The cutest face ever
Like most kids I always loved four-legged furry animals, especially dogs (with apologies to my purring flatmates). My wish came true in an unexpected way as it seemed it wasn’t me who got the dog but the other way around.

I found Chica on one of my rides into the woods on horseback. She’d been dumped along with her sister as a two-month old puppy. The little daredevil picked up the sister, jumped into my arms and took me safely back home, never looking back. She immediately fell in love with my cats and later on played auntie to the Persian kittens.

Sitting Pretty

Since Chica learned really fast, we took up agility and went on to win the national Royal Canin Cup and place second in the Slovenian Championships in our first season. We then graduated to higher categories and kept doing well, alas we could not go to the World Championship because she did not have a pedigree (way uncool, FCI!)

I lost Chica much too soon due to a genetic problem. She came in second in a very competitive trial just a few weeks before, when she must have been in terrible pain already. She acted strange which I thought was due to the heat, but when she started the course, she was flying as usual and gave it all she had. Literally. What a special creature.

Here are some ‘sounds of Chica’:
Chica barks
Chica at tug-o-war
bored Chica

This was her song.

In agility, the dog and the handler work hand in paw. The dog clears jumps, braves tunnels, crosses dog-walks, jumps on tables and stays, sits or lays down for five seconds, etc. To be successful, which means accurate and fast, the dog must have the necessary drive and trust the handler. There is no force involved – just two partners having fun. I warmly recommend this sport to everyone with canine pals. The people involved with agility are a great bunch and you’ll get some exercise and fresh air while enjoying good company.