Cautious Optimism

It went like this…

Remember when Sparkle had her leg amputated in Montana?

That was March 12. Capella got to hang out with her besties (aka Suzanne and her gang) — we even did our favorite dog walk down the road from where I used to live.

Capella, Shiloh, and Story

Well, one of Suzanne’s girls was in season and girl hormones are contagious. Nine days later Capella was in season. This was too soon — 6-8 weeks early.

I was pretty sad.

Conventional wisdom says you need four month between cycles to have a fertile cycle, and we were not at four months yet.

I got a consult with Dr. Marty Greer to see if it was even worth breeding Capella given the short cycle. She said that yes, if Capella ovulated it was worth a try.

Capella’s progesterone chart

She did indeed ovulate. Timing was perfect. Semen quality was great.

BUT was her cycle long enough to support a pregnancy? I have been pretty anxious about all this, as you might imagine.

Source unknown

I needed to be in Montana for work on Thursday/Friday and so I had our wonderful vet do the ultrasound, even though it was a bit early. The Magic 8 Ball had given me a bit of an early warning that she might be pregnant.

But I was still just sick with the worry of it and the anticipatory sadness — and then I would dare to feel hope and then back to anticipatory sadness. Repeat. I begged Sparkle to send me her great-grandchildren. It has been exhausting, as you can imagine.

When the ultrasound confirmed pregnancy, I just cried. I have cried a lot lately. Not surprising. We even saw a heartbeat!!!! ❤️

One of the things that happens when you have had a lot of bad news is that you do not always trust the good news. I feel that way, and I know it is 100% normal and understandable. It is also understandable and okay to need reassurance.

And so on Monday we will do another ultrasound with our Idaho Repro team, just to make sure it is real.

I do believe it — I already nominated the litter for the 2026 Futurity — but I just need to see them again, and make sure they seem to be settling in and growing (given the short cycle issue).

I just want to be sure the best news is really and truly for real.

Happy Saturday, friend.

Celebrating Team Xeena!

Let’s celebrate one of Sparkle’s amazing granddaughters — Bright Star Xeena ⭐️

Kim shares:

“This past weekend Xeena earned her SDDA Master Champion title in scent detection. To earn this title you must have 10 titling scores (which equals a total of 30 passes) at the advanced and excellent level (a minimum of 3 titling scores must be at the excellent level). To get a titling score you need passes in all 3 components - containers, interiors, and exteriors. In order to qualify for a MACH you also must have a minimum of 3 Gold scores of 96% or higher (Xeena ended up with 9 gold and 1 silver).

Going into the weekend Xeena needed 1 more interior pass at the excellent level to finish her 10th titling score. Excellent interiors can be tricky as there are 3 rooms to search - one room has 1 hide, one room has 2 hides and one room has no hides, plus there can be food distractors in any or all of the rooms. It is up to each team to determine how many hides are in each room but if you make an error, you are not allowed to continue to the next room. So it is a bit of a mental game for the handler as you decide if you are ready to move to the next room. The hides at this level are also more complicated for the dog. Xeena did a great job finding the hides and I held my own in reading her and calling each room correctly. We finished all 3 rooms in under 3 minutes (there is a 15 minute time limit) with a 1 point deduction for Xeena’s indication on a hide being a bit off (the hide was in a stapler on a desk and Xeena alerted directly below the stapler on the edge of the desk).

Xeena definitely loves the nosework game and I love being her teammate.”

WOWZA!!!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS TO TEAM XEENA.