You would never know Taiko is 10 years old today. He does not act like it and I see no signs of him slowing down at all. We continue to show in agility trials. We no longer go to classes together. At this point in Taiko's career, the skills he has are the ones he has and although I am sure he could learn new ones, the skills he does not have are not to his strengths so I do not want to frustrate him to teach him those skills. We run together on a course as a team and for the pure joy of running together. If I do not do my job with my full heart in it, neither does he. We never did get a down on a table in competition and we never will. Found out a year or so ago that his mother was terrible with downs as well- they were "beneath her" according to her owner. So minimally I know where that attitude came from. LOL! To date, Taiko has almost 100 titles and awards to his name. In our early days that would thrill me. Now, I am proud of him for all he is able to do, but those titles and awards are not the reason we do what we do together. We go to shows together because we both enjoy showing together. The titles and awards are symbols of that, but they do not show the dog that can't contain his excitement when he sees me put on my agility shoes. They do not show the dog that explodes off the start line like a bullet because he can't wait to tackle the course. They do not show the dog that snorts with glee after a run and then rolls in something stinky or digs at a mole hole just because his handler believes in life rewards after a job well done. PS- my definition of a "job well done" is not qualifying on the run, the definition is finishing the course with me- good, bad, or ugly.

When not doing agility, Taiko and I walk miles together exploring the various parks and nature preserves throughout our state and neighboring states. Kita joined us up until her last week as well. With our mild winter, we got to see more places than usual and put more miles on in January than we had in August of last year. Cooler weather with no bugs allows us to be out longer. Yes, we have had some interesting run-ins with wildlife during these outings- I do not recommend ever getting between Sandhill crane parents and their hatchlings, even if it is unintentional- but thankfully all behave themselves and no one has been hurt.

As a family dog, Taiko is not quite so accomplished. Taiko is my Hatchi and lives for me. The rest of the household is just staff to Taiko. He tolerates the kids, respects my husband, but lives for me. It makes the loss of Kita more difficult because most of the family has lost their dog. It is not that Taiko is not friendly, but he really is a one person dog. It's why even though he tested very well as a therapy dog, he was not a good therapy dog because it was all an act for him. He would visit people because I asked him to, not because he wanted to.

So, Happy Birthday Taiko! I hope we have many many more birthdays to come!



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Chelle and the rest of the crew including, but not limited to Kita and Taiko (the shiba inu wrestle maniacs), Adi (reserved and dignified tabby cat), and all 28 reptiles www.freewebs.com/performanceshibas

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