Sally turns 8 today....

Today is Sallys 8th birthday, and while it's hard to imagine that she is a day over 2, it's equally as hard to remember my life before her.
 Sally has given me so much. As a young pup, she had frustrated me past a point I ever thought I could reach. I thank her so much for that, because she made me work. She has also given me more joy than I ever thought possible. I can never repay her for this. Sally taught me to have fun, and to laugh at mistakes. She taught me how to be humbled. She taught me very quickly that I didn't know quite as much as I thought I did about training, and that it was ok to seek out new and nontraditional methods to reach our goals. She taught me that I had to work for it, not sometimes, but ALL the time. It was because of Sally that I grew to love agility, not just for the human comraderie and for something to do with my dog, but for the sheer RUSH of being a team, and having a tiny bit of control over something so wild and beautiful. It was because of Sally that I sought out an instructor who could really help me become her teammate, not just her handler. Sally made me love teaching, because I had to learn so very much to help her. It was because of Sally that I have gained a love of animal physical therapy, massage and athletic conditioning. Sally made me learn how to keep her safe, both on course and off. She made me learn how to handle better, to give her more appropriate info so she could stay safer. I had to learn how to stretch her, and massage her, and work on her constant bumps, bruises and ouchies.
 Sally is the reason I am what I am, and where I am, today. She has the biggest heart of any animal I have ever met. Sally will give me 200%, no matter what. Whether its on course, or in practice, when I consistently mess up, she will try, over and over again, to let me get it right. She is both incredibly forgiving on a course, and terribly relentless if I make mistakes. She is an angel at home, and a demon in agility. She loves me unconditionally, and completely. Of all my dogs, Sally only has eyes for me. She has inspired me to work harder, dig deeper and go for it. Without her, I would have never quit my job at the zoo, and started a business for myself. She is my inspiration every day.
 Here's to many more birthdays, many more thrilling runs in agility, and many, many more 5:30am kissing wake up calls from a red dog who means more than I could ever express, and something different to me every day. I love you Sally wags... Happy Birthday!