It took us a lot longer than most but we finally got there! Our road to MACH had more twists and turns than the Pentagon building! From her canine teeth growing through the roof of her mouth into her nasal passage, to her undersized adrenal glands and liver, to her incisors puncturing her palate and having to be pulled, to her seizures, to her severe IBD that nearly killed her, to her bloat and torsion that also nearly killed her this past April, to her advancing cataracts TO MASTER AGILITY CHAMPION, Isabella has a shown that she truly has a heart of a champion! I honestly didn't think we would ever make it and when she bloated and torsioned last April, I truly thought the dream was over. I learned to never give up on her. Then, after an eternity of trying, hoping, dreaming, wishing and crying, it happened. Those last few points took an eternity with the time changes in September by AKC and Isabella's seizure meds making her want to do nothing but sleep or watch the other dogs play. But, she did it! AND...she did it in fine style too! I tried to make her go off course but yelled left at the last moment and she took that 26" jump from a stand still, avoiding a refusal call! Then, even over my pounding heart, I could hear the calls! Everyone was screaming and cheering with 4 more obstacles to go, "RUN!!!! RUN!!!!! RUN!!!! I looked up at the clock and it was ticking fast! We needed 5 points and we had lost a LOT of time when she came to a near stop from almost missing that jump. We made it with a point to spare. I thought the cheers and tears would never end! I really felt for the person running after us. In the 4 1/2 years I have been competing in agility, I can honestly say that I have never heard that much screaming and cheering for anyone who got a MACH! I was SO touched! EVERYONE loves Isabella!!! People I never had seen before were crying and hugging me! Meanwhile, Isabella was off trying to snatch treats form the treat table. Uncle Jef went and got her so she wouldn't get sick from animal protein treats. Then Isabella was jumping on everyone and smacking them with her paw (she loves bopping people) as if to say, "HEY! I did it too you know!" We did a shortened victory lap to more cheers and Isabella loved it! We got lots of presents and toys and cards. Our MACH bar filled with signatures in an hour so I had to go get a second bar! I felt like Sally Field (You like me! You really like me!) LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL Most knew Isabella's story because my friends had told them. That made them cry more. Then, when it all calmed down, I walked back to our set up with Uncle Jef & Auntie Rossie. They handed me a card and a croaking frog. Jef made me a card with Isabella's photos and a poem he wrote. A little background first so you can understand why he wrote what he did in the poem: The doggie psychic said Isabella hates Josephine because Josephine is a bragger and trash talker cause she has a MACH and wins everything. I had polio as a child and Isabella has had nearly every disease known to mankind and we joke that she even has polio because sometimes she has paralytic seizures and her back leg won't work. Also, Isabella will not run for anyone but me and we always joke that she thinks I am the only one in the world who knows how to handle a dog properly LOLOLOL (little does she know just how horrible I am!LOLOLOL) and that Isabella is faster than all the other dogs put together. When Isabella's teeth were sticking in her palate and we didn't know it, her equilibrium was off so she fell off the dog walk a lot :( it was very sad. Her weaves are horrendously slow but we tell her all the time she is the fastest dog on the planet and she believes us (what does she know? SHE'S A DOG! Well, we haven't told her she is a dog yet either ;). Isabella has no bottom teeth and is known to be a tad aggressive towards other dogs (especially if there are treats in the same county). So, with all that said, here is the great poem Our dear friend Uncle Jef wrote:
MACH Isabella, it couldn't ring sweeter, Moved to 26 inches where no one could beat her. The MACH points rolled in. The countdown began, Everyone watched whenever she ran. She is always alert to her right and her left, If a dog gets too close she will gum them to death. It's so great she got it today at this show Through seizures, bloating and of course polio. Puking each day and things going south And teeth that stuck through the roof of her mouth. She's had some tough days, but she's always pressed on Unless there were ground squirrels under the lawn.
If she could talk, we know what she'd say, "I'm the fastest around so sit down and pay Attention to me as I blaze through the weaves And over the jumps with the greatest of ease. I'm so fast on the dogwalk I barely stay on And I stop on the A-frame to wait for my mom. As fast as I run, I'm lucky I think To have the best handler, the others all stink. If dogs were a dollar, I'd be worth 10 buck And everyone knows that Josephine SUCKS!"
The MACH is the title, but just representation Of all the great time and all the frustration. There's no team more deserving, not even maybe, So go ahead and cry, you big fat baby. We'll shed a tear with you, but not cause we're blue Helen and Isabella, THIS MACH'S FOR YOU!