The AKC Agility Grand Champion Title: My journey

Selene’s diary: I started off this year with 14 Premier jumpers (advanced jumpers, more difficult than Masters) qualifying runs (Qs) left. In March, mom fell at the ice rink and had shoulder surgery in May. By then I still need 6 Qs. We started back the end of June and got 1 Q, and my brother passed away in the beginning of July. Mom and I both fell into depression and we were both very sad. We started back up in July and got 1 Q, and 2 Qs in August, then my foot was bitten by fire ants in Fort Worth. I was limping for 5 weeks. I got 1 Q in October and got the last one the first week in November. I really do not like backside jumps. I almost did not make it because I was so slow in the beginning. Mom was very happy and relieved and told me I also need to finish my Preferred Agility Champion 5 (PACH 5).

My AGCH picture with the judge, November 2, 2024

I also earned an article written about me in the German Shepherd Dog Club of America magazine January/February issue. 

A lot of people were cheering on when I finally did it. It took us 3 years after my sister Sophie went to heaven. I just wish I had siblings to cheer me on. Mom bought me a lot of food that I like: HEB garlic chicken drumsticks, steak and of course cake.

My sister Sweet Tea went to heaven

Storm’s diary: Three weeks after my canine brother went to heaven, my 17 year old big sister went to heaven. It happened all of a sudden one day, and she fell asleep and never woke up. My dad was very sad because Sweet Tea slept with him every night all these years. 

Sweet Tea, Sirius and me

  I feel that I have to take up the responsibility so I started sleeping with Dad. Mom was upset because I used to sleep with her. But my canine sister Selene is sleeping with her now, so I think it is ok.

Since I lived in this house, Sweet Tea is my 7th sibling to go to heaven. It is really sad, and now I became the oldest in the house. Sirius, aka Hop-along, since she only had 3 good feet and hoping on the 4th one when she came, is almost 3 years old, but she is still very much like a kitten. I do not have a choice of a friend since it is only me, her and Selene. 

I started hanging with Selene a lot. She was depressed since Spencer died, and she really did not have the energy to chase me. 

Summer is almost over, and I turned 10 years old in September. 

Sweet Tea was buried between her feline brothers,
Sammy and Sunrise

Selene and me

I turned 10 years old September 2024,
With mom and Selene

My brother Spencer went to heaven

Storm’s diary: If you do not know me, I am a 10 year old cat that my now-in-heaven GSD sister Sophie picked up on the street. I have lived in this house for 10 years and I have seen 3 of my canine siblings and 2 of my feline siblings went to heaven. Spencer was a great brother. He never chased me, he was a calm nap buddy and I was never scared around him even though he weighed 95 pounds. 

Spencer and me when I was still a kitten

Spencer was only a year or so older than me, but he was never the crazy dog who chase everything, I think he loves me and he told me that I would be doing ok in this house. I will never go hungry. 

I never have to worry about Spencer chasing me, I can walk around the kitchen and not have to worry about running back upstairs. 

Spencer turned 11 in February and we never would have thought that that would be his last birthday. 

Me sleeping with Spencer 

It was a really sad July day. Spencer woke up and could not breathe, then he collapsed in the backyard. Mom and Dad took him to the emergency vet, and his lungs was filled with blood. My poor canine sister Selene saw them leave and Spencer never came back. Selene was in depression for months. She and I bonded. We both lost our brother. I used to be scared of Selene, she was smaller than me when she came but she chased me around. I am scared of her sometimes. But after Spencer went to heaven, she would lie there all the time, and I would just go lie next to her. We both felt calm. Mom and Dad were both sad for a long time, they did not talk and when they did they talked about Spencer and they both cried.

2024 was really a tough year. Mom fell at the ice rink in March and she had shoulder surgery in May, so when Spencer collapsed, she only had one arm. Selene became another dog, she slept a lot and had been very quiet. I could not believe that in my short life, I saw 7 of my siblings went to heaven.

Mom with Spencer on his 11th birthday.

This is the last picture that Mom took of Selene and Spencer

Spencer was buried between my canine sisters Sidney and Sophie

The Preferred Agility Champion 4 (PACH 4) title and that’s a wrap for 2023.

My PACH 4 picture.

Selene’s diary: Mom decided that we are not going to the Nationals this year, and I got my 4th Preferred Agility Champion in September. I finished all 50 Qs in Premier Standard and have 14 Qs left for Premier Jumpers for 2024. 

Me, mom and Spencer

The Utility Dog (UD) title and Versatile Companion Dog 3 (VCD3)

 

Me performing the scent discrimination exercise: I have to find the one with Mom’s scent on it.

Selene’s diary: I started 2023 off with obedience trials at the Utility Dog level. I am still working at it, and mom wanted to see where we are at. Mom kept telling me I am almost 6 years old and I need to catch up. I worked hard. I tried to focus all the time. I got my first Q in Oklahoma in March. Mom was so happy. 

We were in Louisiana and mom made a mistake that ended with an error on her part, so I did not get any Qs. The next trial was at Donna’s place where I train. Mom said I needed to pay attention and I Qed both days, so I got my Utility Dog title and my Versatile Companion Dog title.

My UD/VCD3 titles picture, June 2023

I also finished all 75 Qs each for FAST and Time to beat runs that are required for the Agility Grand Champion title that spring. I was still running 4 runs per trial day. It had been a busy first half of the year. 

The Preferred Agility Champion Title 3 (PACH 3) and my journey towards the Agility Grand Champion

Me on the teeter

Selene’s diary: 2022 had been a very busy year, mom and I started my Agility Grand Champion journey and I was running 12 runs a weekend, 4 runs a day. We went to Oklahoma and Florida. I got my 3rd Preferred Agility Champion in October. And by December, I had finished all 100 Qs each required for regular standard and regular jumpers with weaves. 

I also started training in advance obedience: utility exercises. We got and practice run throughs once every week, and with agility classes 2 days a week, I was occupied. Some days I was so tired mom said I snore when I sleep. 

My PACH 3 picture, October 2022

We also got to go to New Orléans after a weekend of agility in Baton Rouge. I love those beignets. I had a good time chasing the pigeons in the French quarter. We walked a lot and got to eat a lot. Spencer was not very adventurous as far as food goes, he always wait for me to eat first. And then he quickly snaps before I eat them all up. So hilarious. 

Spencer and I at the French Quarter, December 2022

German Shepherd Dog Nationals 2022 and Versatile Companion Dog 2 (VCD2)

 

Spencer in Mississippi on our way to Nationals

Selene’s diary: German Shepherd Nationals was in Florida in 2022. We crossed multiple states to get to Florida. I had good fun, so much food. Spencer was worried sometimes, but I told him hey be adventurous. 

For me, I was entered in agility and obedience, and mom said that our goal is to get my Companion Dog Excellent (CDX) title (intermediate level obedience). I was entered in 3 days of obedience and I qualified the 2nd and 3rd day and got my last 2 Qs towards the CDX title and also qualified for the Versatile Companion Dog Title 2 (VCD2). I was also the high scoring dog with a tracking title and the high scoring dog with an agility title, so lots of ribbons and I got lots of treats.

Me with all my obedience ribbons

I also did well in agility and I was on the top 20 agility dogs list that year. Unfortunately I was 50 points short of a 3rd Preferred Agility Champion. We stayed in Florida for 2 days with mom’s friend and then we headed towards home. We went to Georgia and mom visited one of her friends. It was a long trip and I was glad to be home after 12 days.

Me with all my agility ribbons.

Me at the Georgia state line on the way home

The Preferred Agility Champion Title 2 (PACH 2): A quick journey

Selene’s diary: After Sophie went to heaven, I started going back to agility trials in October 2021, starting with the German Shepherd Dog Club Nationals in Missouri. The last time I was there, I was a puppy and Sophie was still with us. We were making rounds in Texas: Belton, Dripping Springs, Leander, Helotes, San Antonio and League City. We went twice out of state: Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Fayetteville, Arkansas in April, 2022. I had enough points and got my last double Q at the end of April in Belton, Texas for a second PACH, just 7 months of trialing, after taking 4 months off last summer. Of course, Dad bought me steak and a McDonald’s gift card.

Me jumping

My PACH 2 picture 

My brother went to heaven

 Storm’s diary: My brother went to heaven on April 16th. He had been sick and his health deteriorated very fast. X-ray showed he had something in his lungs and several medications did not help. Mom cried and cried, and I looked for him for days. I used to follow him around when I was a kitten and he was my best friend. 

Mom cried at night because she does not have a bed buddy anymore. I try to remember to jump on mom’s bed when I can. Mom would always call my name and ask if I want to sleep with her. 

Mom loved him the most. He came shortly after Sophie came and mom just lost Sophie not long ago and could not cope with losing him too.

I miss the good old times with him. Since I came when I was just days old, I spent my whole life with him.

Me when I was a kitten, with Sunrise

Sunrise was buried next to Sidney, Sophie and Sam

Sunrise sleeps with mom every night

We have a new sister!

Storm’s diary: Four days before Halloween in 2021, my canine siblings were barking outside. I looked outside and they were barking at a very tiny white furball. Dad dragged Selene in and Spencer was outside still barking. Mom went out and got Spencer in. She went back outside with oven gloves and picked up the furball. 

The day Sirius came

Mom had to take Selene and Spencer to an agility show and  Dad was going outside the front porch all weekend. I was wondering what that was. Mom came back Sunday, Halloween, and took the furball to the vet. She came back and said: “Surprise, it’s a girl!”. Dad almost passed out.

Mom then brought her inside and that was when I first got a good look at her. She was all white with black markings, just like Sophie. Mom was saying that Sophie might came back as a cat!

She was very playful and she screams really loud when she was hungry. She was about a month old and mom made her the same birthday as mine: September 28. She weighed about a pound but she was growing fast. 

Dad called her “Hop-along” because she had one bad front foot, she was hopping all the time. Mom said she talked to some friends and they all think that a large bird dropped her off and she had a bad landing. Mom even went around the neighborhood looking for a momma cat who looked like her, but there were no kittens anywhere.

She slept inside a pyramid that used to belong to my brother Sam, who is now in heaven. She was inside the bedroom with a fence, but within 2 weeks, she made herself at home and she kept climbing out. She ate about 5-6 times a day and I wish they feed me that many times. She has very blue eyes and mom said she would name her “So blue” if he was a boy. 

My 2 human aunts named her Sirius, after the brightest star in the sky, since she really fell from the sky. But she answers to Hop-along.

Pretty soon, mom had to take the gate down because she could not keep her inside, and Siri would jump on me and follow me around. Mom bought her a tunnel and she would hide in the tunnel and then jump on me when I least realized she was waiting on me.

Pretty soon, she became very bossy. She meows all the time, she tried to go downstairs to look at my canine siblings and she had no fear. Maybe it was the “Sophie” in her.

Since she is being fed several times a day, and I am only fed twice. I would follow her and stayed behind her food dish, sometimes she will have leftover and I would go eat it all up before she comes back. She would scream again and the food would come again. I tried that and it did not work. 

I wonder when she is going to grow big like me and mom said she will not be as big as me. So that’s how I am promoted to a big brother.