Remembering Levi

​It is never easy to say good-bye but when they hold such a big piece of your heart its particularly hard.  I knew Easter weekend 2011 would be the last weekend I'd have with Levi. It was a beautiful sunny day so I decided to take him for a drive in the van. I put a blanket in the back seat area and we went for a long drive in the country side together. We stopped for a walk, some ice cream and then a visit to my Mom's cottage where I took some pictures of him by the lake.  I wanted to give him the best weekend together as I could and I hope I succeeded.

​Levi was the first dog I would keep from my own breeding. ​Years before his birth I had picked out a special  registered name for this boy from a favourite Arlo Guthrie song - Living Like A Legend. The song was about a singer who went out on the road going from town to town and then coming home to his woman. I thought what a great name for a top show dog and stud, out on the road going from show to show and then coming home to his "girlfriends". Now all I needed was the right male puppy to give this name to!
Levi came from a litter of 4 boys but I knew from the beginning he would be the boy to get the special registered name. What I didn't realize at the time was just how patient I would have to be for him to live up to that name. Around 4 1/2 months of age, Levi got a bad scare with a man that would change the course of his life. Although he loved all women, I called him my "Lady's man", he was quite nervous around most men. This made it very difficult for him to become the top show dog I had dreamed he would be. Fortunately, Levi came from a physically slow maturing line so I had time on my side. I kept my faith in this boy and we did other activities together, primarily agility and dance, to help rebuilt his confidence but which also greatly deepened the special bond between us.
After 5 long years, without a single title at either end of his name, my patience finally paid off and I knew he was ready to enter the conformation ring. I took him in a couple times but quickly realized that between my short legs and arthritis, I just could not move out well enough to do Levi justice in the show ring. Fortunately, a couple of great friends - John Macdonald and Susan Shepherd - came on board to help out. The first time out with John, Levi picked up a Group 1st win and the next weekend Levi became my first home bred Best In Show winner. In limited showing, he became the #6 Siberian in Canada in 2003. He also went on to become my first home bred US Champion.
Like in the song he was named after, Levi ended up having only one "woman" that he came home to but that turned out to be one very special girl. I purchased Ch. North Wapiti's Freya WD, CGN from Karen Ramstead in 2003 when I made the decision to combine my show line with working lines. This union through 4 of their pups  - RBIS Can / CFC Ch. Chimini's Shall We Dance WLD, CGN; Ch. Chimini's Celtic Dancer WLD; Ch Chimini's Saturday Night Fever and Chimini's Weave The Dreams WD - would become the foundation of my current breeding program . 
​So with a lot of patience Levi lived up to his name both in the show ring and as a producer but I came to realize that Levi  meant so much more to me than these things. To truly be a top show dog now-a-days, if you are not capable of handling your dog yourself, you really need to be willing to let your dog go on the road with a top handler. It was with Levi that I first learned that this is something that I just do not have in me to do with my dogs. Taking him to shows with John and Susan was one thing, sending him away for long periods of time was something totally different. For me, it was FAR more important to have Levi at home with me where together we could do obedience, agility, therapy dog work and off course our dancing. So this is what we did for the rest of his life. Levi would go on to obtain his Working Dog title, agility titles and obedience titles, putting him in an elite class of BIS winners by proving he was far more than just a pretty face. ​Even when he retired from competitive activities, Levi made it clear to me he still wanted a "job", so at almost 11 years of age, Levi became a St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog visiting seniors for the last years of his life.
But it was the dancing, something he never obtained a single title at, that would become Levi's "signature activity" throughout his life and the activity that would be largely responsible for creating the very special bond we had between us. We never danced competitively but we did do a tango routine together to the instrumental version of "Hernando's Hideaway" that we performed at events. Levi also loved to show off his dance moves at my training classes, in the show ring and for the seniors he visited. It was the dance work I did with Levi that taught me just how powerful and magical Clicker training can be. The very best times Levi and I shared together where not 'out on the road' obtaining titles, but when we were home alone. I would put on some music and we would just dance - in his later years switching from the tango to a waltz. These will be the memories that will long outlast all the titles, the memories of just spending time with my best buddy,  "My Legend" - Levi.
Freya, "your man is coming home to you"
But I'll see you all again someday
So you be sure to tell Levi
To save the last dance for me
Living Like A Legend
words and music by Arlo Guthrie

Coming down the highway, running like a wind
Gonna beat the sunset to the coast and back again
Moving thru the shadows, almost going blind
Living like a legend before my time

If the road don't kill me, baby, I'll see you in the spring
Making up for lost time between us seems like everything
If I can make it home alright, you know I'll treat you fine
Living like a legend before my time

CHORUS
I know it wasn't easy for you, baby
With your man out on the road
So I'll be coming home tomorrow
To try to help you carry the load

I'm running out of highways and bridges to burn
This kind of living is taking its toll on what I've learned
You know it ain't easy leaving you behind
Living like a Legend before my time

But someday, baby, I'll be coming home to stay
Wrapped up in your warm love every night and every day
Oooh, I'm going out of my mind
Living like a Legend before my time

CHORUS
I know it wasn't easy for you, baby
With your man out on the road
So I'll be coming home tomorrow
To try to help you carry the load

I'll be getting up early 'cause I know I'm coming home
I'm so tired of living this legend life alone
Kick off your shoes, babe, we'll drink a little wine
Forget about living like a legend before my time

Forget about living like a legend
Just forget about the road
So, look out for me, darling
On account of your man is coming home

More About Levi

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