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October 22, 2015

Ridgeback Family Reunion

Off the Florida Keys, there’s a place called Kokomo. Just south of route 80 in Indiana, there’s also a place called Kokomo. We took a road trip down to Kokomo (Indiana) for a special visit to Stoney Run park. Stoney Run park is a nice, but non-descript
Off the Florida Keys, there’s a place called Kokomo. Just south of route 80 in Indiana, there’s also a place called Kokomo. We took a road trip down to Kokomo (Indiana) for a special visit to Stoney Run park. Rhodesian Ridgeback, blog, adventure, lure course

Stoney Run park is a nice, but non-descript park, so the pups were initially confused about the purpose of our trip

It wasn’t where we were that was special, it was who was there.

Rhodesian Ridgeback, blog, adventure, lure course

John, Eko and Penny’s breeder, was in town for a lure coursing event with his pups

It was just about five years ago I met John for the first time. Over the years he’s been an incredible resource, mentor and friend. It’s always great to have the opportunity to get the gang together, especially for such a fun event.

Rhodesian Ridgeback, blog, adventure, lure course

John and Eko

Not only did we get to see John and Bullitt (Penny’s brother), we also had the opportunity to meet Kali (Penny’s sister)

Rhodesian Ridgeback, blog, adventure, lure course

Kali is the supermodel of the litter for sure. She’s tall, lean and shares Penny’s impish smile/attitude

Kali belongs to Max, an affable Aussie, who organized the meetup. One of the best parts about great dogs is they help you connect with great people. I got such a kick out of trading stories with Max and seeing how similar Penny and Kali were.

Eko was not as amused.

Rhodesian Ridgeback, blog, adventure, lure course

“Are you kidding me? There’s ANOTHER Penny??”

After greetings it was time to get down to business. Lure coursing is an event where dogs chase a line of bags (lures) around a wire, generator powered, course. Eko went coursing once, over three years ago, and absolutely loved it.

That said, I suspected an older, more laid-back Eko might have lost interest in sprinting over nearly 700 yards of track.

Rhodesian Ridgeback, blog, adventure, lure course

I thought my suspicions were confirmed when Eko didn’t even want to walk with John to the starting area

Rhodesian Ridgeback, blog, adventure, lure course

But then the generator hummed to life and the lures fluttered

Rhodesian Ridgeback, blog, adventure, lure course

An ancient switch flipped in Eko’s brain and he was completely locked in

Rhodesian Ridgeback, blog, adventure, lure course

Eko ran wild! It was such a joy to see him fly around the course

Rhodesian Ridgeback, blog, adventure, lure course

Next up was Kali

Rhodesian Ridgeback, blog, adventure, lure course

Like my two, Kali is quite social. She stopped mid-run to say hello to a passing couple, so John got her back on course

And where was Penny during all this? Losing her mind, of course.

Rhodesian Ridgeback, blog, adventure, lure course

Can you tell she wanted to run?

Rhodesian Ridgeback, blog, adventure, lure course

There was never a doubt here, Penny gleefully dashed around the course

After our runs we continued the family reunion by catching up with John’s other pups.

Rhodesian Ridgeback, blog, adventure, lure course

Enzo and Vera are John’s youngest. I think he could have saved on gas by hitching these two to the front of his motorhome

Rhodesian Ridgeback, blog, adventure, lure course

And why does that face look so familiar? Because it’s Molly, Penny’s mom!

After an awesome afternoon it was time to head home. We posed for one last photo with Kali, Eko, Penny and Bullitt.

Rhodesian Ridgeback, blog, adventure, lure course

And in true dog fashion, the pups managed to look everywhere but at the camera

  Rhodesian Ridgeback, blog, adventure, lure course

Three out of four facing the camera, not bad!

From start to finish we had a perfect fall afternoon with perfect company. Thanks to Max for organizing such a fun meetup and to John for making the trip.

Check back tomorrow for some video of the pups in action.

Comments for Ridgeback Family Reunion

  1. Victoria says:

    i love the pic of every dog looking a different direction – and it sure looks like you had a blast w/all the siblings and humans and i bet they slept like logs on the ride home!

  2. oh what a complete delight this was!!! What fun to see the “fam” all together!!!!

  3. Connie Taylor says:

    I have many kid and doggie photos where they looked everywhere but at the camera. Must be some sixth sense ingrained in all of them. Looks like it was a very successful family reunion.

  4. Emmadog says:

    How fun! We think Bailie would enjoy lure coursing, but we don’t have the time for more sports. Great to see family members too!

  5. KarenS says:

    The absolute look of joy on Eko’s face is priceless and reminds me of when my old Bruno lure coursed, that same “we get to chase things!” look. Wonderful. And I always had a feeling Penny would excel at it! I miss running my Ridgies, both too old. But great memories of when they did.

    You are absolutely spot on regarding the importance of the breeder in the life of your dog. Like you I keep in touch with the breeder of my boys for guidance. And just to let her know just how grateful we are that she entrusted them with us. A good breeder never wants it any other way 🙂

    Tally Ho! Eko and Penny. Hope you have many more runs!

  6. Kismet says:

    You could start a group-The Beach Bums. Why is every dog named Kali so wild?

  7. coastingnz says:

    that is fantastic – talk about bring a smile to the face on a Friday morning – thanks, as always. Love your pups – and all their siblings/mothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends…… 🙂

  8. Oh how I wish we had a lure course near us! Khoi would be the lure beastie for sure. When he was a pup, his breeder tested him and he loved it. Now, he’s a rodent chaser. He sees a squirrel a 100 yards away and is on it, but he hasn’t caught one yet. Once he figures how to climb a tree, no bushy tail will be safe.

  9. GAH! What a fun reunion! Those are the most priceless faces ever!

  10. Oh what FUN you all had!!!! Great photos as always…..but what’s so cool is these are all “family portraits” that Eko and Penny should have in their photo album for always and forever!

    Pam

  11. Thanks Will for making the trip as well! John and the gang

    Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Smartphone that does whatever it pleases

  12. what a great idea!!! that kind of reunions are wonderful! we decided to have one to celebrate the third birthday of the pups, but we humans were the only ones who enjoyed that event… the pups growled at each other or ignored their siblings completely… probably there were inconsolable differences from their litterhood included :o)

  13. fredrieka says:

    Family reunions are so fun love when my brotherwithoutpaws comes over

  14. Great family reunion. Looking forward to the video….

  15. Rose says:

    Weren’t Eko and Penny related? Molly isn’t Eko’s mom? I thought they were 1/2 siblings.

  16. Boy Penny’s family is gorgeous! Eko is a stand-out though! He is still our favorite 🙂

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