Seven years ago, in the summer of 2002, is a day that I will remember as one of the best days of my life.  It was because of that one day that I was able to have such an amazing experience these past seven years and learn a handful of great life lessons.  Because of that day, I’ve had my share of smiles, laughs, tears of sadness and joy as well as times of frustration.  Though if it wasn’t for that day, for all of those things, I wouldn’t have had the chance to learn the special things I did… those lessons of life.

            It was June of 2002; my mother Kathy, father Tony, two sisters- Rachel (older) and Emily (younger), and I were on our way to get a puppy.  It was a puppy that my older sister, Rachel was paying for, one that would be a family dog, but one that she would be the main care taker and trainer of.  It was an Australian Shepherd (Aussie) that we were getting.  A herding dog that takes a lot of care, needing a lot of exercise and mental stimulation to be properly raised.  We ended up getting a male and naming him Logan.

            After about a year, Rachel had gone to visit my Aunt for a month.  During that time I took care of Logan .  Aussies are known as ‘one person’ dogs, so because of me spending so much time with him, we became extremely close.  We formed an extremely strong bond.  Even once my sister came back, he was still bonded to me.  I loved having such a strong bond with him, a dog is one of the best friends a person can have, he never judged, talked back or said anything mean about me behind my back, and he is an amazing listener.  Rachel had gotten a job once she got back and started hanging out with friends more, so he never got that close with her again.  It wasn’t that she didn’t care about him anymore, she was just getting older, and a teenage girl that was just more interested in hanging out with friends at the time.  I was kind of glad that he didn’t, because I surely would have missed having him follow my every move and be there whenever I needed him.

            Dog agility is a type of dog sport that I had done much research on and was something I wanted to try with Logan .  I talked with my parents and finally enrolled in a class.  Logan and I both took to it very well, and had so much fun doing it.  Somewhere along the way, Logan started showing signs of dog aggression.  Being such a strong dog, it was hard for me to control him.  Almost every week I would have to deal with him straining at the leash growling, barking and lunging at other dogs.  It became tiring, and extremely frustrating.  I would often come home in tears because of it.  It got so bad that we eventually had to pull him from classes and find a way to try and fix it.

            Logan also has had several problems with his legs.  He wasn’t from the best breeder and lines.  He had hip dysplasia at the very young age of 5 months and had to have a surgery which required lots of crate rest for months..  When he came back to classes from his break because of the aggression, he eventually had to be pulled again because of problems with his knee.  He started limping extremely bad.  It hurt not being able to do something we both love so much because of him being in pain.  We later found out that he had a blown knee and had to have surgery.  The surgery was extremely tough on both of us, we couldn’t do agility, and we couldn’t run and play in the backyard or go for long walks for a few months because of his recovery time.  It took a long time to get back fully into agility, as well.

            Though, through all of this, Logan was always willing and ready to please.  That’s what he wanted the most, to please me.  He was always very patient and never seemed to give up on doing things, he hung in there.  That’s what I love most about him; he always had the best attitude, through everything.  So it is because of Logan that I became involved in the sport of agility and learned so much about it, as well as dogs.  I have learned so much from him, a dog.  I have learned how to be patient, how to be loyal and respectful to those around you.  How to never give up even when things get tough, and how to live life in the moment, never stress about the future or the past, live for now.  Who knew there could be so much to learn from a small creature such as a dog?  But there is… and I have had the chance to do so.