Cobalt

My sister, Ch Burmack's Rosie V Evrmor, just won best of breed for Toy Manchester Terriers at the 2009 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Her father, Ch Fwaggles Tap Man At Burmack (aka "Jake) is also my father and a five time winner of best of breed at Westminster.

Watch the judging in this short video (less than 8 minutes). Of the six entries, I have some connection to five of the dogs. Here is the link to the results for the Toy Manchester breed.

I just graduated from a six-week agility class where Tim and I learned how to navigate off-leash through an obstacle course. It's a sport that involves physical skills, accuracy, patience, and teamwork. For our final class, we had to tackel a course with 14 obstacles including several jumps, a tire, tunnel, and pause table.

[Tim, only insert the good pictures]

The benefits listed in the brocure include

• Increases physical and metal capabilities of the dog and handler
• Provides exercise while strengthening the dog and handler bond
• Helps alleviate stress by focusing on fun!
• Builds confidence for shy, timid and unsure dogs
• Gives dogs the enjoyment of learning and accomplishing new things

While Tim enjoyed the applause, I preferred the cheese treats and enjoyed laughing when I didn't follow his instructions.

Thanks Stacey Hawks, our patient instructor with the delicious hot dog treats, and the DoGone Fun training program.

I just came back from my first international trip...to Canada, the last destination of Tim's 16-day business trip which included St. Louis, Dallas, Los Angeles, and British Columbia via a layover in Seattle. Fortunately, Tim was smart enough to get an international health certificate for me and remembered to bring his passport. Entering Canada was a breeze compared to re-entering the United States. Canada is definitely dog-friendly!

So our destination was Kelowna, a beautiful city in British Columbia. It's a popular vacation spot on Lake Okanagan with some great vineyards, shopping, and outdoor activities.

We stayed at the Hotel Eldorado, a lakeside boutique hotel. On this stay, Tim managed to get bumped up to a suite for one night. I wasn't allowed in the bar or dining area, but Tim tells me that they serve great food and wine. Here are some pictures he took.

[Tim...please insert photos here]

Definitely visit beautiful Kelowna. Here's a list of other dog-friendly hotels in Kelowna because the Hotel Eldorado changed their policy.

After a 12 hour drive (over 2 days), Tim and I arrived in Chicago, our new home town. We live in a cool penthouse loft on the top floor of a 22-story new building in the South Loop. To the north, we have a great view of the city skyline including the Sears Tower. To the east, we can see Lake Michigan. More importantly, there's lots of windows and thus lots of sun which I love. There are a bunch of dogs in our building. And there's a dog run attached to the building, so we don't have to walk too far.