So, maybe if I vent here all will be well with the world.

I saw him, cute as a button, being gently guided into the building at the CPE trial. I thought, OH MY, that dog must be from Spur's kennel. Yep, my friend I am talking with says so. I track the lady down!!! I can't WAIT to share stories and such, about our little adorable mini-aussie-pap-crazy-monkey-pants-cute-stuff that we rescued from the gates of hell. Well, not really, it was just a temporary shelter and crappy puppymill and these dogs were not THAT bad off, but still it was great to see one that MIGHT be Spur's sister! Nope, it's a boy, so it was probably just a cousin.

I chat and chat, all cheery and excited to hear her stories about him and tell mine about Spur. BANG..........shot to the ground, bleeding and gasping. She shot me!

OK, maybe I am being melodramatic, but seriously she pretty much shot me down. The conversation was essentially over. I asked if she wanted the dogs to meet, it would be fun to see if they recognized each other, I thought. She says she would have to wait, she is working the next class. O - K - the next class, well we still have to finish this other class. We have plenty of time. Oh and also she informs me she may not let the dogs greet if mine is too rambunctious. Spur? Hahahaha, he IS rambunctious, but he is a very submissive boy, to which she looks at him and raises an eyebrow. He is, he is submissive and a weenie dog when greeting other dogs. Anyway, I leave her alone, perhaps she thinks I am now stalking her. I run the next class, with Spur, she is ring crew and watched from her chair in the corner. I can't wait to hear what she thinks of Spur's run. We do share similar issues.

Later I go find her in the crate room. She had just run her dog and I had just run Colby. She was talking notes. She has a trial journal. She makes notes about her runs, her Q's, her titles, etc. I peeked. I gleefully blurt out how great her dog looked and what a nice run she had. He looked kind of down, trotted mostly, but he seemed pretty happy. I am sure he has issues, just like Spur. She asked me to step back, her dog was having his cookie. O - K - I was already about 8 feet away!! I chat some more, starting to wonder if she really does feel like I am stalking her. I ask if she does USDAA, because Spur has done some and we love it. She says....."No, USDAA is too competitive for me and I do this just for the fun." .............BANG!!! Shot again!!! Um? I do this because it's torture?????.....again I am starting to bleed......... I squeaked out....."Oh......, well........., I think USDAA is the most fun!", trying to smile and be cheerful when I really want to bitch slap her..........how rude, I thoroughly enjoy USDAA, my dogs have tons of fun, you slimy, arrogant........and lots of other words I shouldn't say came to mind...........and I slink off, wondering why she never said anything about Spur's run that she watched from her ring crew chair in the corner. He looked pretty happy! I thought.

I realise that she was definitely irritated by my presence. I was interrupting her notes. Her dog's cookie. Her little 10 foot bubble she holds around her "space", ready to cattle prod anyone within reach, to protect her dog and keep him from experiencing FUN, for crying out loud. I started to feel bad for her dog. He is never allowed to visit other dogs, he gets shoved in his crate while she sits there taking notes. He isn't rewarded for being ring side and learning to deal with trial stress and social skills. What fun was he having? In his little bubble of 10 feet, with her to laser beam anyone within reach, pushing everyone away so he can have his COOKIE!!!!! The poor dog thinks life outside the puppymill is all about Mama controlling every tiny little burp!! Her notebook had all her titles and scores and notes. But, rememberrrrrrrr...........she is not competitive. She's having "fun".

Should I have a note book? Should I be more protective of Spur? Geez, I already have Roscoe to worry about, that's enough protection for me for one day. Nah, it's all about the fun and Spur doesn't need protecting, he needs to get out and experience things, sometimes even troubling things. Ribbons, notes, whatever. I do have my little video showing Spur looking pretty happy. Not super great, master agility dog, or super fast zooming around the course like he is at home, but we will get there some day, he's learning. He's learning and experiencing.............. experiencing .........FUN!!!

I hope I meet her dog some day. I hope I never see her again. Is all right with the world? No, but what did I expect. Henry Ford said it best.........."Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you are right". I think I can with Spur.