On the last day of the year, we are looking back at our key moments in 2021. It feels like we always forget many of the things we did during the year. We all did have some good success stories, so that is nice and we all traveled as well.
January
Nothing happened last January. It was a real dud of a month but I guess we just enjoyed ourselves at home.
February
February was the slow beginning of our dog sports for 2021. We had one AKC Scent Work trial. Olivia earned her Excellent Interior Title that weekend.
March
Things heated up on the sports scene in March starting with my Senior Barn Hunt Title. It only took me two years to do it!
I also earned my NW3-E, which is NW3 Exterior Title. I still need the NW3 Container Title and three full NW3’s.
Olivia turned two years old, which means a big party for her special day!
Two days after turning two Madison and Olivia took a road trip to Winterset, Iowa, where she earned her NW2 Nose Work Title. They went on the hunt for some more of the covered bridges down there.
April
In April we took our first overnight family road trip since we brought Olivia home. We went to Fort Dodge for a night for Fast Cat and Barn hunt. No one got titles, but we did get some nice Q’s.
Madison and I did a Scent Work Trial together. We both managed to get some pretty ribbons. I earned my Excellent Masters and Interior Excellent Titles. Olivia earned her Container Excellent Title.
May
No surprise, May was a big month for Olivia, our sports star. She earned her L1E, Level 1 Exterior Title and placed first as well!
Next up, she became the first one in the family to earn a qualifying leg in an NW3 Nose Work Trial, and that was in her first try at an NW3! There is no ribbon since it isn’t a title, but she has her paperwork in order to prove it all.
Finally, she finished up the Excellent Level in Scent Work passing her buried searches earning her SBE, Buried Excellent and SWE, Overall Excellent Title. She is the first one of us to earn that title.
June
June was Madison’s sports month! We all traveled to Grinnell, Iowa, my second road trip of the year, for FastCAT and Barn Hunt. I earned more FastCAT points while my sisters both earned their DCAT Titles. One of the biggest key moments in 2021 was Madison earning her RATCH, Rat Champion Title. She is the only GBGV to hold the title and we are super proud of her!
Next I celebrated my eighth birthday, of course in style, with a nice family party. I think I still have a lot of puppy in me when I want to let it out!
Madison also entered an NW3 Trial and earned a qualifying leg, her first one and her NW3-I, NW3 Interior Title. Mom was super proud of their team effort which overcame a lot of challenges with Madison’s fears that day.
The following day, Olivia entered the L1V, Level 1 Vehicle trial, and earned her title.
July
Olivia and I made Mom’s birthday month something to be proud of! She kicked off her sports streak at a local element trial earning her L1C, Level 1 Container and L2I, Level 2 Interior Titles. Of course, she had to place first in her L2I! It was a proud weekend for Olivia.
Continuing on, she earned her first clean NW3 Title which is the first one in our family after four dogs and thirty five tries, and she is the very first GBGV to earn an NW3 Title. She and Madison traveled to Davenport, Iowa for that trial. They told me Mom was so proud, she couldn’t quit crying.
I wrapped up the month with my first FastCAT Title, BCAT. Mom had her heart attack just three days before that and I missed the first two days of the trial but she insisted I get there on that last day to earn my title. I made sure it happened with the help of a good friend who drove us and made sure Mom didn’t do too much except call me and be my catcher..
August
Madison celebrated her fifth birthday on the tenth. Mom took her for a fun photo shoot at a local county park, and we had a party as well.
A week later, Madison and Olivia traveled to Council Bluffs, Iowa for a Scent Work Trial. It had a lot of ups and downs but they managed to accomplish the main goals they went down there for. Madison earned her Buried Excellent Title which gave her her overall Excellent Title. Olivia finished her Interior Masters Title.
September
My sisters and Mom began their travel streak in September. They had lots of key moments in 2021, but many of them happened in this month. They traveled to Amana, Iowa over Labor Day for FastCAT, no titles, just points towards their next titles.
Next they headed east on their six day trip which included several new states for each of them and a huge Nose Work Trial success for Olivia. Mom entered Olivia in and NW3 Trial in Pennsylvania. It was weird because they knew no one there, but when they left, people were asking, “who was that dog”? Olivia not only earned her second clean NW3 Title, she placed third out of all the dogs and also earned her NW3 C,E,V Titles. Mom cried again, I heard. No one really expected Olivia to earn a clean NW3 Title there, let alone third place. This is probably the best of the key moments in 2021 for us.
They returned from their trip out east on a Tuesday and on Saturday they left again for Oswego, IL for another NW3 for Olivia. This time Olivia earned a leg, missing one hide in her last search. This was her third NW3 Title but she was missing one interior element title. Still it was amazing that at two years old in four tries she had the 3 NW3’s!
October
In October I was back earning some Scent Work Titles. First all three of us entered a local trial. Madison got some Q’s, but no titles. I earned my Master Container Title. Olivia earned her Master Buried and Exterior Titles.
Olivia entered another NW3 Trial in Brainerd, MN and managed to get that elusive interior element title which gave her the NW3 Elite Title. Yes, Mom cried again! Mom has wanted this title for over five years and finally, Olivia made it a reality!
The following weekend, we all went to a Scent Work Trial where I was the only one to earn titles. One happens to be the one Mom really wanted that weekend. I earned my Buried Excellent Title but most importantly, that gave me my Overall Excellent Title! Now all three of us are at the Masters level.
My sisters took a trip to Milwaukee for some more FastCAT runs to get more points the end of the month. It is a longer drive, so I opted to stay home. Mom is going to try to limit my travels to around three hours, which is still about three hours too long if you ask me!
November
November we didn’t have any sports. Usually we have some the beginning of the month, but not in 2021
December
We finish off our key moments in 2021 with our AKC FastCAT Invitational. It is so special to be invited and to have two of us invited it is crazy! We both did our best in the heat and humidity, but as we figured all along, Olivia earned the Best of the Breed Title. She was fastest all year and being a lot taller than me, she is just faster. The other GBGV competiting, Olive, from our breeder as well did a great job but could not beat Olivia. The family has the title and that is most important!
This year has been challenging with Mom’s surprise health issues but our key moments in 2021 help make it end up being a really good year. Mom feels good and is doing things she has always done, and our family is together which is really all we can ask for. Stay safe if you celebrate tonight! See you all next year!
wow! you girls have been busy this year— traveling, competing, exploring and taking care of your mom!! All in all a great year we think! Well done!! Happy New Years Eve. and See you next year!!!! Your friend Lilly
We always love to look back because we forget about all the things that happened, especially at the beginning of the year. Happy New Year to you all!
You girls are so talented! Here’s to even more special moments in 2022 and we hope that your mom’s health remains good!
We really hope Mom has no more health surprises, like ever again. We need her and she needs us. 2022 should be a fun year again for sports, but one never knows for sure. Happy New Year!
We are so proud of all of you, including your mom! You’ve had quite a busy, eventful year with so many points, Qs, and titles! And the three of you have done an excellent job of taking care of your mom! And it seems your mom has done an excellent job of restoring her own health as well. Looking forward to following your 2022 adventures!
We all hope for many more adventures and titles in 2022 but most of all that we all stay healthy and are there for each other. Happy New Year!
You girls collected a lot of ribbons in 2021!!!
From our house to yours lots of wishes for a HEALTHY, happy 2022.
Thank you. We did get a lot of new titles and finally broke into the really big ribbons! Hopefully we will all have a healthy and successful 2022! Happy New Year to you all too!
What a fantastic, winner of a year! PAWSOME! After reading all that I think I need a nap! Wow, just wow. Happy Old Year and Happy New Year. XOXO Sparkle
We completely forgot about things from the beginning of the year. It was a pretty big year that will be hard to top, but we will sure try. The main thing is that we all stay happy and healthy. Happy New Year to you, your sister, and your special mom 🙂
You guys were so busy this year. You should all be proud of your accomplishments
Wow, you ladies are amazing! Nice work to all three dogs and mom! I’m going to see if I can find some tips on your blog for trialing we with two dogs. It’s hard enough for me to focus on one dogs’ needs but plan to try agility with both dogs in 2022.
One is easy, two is doable, three is a lot of work, but we do all compete at the same scent work, FastCAT and Barn Hunt trials. You just have to know your dog and how each one does things and it works pretty well.
You’ve had a full year except for January. Thanks for recapping the fun.
I told you Olivia was a superstar and now you know it’s true.
Have a fabulous day and a happy New Year. Scritches all around and a hug to mom. ♥
We have known she would be a real sports start since her first trial at 6 months old when she got high in trial at a scent work trial and then she earned her novice barn hunt title at another. It takes the pressure off the rest of us, so we don’t mind.
You need a separate room to house all of those wonderful ribbons girls! We’re glad your Mom realized something was wrong and got help right away. Happy New Year’s Eve sweeties!
Our office walls are covered in ribbons, no need for wallpaper, LOL! We are thankful that so far Mom is doing well and is pretty much back to where she was before all the stuff happened.
What a fabulous year you all had!!!
It was much better than we remembered which is why we do a review every year 🙂
That’s a great year! Congratulations on all those ribbons!!! Happy New Year!
Thank you. It is kind of obvious that dog sports are our thing I guess!
So many good things happened, and i pray you all have a blessed and beautiful 2022!
We had a lot of good in 2021, just the health for mom was a big speed bump but hopefully that is behind us.
What a great year your family had on 2021. I hope it continues. Excellent summary. Have a wonderful Happy New Year, bringing you heath and happiness. Stay healthy and take care of your Mom and Grandma.
Happy New Year to you too! We are looking forward to what 2022 has in store for us.
A busy but accomplished year. Well done. Keep up the good work in 2022!
Olivia already has begun with a class on New Year’s Day for a new sport 🙂
Such a wonderful year you guys had! Our purrsonal highlights were your cooking segments! We LOVE your baking! Purrs Marv and Cinnamon
Oh my, thank you! I will have to try to bake a bit more often this year. We will see how that goes.