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Bell 4.7.91 - 9.9.04
Bell, born April 7, 1991, was one of the agility originals, suffering through
all early training methods. As one of the few Springer Spaniels competing in
Kramer and USDAA and then NADAC, and finally AKC, he was entertaining and
infuriating at many local and national events. Following his nose, he went off
course, and sometimes, out of the ring, in ways that border collies never do,
often disappearing for hours, always to return, muddy. Despite this, he
was a fast, driven, athletic dog, bred to hunt birds, and the first (and, so
far, only) Springer to achieve the ADCH title and the first to achieve the MX
shortly after it was offered. Doing "reverse flow pivots" before
they were invented, odd rear crosses, and planning course handling strategies
based on prevailing wind direction, ground moisture, etc., to manage
"the nose", we successfully met our own goals at USDAA and AKC
nationals, before his retirement due to a few infirmities of older age. Still
loving to show off an occasional set of weave poles and low jumps, we attended
dog camp at Lake Tahoe the past 2 weeks. After a great first week of swimming
and hiking, he got very tired, was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer on Monday,
and died Thursday, September 9, amongst the pines and many friends, not the
least of which is Pat Charlton.
He was the first dog I loved and trained and he literally changed my whole
life. Some lessons from Bell: lose the choke chain; ask for help;
take a break; diversify; read Karen Pryor and Jean Donaldson; live and train
kindly and fairly; agility, while great fun, is small potatoes in the whole
scheme of things; big feet, ears and noses are cute and useful; and Springers
like real jobs
and to sleep in real beds, under the covers. He kept me grounded. I
miss the guy.
Susan McClair
Santa Barbara, CA
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