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In memory of BISS CH Cotoica's Once Is Not Enough
I sit here this morning with her daughter‘s head in my lap. Almost unconsciously, I reach out to pet her and receive that trademark wiggle and a soft kiss in return. I wanted to write something last night and god knows I tried. The floor is littered with balls of paper, crushed attempts to say what I feel. I am a writer and this should be easier for me but it is not. I stare through the window at the fall landscape. Frost is on the fields and the dogs running in the yard are puffing out small clouds of their breath, yet I'm not focused. I silently think about the activities of last week and I smile, because deep down inside I know just how lucky I am. Very few of us in the dog world have the opportunity to be owned by a truly outstanding dog.We’ve talked about magical stardust appearing, that once in a lifetime event that you hold your breath as the tears rolls down your face, not even having the strength to fantasize about what might be. Last Wednesday it happened to me. Not once but several times. I first felt the magic when I met her. Sitting on the floor by my feet, nuzzling me. She had difficulty walking in the room, a result of the drugs and progression of the disease, yet I knew at first glance that she was one of them. As I held her and her children and grandchildren romped in the room it seemed obvious that she was preparing herself for the final act, that one last show where she could strut her stuff and say to all “look at me”!
Hours later I watched her literally control the crowd surrounding the ring. Her poise and effortless grace allowed her to almost float around the ring. For a few moments, she was in her prime as she overshadowed the “picked” dogs and almost shouted “watch me”! That is the magic. Moments later the magical stardust continued to fall as I watched her children float around the ring. Her presence and poise easily apparent in each of them.
As the evening drew on, the stardust floated down I stood ringside and held my breath. There in the ring was my outstanding dog. With him were two of her daughters and several of their offspring. Tears stained my shirt as the judge pointed to Race, yet I knew that there was more to the moment than his win. I stumbled, almost in a dream, into his ring and sat on the floor holding him. With the stress of the last few days oozing out of my body, the tears of joy fell as her children and grandchildren approached to complement him with a wiggle and congratulate me with a kiss. I thought to myself … these are the future of this breed.
Yes Jackee you will be missed. But you will never be forgotten. As I hold your daughter I silently thank Suzanne and Joe for allowing me to co-own her in the hope of bringing another Jackee into this world. As you have shown, Once Is Not Enough and I for one look forward to your children and grandchildren continuing to challenge as they clamber up and over the current milestones in this breed. Oh, and before I end I thought you should know that your daughter is like you in so many ways and is Frankly Not Enough either!
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