I got a note in the mail last night from NAVHDA.  What's this?  I'm a life member so, probably not a bill for my dues.  I paid up my advertising months ago.  OK, there's an election on and the president's position is actually contested.  Maybe a mailing on that.

They notified me I had qualified for another breeder's award.  Huh?  Me?  B-Litter?  No.  When the pups whelped and I only had 5 I thought it was a long-shot.  When I figured out that the fall test was the only option in the 16 month window, I figured highly unlikely.  After the first no-prize, I gave up any hope whatsoever.  (You need at least 4 dogs to pass the NA test, regardless of litter size.)

So I'm thinking there's a mistake.  OK, I passed Brutus in Canada.  Remy blew the track (as most dogs did that day, even Brutus did poorly there).  Wait.  Mick passed Remy in New Hampshire a few weeks later.  EriK and Mason no-prized in Maine, but Greg and Tango passed.  Then Jason and Sally hit one out of the park with the max 112 score in Oklahoma.  That's three, right?  No.  FOUR.  We qualified for the second breeder's award on our second litter.

OK, I'm most proud that we got all five dogs tested.  Two of the owners had never NAVHDA tested before and the other two have limited experience in the organization.  Because of the major changes in my life over the past year, I was little or no help to my owners. 

So here goes:

EriK, I'm proud of you.  I know you are kicking yourself for no-prizing the test, but I know that wouldn't happen twice.  We both know what you have in a dog, and he's better than he showed on test day.

Mick, I'm proud of you.  I know the tracking portion of the test is tough for someone who has never seen it.  I'm pretty sure you hadn't budgeted for two tests, but you fixed what went wrong and had time for a "do-over."

Greg, I'm proud of you.  You managed to prize your dog under some unusual conditions and with a crazy home situation. 

Jason, I'm proud of you.  I figured you'd do better with Sally, having seen the test, than with Jenny, but you really exceeded expectations.

Brutus, I'm proud of you.  I know you can't read, but you are a super pup.  If you were a girl, there's no way you'd get out of here.

Congratulations to all, but you aren't done.  The Utility Breeder's award is the prize I covet.  These dogs are equipped to be better UT dogs than NA dogs.  So go finish the job.