MACH Little Miss Odie MXB MJB NF T2B owned by Lorraine Donner of Spring Valley CA
Lorraine Donner found Odie, in 2006, running down a road. She had no tags or microchip. “The day I brought her home was a day that changed my life forever. Odie is my heart dog and my best friend,” says Lorraine. She found out about agility in 2009 and, since Odie had plenty of energy and loved learning, decided to try it. “She is my first agility dog, so we both had lots to learn, and we continue to learn every day. I never imagined when we started classes that agility would wind up being the most fun thing I would ever do with my dog. What started off as a little hobby quickly became a passion!”
Their first AKC agility trial was in April of 2011 and Odie “made it clear that she loved to run agility. She always excitedly barks before every run, bounces as she runs the course, and is smiling in all photos of her running agility.” As they moved up in levels, the more difficult courses presented challenges, the biggest being Odie’s terrier-typical independence. At one point, Lorraine wondered if they would ever earn a MACH.
Double Q’s were difficult to earn. The pair earned their first one on January 19, 2014. “I was so excited I started crying and screaming so loud that people thought that we had earned our MACH! Each Double Q we earned from there never got any less exciting. I never took a Double Q for granted because I knew how hard we worked to get each and every one. It took total focus from both of us on the field to have the perfect connection needed to have a smooth, clean run. Each time we did, it was the most amazing rush of joy and pride!”
Lorraine and Odie persisted through challenges and their hard work paid off. Little Miss Odie earned her MACH on March 26, 2017 at the San Diego Rhodesian Ridgeback Club’s trial in San Diego, CA. “There are no words to describe how proud I was of us. Just thinking about that day brings tears to my eyes. She is the best agility teammate I could have ever asked for. She runs the team, and I’m just lucky she lets me be a part of it. Odie is now 12 years old and people always assume she’s much younger when they see the energy she has and the way she runs out on course. I fully believe being an active agility dog helps keep her young at heart!”