Ansel, who is waiting at the rainbow bridge, was my handsome little boy, my first agility dog, and the one who helped show me the ropes in the competition agility ring.

Knowing nothing about agility, we taught each other as we went along. Back in those days, you never saw a Dalmatian doing Agility; but we worked consistently and steadily, sometimes even beating the fast Border Collies who had a tendency to topple the bars.

Ansel and I were quite a pair! To teach him the Teeter-Totter, I would straddle it and walk backwards, tearing out the crotch of my pants on several occasions. (I have learned more sophisticated training techniques since then!)

He was a very fun loving dog who enjoyed sucking on peoples ear lobes. It was a very ticklish sensation.

He will always be missed and will stay in my heart forever.