CAT

No, not a kitty cat!  Coursing Ability Test!  Gidget got her first leg towards the CA title on Sat.  We had to be there by 9:30 so the dogs could be inspected to make sure they aren't in heat or lame in any way.  Then it was quite a long wait for Gidget's turn.  Gotta remember to send in my registration forms right away next time, that's how they determine the running order.  We were at the end of page 3 out like 7 pages!  I feel bad for the people that had to wait for the last couple pages.  It was a lot cooler out than the weather man had said it would be, good for the dogs, not so great for the people.  So I didn't watch a lot of other dogs run, and the ones I did see had trouble finishing the course.  Those few were all hounds, a couple beagles and a fox hound.  Their noses took over and they forgot about the lure.  When our turn was finally close, we had to wait in line outside the gate to the big field.  Gidget waited nice and patiently, little sign of much excitement.  She showed a little more interest when we got up to the gate, intently watching the dog ahead of her.  Then the gate opened and she saw the lure.  She started hopping at the end of the leash, ready to go.  I got her to sit still, but she never took her eyes off the lure and she would have been gone (though not very far since the lure wasn't moving yet) had I let go.  You can see how excited she was to start running in the video.  There was no distraction for her from that lure!  I could tell she was slowing down a tad towards the end, but she wasn't going to quit.  The 600 yard sprint was rough on her.  She coughed some when she was done and kept hopping from one front paw to the other.  Gidget was back to herself though after a good drink of water, some walking around, and a light massage.  There were no lingering signs of stiffness or soreness later that day or the next day either.  I still would never have her run two days in a row though, that's just too much stress on her little body for one weekend.  It's too bad they only do this twice a year, it's the only club in the area that offers the CAT too!  Here's the video:

Thanks to a friend of a friend for doing the video for me!  I can't wait til Oct. to do this again!