Porsche
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Porsche - OJ's First Class Porsche,
CGC Boston Terrier - Owner/Handler - Nancy Smith CRN 970309 R Oct 1997 Retired March 2004 At the rainbow bridge The gates are wide open - till we meet again Always in our hearts & thoughts December 8, 1994 - June 6 2009 Deceased Titles Earned FD, FDX, Flyball Dog Champion Special Honors > Coolest Dog - Smokin' Paws - Novi MI Jan 1999 NAFA Breed Boston Terrier * 09/30/00 9 of 36 * 09/30/01 11 of 49 * 09/30/02 16 of 61 * 09/30/03 22 of 68 Points A Tail of Two Bostons Nancy Smith Porsche is actually my second flyball Boston Terrier. The first, Pippa (born in 1992) had just started in flyball at SDTC when she had surgery for a cervical spinal lesion. She was a few months short of her third birthday. We lost her due to postoperative complications. I do not recall who suggested flyball for Pippa. I may have inquired about flyball since I would sometimes see practice when I arrived early for obedience class. Porsche came into our lives about a week after losing Pippa. The breeder had heard about our loss from another Boston owner. She said she had one puppy we might like. Porsche was about twelve weeks old. Porsche displayed a fondness for balls. She would try to get us to throw a ball (tennis or other type) and would not quit bringing it back until our arms got tired. At the age of seven months, I took Porsche to flyball class. For some reason Porsche would not play with tennis balls (regular size) at the VFW hall. The instructor even had me using an ear pinch technique. It was over a year before she would retrieve a tennis ball in the classroom. Playing with a handled plastic “puff” ball in the VFW hall finally made Porsche aware that she could play fetch in the hall. Fetch or any play was discouraged in the more formal obedience classes. Another problem was speed over the jumps. Training was not as refined then as it is now. Switching to small tennis balls helped with her box work. Porsche never became great. However, our flyball group is very supportive of all types of dogs. Even running as a tertiary dog, she did earn 915 points before cataracts caused problems with finding the ball and doing jumps especially in poor light conditions. She was forced to retire in 2004. She was a crowd pleaser in a way. Her jumping technique was unique. She always tried to find her ball even tracking it down outside the ring and then coming back to me down the aisle behind the tables one time. Note: While sitting on the sidelines one day during our first year of training, Porsche and I watched Cindy A. enter the building carrying a four month old Border Collie. She introduced us to her new flyball dog, Glide. At some time I do hope to get another dog that might be able to do flyball. The flyball community is really great. For now, I will continue to help the PA club however I may.
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