Deb D'Elia

OTCH Gaylan's Fire in the Sky UDX OM3 OBHF
FFX-OP CCA CGC
Multiple High in Trial Winner, 200 Score
"Zahra"

"Zahra", is the dog that is taking my training to new heights. The name Zahra means bright or brilliant and is the perfect name for this gal. From the time she was a small pup her focus & drive matched that of a mature dog. She is a blast to work with, super intelligent & a talented athletic dog.

I was fortunate to be able to get Zahra from Gayle Watkins of Gaylans Goldens & her co-breeder Pat McKinney. Zahra's pedigree is filled with multi purpose Goldens that have excelled in breed, field, agility, tracking and obedience. It includes some of the top working dogs of all times including OTCh Meadowpond Stardust Reggie OS OBHF and CH Elysian Sky Hi Dubl Exposure UDT, MH ** WCX VCX OS just to name two. Zahra is showing every sign of fulfilling the promise of her pedigree. She came out in Novice at the "Big E" in W. Springfield, MA and won first place three days in a row with a perfect score of 200 on the 2nd day, a highest scoring dog in the trial award, and an FFX Platinum Obedience Award of Excellence. She followed that with another two first place wins at the Lackawana Trials in PA. and ended the summer at the Morris Hills Trial with a 199 and yet another First place. Six trials, six first place wins; what a great start! She followed that with getting her CDX title in 3 straight trials with scores that qualified her for 2010 All Star Championship Tournament where she went on to win the Open division! She ended Open A with a bumper leg and a 199.5 score for another High in Trial! Utility was fun and easy for Zahra. She got her title in 3 straight shows all with first places and ended Utility A with another first place win. Four trials, four first places, what a good girl! How do you follow that? By earning her UDX in 4 months with 7 High in Trials and 5 High Combines along the way. Just 6 months from when she earned her Utility title, Zahra completed all requirements for her Obedience Trial Champion title in fine style. She competed in 4 classes in one day (2 trials / 1 day) and took first place in each class as well as two more HIT / HC awards. Zahra is a dream come true who loves obedience as much as I do. How lucky am I? Zahra is truly a gift in my life.

OTCH Zahra, October 22, 2011. A vision realized, a dream come true.

What's better than finishing your UDX? Finishing it with a High in Trial at a National Obedience Invitational Regional Qualifying show! Zahra went from UD to UDX in 4 months. She is just amazing and I could not imagine a better partner: fun, focused and loves to play this game!

Zahra UDX July 30, 2011

Zahra came out in Utility A and earned her title in 3 straight shows
with a bumper leg earned for good measure!

Utility Leg 1

Utility Leg 2

Utility Leg 3 -- New Title

Zahra is the 2010 Open All Star Champion!!!

What a weekend at All Star! Zahra only lost 5.5 points in three rounds; just amazing!
Photos of the weekend are below

Many of you have asked me "what's with the pink?" So I'll tell you...

When the Fire litter was born, Pat McKinney tied different color yarn around each of the pup's necks as a way to identifiy them from each other, monitor their weight gain, etc. Zahra had the pink yarn. I had the opportunity to visit the litter several times before I took Zahra home when she was 8 weeks old. Since we did not know which pup we were getting until about week 7, we simply knew the pups as Mr. Black, Mr. Aqua, Miss Pink, Mr. Purple, etc. When it was determined that Miss Pink would be mine, I named her Zahra; but even to this day I sometimes still call her Miss Pink. I decided to keep the pink theme going and bought her a pink leather collar and leash, and when I show her I always wear a pink shirt for good luck. Hey, don't laugh....it's working!

The first photo below is of the pink flowers that were waiting in my hotel room at All Star when I arrived, sent by Pat Carrather to wish us good luck in the tournament. The next morning at the competition check in we were told to pick one of the "do not disturb" signs as a souvenier. They were made in many different colors but I dug through the pile to see if I could find a pink one. A big smile came across my face when I not only found a pink one, but it had a blue ribbon bandana around its neck. Talk about a good omen!

Click any photo below to enlarge it