He's Older Than He's Ever Been, and Now He's Even Older

Not since the heyday of David Wells has someone with my physique done so well in a sport. But my dog is turning into Julio Franco. And Franco just retired.

They say youth is wasted on the young -- that we eventually gain wisdom and experience that we wish we could have put to use when our whole lives were before us, and our bodies didn't creak so much. Well, that's Maverick, he of the seven-and-a-half years and a rapidly whitening muzzle. Two years ago, we struggled all year to nail the weave poles without popping out. We pretty much solved that, but then we struggled last year with contacts; the dog has to touch the bottom, yellow-painted section going up or down the elevated dog walk and the steeper A-frame, and Mavi was jumping off too soon. This, too, we solved (and I'd like to credit ace instructor Elise Paffrath of Breeze Thru Agility for all these improvements). So we came into this season having finally worked out most of the technical kinks. And now Mavi won't run anymore.

Oh, he trots pretty well, but he's largely lost the powerful dash that, along with his tendency to stay with me and not get sidetracked, made him such a promising agility dog, even when he was having weave and contact issues. This year, for the first time ever, we're racking up NQs (non-qualifying runs) because we're over time -- this from a dog who has typically beaten time by 15 to 20 seconds on the longer runs. Two weeks ago, in Hamden, Conn. (pictured here), he loped his way to four Qs, and I was hoping for a perfect day, but on his final run, he stopped in front of a jump and wouldn't go over it -- also unheard of. This past Saturday in Seekonk, Mass., he lost Qs on two separate events when, at the end of each run, he refused to jump through the tire, instead wriggling under it. Overall, we finished 1 for 5. Ripley went 3 for 5 the following day, which, by her and Jenn's standards, is an off day -- and included one diabolical course that no one might have Qed.

The good news is, we've moved Mavi to 'veteran' class, meaning he'll jump 20 inches from now on, not 24 (we're usually the only dog jumping 24 anyway, so I have a lot of cheaply earned blue ribbons). We won't get any extra time, but I think the lower jump height will conserve some energy and help him run faster. On a side note, Jenn came back from Seekonk on Sunday saying the tire might have been slightly smaller than regulation, although it's hard to be sure. I'll go with that. It's better than thinking your dog is totally broken.

He's what, 50-something in dog years now? Franco called it a career at 49, so that's saying something. In a couple of years, Mavi will be past 64. I guess we'll still need him. I know we'll still feed him.