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The Exo's just lost their wonderful lab. SHe had been diagnosed with cancer about 9 months prior to her passing. Tara was bred by Jerry Day and was out of Lean Max X Super Sue. She was test dog at the national.
The Exo's have had a tough start to the year, as they lost their FC golden, Chunk in January.
I do belive that some comments from Andy Attar, Tara's trainer, depict Tara.
"It seemed like yesterday, Jerry Day drops her off and say’s, “she is a little Terror” in southern……She had some derby points She was the first Lab that Susan was going to run trials with. It took Susan a long time it seemed to learn how to run her. Yet it was only a small amount of time really. It is like stepping back and watching a movie in slow motion. It opens with a dog, a fire plug of a dog, gutsy, fast, wild, running crazy,…..owner blowing the whistle….not loud enough for the dog to want to hear………the middle involves hard work, blood, sweat, tears, more hard work, some all-age wins, a national finish, a well deserved AFC title,………….a cancer diagnosis, more tears, a second brief chance to be test dog at the fall national, to be proud,…. to show off……and ends with dog and handler asking to be excused during a test because it was just too much………….handler in a position never before seen, in front of the dog on lead, slowly coaxing her team-mate along the way back to the truck…..and lots of tears.
We will choose to remember Tara at the beginning and the middle. We will choose to remember the life she brought to us, the levels she asked us to get to, the challenges she led us to meet, and the pride she brought to us as a member of our team. The end, always way too soon, will be remembered only by the good fortune to have enough time to say good-bye and the wonderful memories of a dog who reminded us of the breathtaking thrill of competition and the sense of why we all spend our days doing what we have such a passion for. As for the handful of dogs that have gone before her, Tara leaves us better trainers and more gracious trainers with the all to many times forgotten fact that we are truly blessed with such wonderful animals."
I was blessed to have known Tara, for a short period of time in her life, a few years. I feel honored that I got to feed her part of a hot dog the day before her passing, and see the "light" in her eyes. The evening before she left us, Susan & Warren said she spent time just swimming in the pond, something she loved to do.
We just never have them long enough. Godspeed Tara. My sincere condolences to the Exo's.
The Exo's have had a tough start to the year, as they lost their FC golden, Chunk in January.
I do belive that some comments from Andy Attar, Tara's trainer, depict Tara.
"It seemed like yesterday, Jerry Day drops her off and say’s, “she is a little Terror” in southern……She had some derby points She was the first Lab that Susan was going to run trials with. It took Susan a long time it seemed to learn how to run her. Yet it was only a small amount of time really. It is like stepping back and watching a movie in slow motion. It opens with a dog, a fire plug of a dog, gutsy, fast, wild, running crazy,…..owner blowing the whistle….not loud enough for the dog to want to hear………the middle involves hard work, blood, sweat, tears, more hard work, some all-age wins, a national finish, a well deserved AFC title,………….a cancer diagnosis, more tears, a second brief chance to be test dog at the fall national, to be proud,…. to show off……and ends with dog and handler asking to be excused during a test because it was just too much………….handler in a position never before seen, in front of the dog on lead, slowly coaxing her team-mate along the way back to the truck…..and lots of tears.
We will choose to remember Tara at the beginning and the middle. We will choose to remember the life she brought to us, the levels she asked us to get to, the challenges she led us to meet, and the pride she brought to us as a member of our team. The end, always way too soon, will be remembered only by the good fortune to have enough time to say good-bye and the wonderful memories of a dog who reminded us of the breathtaking thrill of competition and the sense of why we all spend our days doing what we have such a passion for. As for the handful of dogs that have gone before her, Tara leaves us better trainers and more gracious trainers with the all to many times forgotten fact that we are truly blessed with such wonderful animals."
I was blessed to have known Tara, for a short period of time in her life, a few years. I feel honored that I got to feed her part of a hot dog the day before her passing, and see the "light" in her eyes. The evening before she left us, Susan & Warren said she spent time just swimming in the pond, something she loved to do.
We just never have them long enough. Godspeed Tara. My sincere condolences to the Exo's.
Our condolences, Susan and Warren. God Speed Tara..
