Good-Bye to 2013

Once again the end of the year has snuck up on us even though we know it comes at the same time every year.  This year we were fooled a bit into thinking winter was showing us some mercy.  Those dreams were soon dashed with the recent cold snap that has kept all of us holed up inside to stay warm.

The year as a whole has been filled with plenty of great things and achievements including See Spot Run being named the “Best Doggy Daycare in the City” by VUE Weekly for 2013!  I was so surprised and overjoyed when I heard the news.  Owning this daycare has been a labour of love instigated by my Porter, who has forever changed my life.  When I ventured into this business 7 years ago with the support of both family and friends it was only a dream that we would one day be the best in the city.  Now that the dream has become a reality, we continue to take the best dogs in the city into our building and spend our days watching puppies grow and our old dogs get older.  Every single dog that joins us each day plays a special part in our pack making up our daily family.

Coming off an amazing Regional and National Championships, five of See Spot Run’s very own agility dogs will be part of Agility Team Canada in 2014.  In May, we will see heading off to Holland and the IFCS Championships, Pint and Vegas followed by a trip to Italy and the World Agility Open Championships by Ketcher, Slice and Vybe.  As proud as I am of my own two little ones making repeat appearances on the world stage, I am equally proud of my friends Barb and Anji for making the team again this year.  Ainsley and Vybe will be making their debut on the international circuit and I am so excited to be able to share her first journey with her as we head to Italy together.  After being sidelined in 2013 with a foot injury and not being able to travel to Spain with Team Canada, I am super excited to be getting on the plane this year to compete in two different venues.

Outside of the successes of Slice and Pint, my other two boys are doing well.  The old man, Porter, continues to age gracefully and is enjoying his retirement job of detecting treats in the pockets of visitors and students.  He is always so happy when people stop and pay attention to him.  His mind may be going but all his other senses keep him sharp as a tack.  On the other end of the spectrum, the baby, Arson, is all grown up and has started his competitive agility career.  He is full of energy and a thrill a minute to work with.   Arson has taken me to new venues this year including competing in Dock Dogs. We also enjoyed a family reunion with his brothers in Ontario, where we got to see the dogs in their element doing what they were bred to do – retrieve birds!  Such a blast and a weekend I will never forget.

As we think about the year we have had both personally and at the daycare, with all the happy memories and achievements we have also had to say “good-bye” to a few very special canine friends this year.  A couple of dogs, Tucker and Darwin moved south to Calgary and have found daycares down there and made new friends.  Sadly we had to say good-bye to Sully, Brisco, Belle and Pinky as they crossed the Rainbow Bridge and became a part of our Rainbow Wall.  Losing our four legged friends is never easy whether they are seniors like Sully or young and vibrant like Brisco, Belle and Pinky.  Losing three of these dogs to cancer at such a young age is truly heartbreaking.  We miss all four of them very much but know they were much loved before they passed and thought of daily as they watch from above.

When we lose a canine member of our See Spot Run family we make a donation in their honour to a very special charity, the Canine Lymphoma Education Awareness and Research (CLEAR) organization.  For the past year, we have also been collecting donations through different avenues at See Spot Run including $5 nail trims.  Over the past year we have raised $500 in nail trims alone for CLEAR.  Thank you all for helping support this wonderful organization that will hopefully help us rid our dogs of cancer in the future.

This year in lieu of a Christmas gift our dogs really don’t need, we felt the funds would be better spent by making a $2.00 donation for every dog that attends See Spot Run.  On behalf of all our daycare dogs we will be sending $300.00 to CLEAR this Christmas.

When we have the chance, we do our best to keep in touch and update you using social media. If you haven’t liked our Facebook page yet, stop by and click the “like” button so you are always up-to-date with everything See Spot Run.  You never know when you might see a picture of your pal doing something silly at daycare.

Once again, thank you for your continued support of See Spot Run and trusting us with your canine children