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"Focus Pocus"
AKC/USA 2009 World Team member Geri Hernandez' incredible dog Focus died this
morning here at Power Paws in San Jose. He would have been a very young five
years old in just a few days.
It was a nice morning, Geri and a couple other friends were here to train, we
walked the first course, Focus got warmed up, and Geri ran him through half the
course. He did not take a cue to get into a tunnel, and while were laughing at
the error, he just dropped to the ground and was gone. We did cpr all the way to
the vet, but there was never a moment that he showed any life after that point.
He was such a cool dog; friendly, silly, intelligent, sensitive and curious.
When Geri would come for training he would come into my home and like he did
anywhere he visited, he had to poke around all over the house, just being nosy
and checking out every piece of furniture in every room and stick his nose in
every closet. That done he would return and sit in Geri's lap while we visited.
It was just so "him".
He was one of the most remarkable agility dogs I have ever met. He read Geri's
mind usually and was as biddable and willing a working dog as I have ever met.
That is a rare combination when combined with the athleticism, speed and team
work that he demonstrated every time he competed or was trained.
I never ever saw him miss a weave entry or exit, but I was told he did so once:)
And he never failed to make Geri laugh at the occasional course errors, like not
getting into a tunnel.
He was a star. At 4 years old, and Geri's first time on the World Team, he took
4th place at the FCI World Championships in Finland last year. He was her first
border collie, and her first real agility dog. The 4th place finish was the "best ever" for a first time world team member. This was after he won the AKC
Nationals at barely 3 years old. He had a couple MACh's, an ADCh, and a lot of
friends and admirers in the agility world.
Geri was his biggest admirer, and the rest of us were close seconds. No one was
luckier than her to have been owned by a dog like Focus. No one is sadder than
her at his loss.
Tearfully,
Nancy Gyes, friend to Focus |
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