Sun Country Amore Mia CL1-F/S/R CL2-F OAP NJP RE CD CC CGC "Amy"

June 9th, 1999 to September 7th, 2011

ACVO/CERF 02/09; Optigen A by parentage;

Thank you to our dear friends, Julie and Shawn Brady of Sun Country Labradors, for our little darling girl. Amy was an inspiration and it was a true gift to share our lives with her!

Click here to view Amy's page on the Sun Country website

AMY's PHOTOS	AMY's VIDEOS

Much more than a pretty face, Amy was as sweet and fun as the day was long. She was the master of tug-o-war and chase and, right up to the end, loved to go for walks, work and play! Her self-appointed job in life was to amuse her humans and her sister Sierra, by bouncing around and enticing them to play. She taught her sister many good tricks, including how to charm the humans into conceding most of the pillow space at night. As a youngster, she was my jogging buddy, always by my side as we scaled the hills of the neighbourhood and nearby park. She was as pleased as punch when Sierra arrived and the two of them were inseparable play buddies. When Sierra's babies arrived, she nurtured them so beautifully.

How Amy got started in Agility: I used physical therapy and low impact agility equipment that I have to train Sierra in order to re-hab Amy after a TPLO knee surgery.To my surprise Amy *loved* agility and learnt so fast that it was as if she was reading my mind..... Rehab after TPLO can take a while but I was determined to get her knee back to 100% function, and therefore set the goal that we would compete in AKC agility in the Jumpers (JWW) competition, 1 year after her surgery .... The vet gave her the all-clear, and she did indeed debut in AKC agility at the ripe old age of 7 years and 1 day, 11 months after surgery. The picture immediately below is so special to me and still makes me teary-eyed -- It's of Amy at that very first trial -- and just look at the delight on her face!

Obedience late bloomer! Amy started to compete in Rally and Obedience in 2008 and loved it..... With very limited showing in 2009 and early 2010, she passed her Canine Good Citizen Test (CGC) with no practice and earned her Companion Dog (CD) Obedience and Rally Excellent (RE) titles.

Amy cracked us up with her counter surfing antics and her ability to find even the smallest of crumbs of food in my pocket... plus her "high 5" trick was very cute. She would politely ask for food by throwing her kong at my feet. The request always worked and she had me clicker trained in no time! She loved people and would walk gently up to a stranger and wag her tail in the most irresistable way. Though she was not competing in the latter years, she was our constant companion at agility competitions where her favorite thing was to meet, greet and extract a treat! She loved to visit new places and meet new friends because she was everyone's friend!

We lost her when, with no prior symptoms other than mild vomiting, an undetected ulcer in her duodenum burst, the result of some non-steroidal antiinflammatary pills that she was taking for arthritis... She died instantly at the beach, a place that she loved, and a meer 30 miles from where she was born... It was as if she had come home. I will be forever grateful to Julie Brady for taking us under her wing that day. I think about Amy every day and what could have been, if only I had known. She touched so many lives and will forever be in our hearts and the wind in our sails. Rest in Peace my sweet darling.

Amy's first agility trial. Photo: SilentEye Photography
Amy at the Beach in Oregon, July 2011... One of her favourite places. This is how I will always remember her
Amy with Sierra's Son Obie in June 2007-- They adored each other
Photo: DogHouseArts
	Amy's perfect 100 score in Rally. Photo: Cook

Pedigree