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Milwaukee Dog’s
attended the River City Flyers Summer flyball tournament in
Henry, IL the weekend of June 5th & 6th. The weather could
not have been better for a weekend of camping, though plenty
of swimming pools were needed to cool down the dogs (and a
certain friend of Milw Dogs, but more about that later!).
For both days, our team line-ups included Duncan
(Nichole Reiner), Xoe
(Kim Follett), Rosie
(Kira Haslam), Kobi (Mark
Anderson), Finney (Fred
Kauer) and Teddy (Karen
Michalski) with Mark Haslam working as boxloader and Sally
Haldorson as line coach. Unfortunately, the team was a bit
out of synch for the entire weekend as dogs knocked over jumps
(very unusual), bobbled balls (usually infrequent), and handlers
tried to make adjustments (always a challenge) but were unable
to find their timing. Despite the troubles, on Saturday, Great
Balls of Fur (GBF) found itself tied for 2nd place at the
end of 6 races of 4/4 by winning 13 of 24 heats. To break
the tie, head-to-head match-ups and best times were considered,
and GBF was officially awarded 5th place. Regardless of the
long, hot day, each dog found the energy to play joyfully
with its prize of a stuffed plush octopus (pic on right)!
Sunday proved to be an even greater challenge. Waiting to
race until the afternoon is a challenge for all the teams,
but the long wait and the heat seemed to accentuate the troubles
the dogs and handlers were having, and the team was disappointed
to find themselves in the cellar, as they say in baseball,
by the end of the day.
And now for a more obvious accomplishment:
Congratulations to Xoe
and Kim Follett! In Henry, Kim and Xoe achieved their 3rd
flyball title, an FDCH. Kim has been one of the hardest working
handlers on our team as Xoe proved to be a bit of a challenge
to train over the 2 years she has been with us. But Kim never
gave up faith in Xoe, continued to work hard both at practice
and at home. And as they worked, Kim continued to support
the team and give so much of herself even when she was troubled
by their lack of progress. Nothing is better than to see so
much hard work and faith be rewarded: Congrats again, Kim
& Xoe!
Another bit of joy that the team can take
away from the weekend in Henry came in partnership with High
Fives. The High Fives team was raising money for cataracts
surgery for a Bichon Frise that Patti Muraczewski is fostering
until it can be adopted. The team made a deal (creatively
concocted by Mark Haslam) with High Fives that if Patti would
jump into the Haslam’s dog cooling pool and have a swim
we'd donate additional funds (pics at right). A crowd gathered
and Patti was such a good sport for leaping into the pool
and frolicking while we all got a good laugh (and felt a little
jealous because she was probably a lot cooler than we were).
Further good news from Patti is that the appointment has been
made for the dog’s surgery! Great job, everyone!
- Submitted by Sally Haldorson
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