Dog of the Month

Submitted by Tara Baggerman, Owner of Athena
	SnoCreek Athenas Sole Justice is a three-year-old Alaskan Malamute bred by Bonnie Martin of SnoCreek Alaskan Malamutes. Athena comes from a proud line of conformation champions - her father was Best of Breed in the 2002 Westminster Kennel Club show. When Athena was born, she had kink in her tail which prevented her from following in the footsteps of her parents. But that was fine with me because I was never that interested in showing in confirmation. Even before I got Athena, I knew I wanted to do agility with an Alaskan Malamute - I wanted to train a breed that was different from others. Having done tons of research on Malamutes prior to ever contacting a breeder, I knew Athena was going to be stubborn, independent, and in dire need of a job to do . . . the research did not exaggerate: Athena is the personification of Head-Strong. She was only ten weeks old when I brought her home, and Athena was the most adorable puppy I had ever seen! Extremely vocal, she was never shy about telling me she had to go potty or wanted to play. My other dog fell in love with her the moment she walked through the door. Athena was a perfect match
for Hermes and me. We began Puppy Kindergarten classes immediately, and I was thrilled to see how eager she was to learn commands. When Athena was eight months old, we began training at JAZZ Agility. Athena was addicted to agility after the very first class. She LOVED going through the tires! She loved climbing over the A-Frame! But, she was OBSESSED with Weave Poles! I'll never forget the class when Athena refused to stop weaving. She literally weaved the poles, turned around, and went right back in and started weaving again. She repeated this over and over and over! Our instructors, Fran and Heidi, could not stop her. Laughing, Fran announced: "I guess nobody ever told her that big dogs can't weave!" It took a few years of patience and consistency before Athena was ready to be entered in agility trials. Even now, she doesn't like to stop playing on the obstacles of her choice. More often than not (when we're in the ring) Athena will run around like a wild woman doing every obstacle in sight! Eventually she remembers I am also in the ring with her and decides to play the game with me. No matter how crazy she is in the ring, Athena always has a GREAT time, and she totally cracks me up. One time she went zooming around the ring, jumped the fence, stole someone's lunch, ran back into the ring chewing it and looked at me as if to say: "Okay, mom, I'm ready now." Another time she climbed the A-Frame and perched herself at the top and commenced to howl at the top of her lungs! The judge was laughing so hard I barely heard her when she proclaimed: "I'm Athena! Queen of the A-Frame!" Athena loves to be the center of attention. Despite her zany moments, Athena can also be all business in the ring. When she runs clean she is always very fast, and I find myself running at top speed just to keep up with her. She has earned a few agility titles and also has several miscellaneous legs towards other titles. Athena has her Canine Good Citizen award and is also a Certified Therapy Dog through TDI. She truly loves to visit the local nursing home. My sister, Marie, also trains and handles Athena in AKC Rally-O and obedience. Athena will make her obedience and Rally-O trial debut this winter. She and I are also starting to learn Canine Freestyle Dance. She is a very active dog, but then again, she is a working dog. Athena wants to have a job to do, and she is always unsettled unless I have provided her with a daily mental and physical outlet. Wherever I take Athena (which is almost everywhere) people constantly stop us to admire and pet her. Everyone wants to know what kind of dog she is, where she came from, and what she's like. I always tell them that she's got stubbornness to rival her beauty, but that she is the most loving dog I have ever known. Athena makes me laugh every single day, and that is worth far more to me than one hundred qualifying ribbons ever could.

DOG OF THE MONTH