Last Friday, I earned my FCAT3 and have decided it is time for me to retire from FastCAT. Like Olivia and Bailie who have also retired, I love this sport. Bailie has arthritis and would sometimes limp after her runs which is why she stopped. Ever since I had my huge crash on the course in May of 2022, I’ve had on and off issues with limping and my front leg. It’s much better but there is no need to push my luck and an FCAT3 Title is something I never even dreamed I would ever have.
As you know, Olivia and I started our FastCAT careers together in Amana, Iowa, and earned our BCAT Titles on the same day, August 8th 2020. Of course, Olivia earned hers first because she is much faster and also had the 1.5 handicap her first year.
For a few years, we spent a lot of time in Iowa for FastCAT, Barn Hunt, Scent Work, and some Nose Work. The past couple years, we rarely go there as they are no longer holding many events. I earned my DCAT the same weekend as Olivia earned hers June 12th 2021, and I also earned my RATCH, which is Barn Hunt Champion, the bigger ribbon in my photo.
Olivia and I were both invited to the FastCAT Invitational in December 2021. I was the third dog of the three. All three of us ran the first two days, but I was not fast enough to beat either of the others, so I didn’t get to enter the finals. Even though I didn’t win anything, it was an amazing road trip and the Invitational was a great experience we are lucky to have had.
Because Olivia lost her handicap after the first year by getting taller, I was going to be the first on to earn my FCAT Title in 2022, but on my first run of day one, I had a bad crash and had to be carried off the course by my mom. After getting checked by the vet and finding nothing broken, I healed for almost six weeks before I ran again and earned my FCAT Title. The medallion is a cute idea, but I had really hoped for a big fancy ribbon.
September 9th, 2023, I earned my FCAT2 Title and the most big, pretty, “so me”, ribbon I could imagine! After my crash, my times crashed as well, and I always slow down towards the end from my PTSD. This ribbon means a lot to me!
After seventy six runs with a 1.5 handicap, I earned my FCAT3 on August 30th, last Friday. Mom calculated me running slower and needing a run on Sunday to have the 2000 points I needed. Guess what? I ran some of the fastest times I have run in two years on Friday. It wasn’t until we were home Friday afternoon that Mom realized I had earned my title and we would need to grab a ribbon on Sunday. The other crazy thing is they post a running order and I was running before Olivia, so I actually finished my FCAT3 and retired before she did! It took me five years but I finally beat her in something with FastCAT! We took a photo of us with Mom Sunday to compare with our BCAT photo from 2020.
Here we were in Amana, Iowa, just over five years before with our first FastCAT Titles. It’s been a Grand run but we are ready to work on other things and watch Nelson run for a while longer. For sure we are thankful for the travel and fun we have had in earning our FCAT3 Titles over the past five years.
I’m joining Brian’s Home Blog in the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop!
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