Quintuple Champion

I was there when Rick was born, and I knew he was mine the moment I saw him. His puppy name was "Baby Ray", and he was a ringer for his dad, Raymond. Rick was very sweet and loving, which is a good thing since he was the naughtiest puppy I ever had! If we couldn't find something, we would just look out in the dog yard, as Rick had probably drug whatever it was out the dog door. Thankfully Rick eventually grew up, and he did amazing things in agility, obedience, conformation, rally, nosework, tracking, and herding. Rick was a multiple High in Trial winner in obedience, herding, nosework, and rally, and he finished his AKC Conformation Championship with three majors, a BOS over a special, a BOB over a special and then on to a Group Four! Rick became a Triple Champion by earning his OTCH in March of 2012, part of an extremely special weekend as Riva finished her Champion Tracker title the very next day. It was truly a weekend I will always remember. In May of 2013 Rick became my second Quadruple Champion when he finished his MACH. Rick started tracking in the summer of 2013, and he and I had a BALL with it. In 2014 Rick earned his TD and TDU, and late in 2016 I was THRILLED when Rick earned his VST. Rick earned his Obedience Grand Master title in the fall of 2014 and his UDX10 in July of 2015. Rick placed Second in the Utility All Stars Competition at the 2014 UKC Premiere, and was the number one UKC Utility dog in the country in 2014. In 2016 Rick finished his PUDX title, his RAE2, and his UKC Conformation Championship and Grand Rally Obedience Championship, along with his URX, GN, and GO. Rick was the first dog in the country to earn the PUDX title. A highlight of 2016 was placing in the Top 50 at the 2016 AKC National Obedience Championship, an accomplishment that was beyond my wildest dreams, since Rick was 11 1/2 at the time! Rick and I discovered Nosework in 2016, and he ADORED it. He was the first dog in the area to make it to the Elite level in UKC nosework, earned his overall Elite title in June of 2018, and then he topped that at the age of 15 by becoming the first overall AKC Master dog in the area as well. Rick loved to bite the hide! I never dreamed that a sport we started just to give him something to do would culminate in him going all the way to the top! Rick amazed me even further by earning his TDX in January of 2019 at the age of 14 years, three months, which made him a Champion Tracker and my second Quintuple Champion. Thank you, Rick! When Rick retired from his other sports, we continued to train and compete in nosework. In 2020, Rick once again delighted me by having the fastest time of any dog during TWO separate nosework trial weekends, just before his 16th birthday! He earned 9 titles in 2020, including his UKC Grand Championship Novice title. Rick earned his last title, VHM, in January of 2021, making an incredible sixteen years in a row for him to earn a title! Rick was a delight to live with, train, and show, and I was so very lucky to have shared my life with this wonderful dog. Sadly, we lost Rick in February of 2021. Please read "A Tribute to Rick" below. I miss him every single day.