April 22, 2017
Dear family, friends, fans, and Abolish the Crate Federation members,
Thank-you very much for all of your birthday wishes! I celebrated with a delicious peanut butter flavored cake, lots of playing with Grady, some Nose Work, cuddling with Mom and several naps (it rained all day so I was stuck inside). Overall, it was a great day!
Birthdays are a good time to reflect on the past year and I had such a fun year that I thought I would share my thoughts with you. First, let me say it has been a whirlwind year! I was able to accomplish all of my goals which included:
Play with Grady four to five times a day
Run like a bullet, everyday
Greet everyone I see with unbridled enthusiasm
Get plenty of rest
Clean my plate as fast as I possibly can
Help my Mom run faster in agility
Then, I got to thinking about all the wonderful activities I participated in the past year. One of my absolute favorites was Fast CAT which is basically a 100 yard dash in which I chase a “bunny.” Dogs are encouraged to run as fast as they can and you can’t get in trouble for anything. It is simply fabulous!! And, right now I’m tied with two other dogs for the second fastest golden and I’ve only run 4 times! I’m very much looking forward to the next Fast CAT event.
Another fun thing I started was Nose Work. If any of you love using your nose to find things, then this is the sport for you. Nancy, my Nose Work teacher, is absolutely fantastic at hiding the scent in the most unimaginable places. I am constantly amazed at where I find things! So much fun!
And, of course, there is agility. I found the current agility system to be confining so I have developed an new system called, “Freestyle Agility.” I believe it will be a huge success especially if I can convince my agility teachers (Kellie, Anne and Mel) that it is a viable alternative. Getting Mom on board has been challenging but she seems to be coming around (or at least getting out of my way on the course). Sadly, Grady is staying with traditional agility which is a bit disappointing to me. He is the best brother one could ever have and I like it when he agrees with me.
Finally, this is the year Abolish the Crate Federation was launched and I cannot say how pleased I am with the growth of our membership. Sure, it has been non-stop work and my speaking engagement schedule is a bit overwhelming but I will do whatever I can to get the word out about our organization. From time to time, I find that I have to engage in a bit of vandalism (destruction of yoga mats which were placed in my crate), as well as excessive barking, to get my point across. That seems to be a hit and miss approach so I am considering other alternatives with which to express my displeasure. Feel free to send in suggestions.
I must confess that every day of my life is one of pure joy and excitement. I only have wonderful, fun and exciting memories about last year, all of which include Mom and Grady. Life is a marvelous adventure and I look forward to seeing what my third year will bring me!
There you have it. Chapter and verse.
Dawson Earnest Huntley
President & CEO
Abolish the Crate Federation
