behind the ears, besides running in the agility ring with her, I think I miss that the most. I dreamt of Ceilidh last week but in my dream her name was Joy; that's pretty fitting though as she was a joy to me.

I'm sure she'll be waiting for me at the Bridge but today I hope she's having a wonderful party to celebrate her 10th birthday.



3 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday Ceilidh!

    From what I could see in the video, she certainly lived her life full of joy. I really loved the photo of her on the couch, surrounded by all her ribbons.

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  2. Sweet Island girl :) Perhaps your next dog should be another girl you could call her Joy!

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  3. What a precious girl...we are so deeply sorry. Sending you comforting ((((hugs))))
    Barks and licks and love, Dakota and "Mom"

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