Our hearts are broken as we process the sudden loss of our dear sweet Obi (Brock x Sola). 

Int Ch CH SOKOLDALU’S TO THE MOON AND BACK FDC SWN SHDN RATO CGCA CGCU TKN ATT

July 22, 2018 – Jul 17, 2025

He was diagnosed with epilepsy in the fall of 2024, but based on our videos, the neurologist concluded that his seizures started at 8 months old. 

We were managing well with medication, but on July 6th, he had his first grand mal seizure while resting in his crate at a dog show. 

He seemed to recover, but over the past week, he wasn’t quite himself. He wasn’t excited about meals, and at times, he was a little extra cranky with Yoda. 

Then on the 15th, we noticed him having periodic head twitches to the left. He become so subdued we had to coax him to eat and go on walks. 

Thursday the 17th, Kronda took him to Medvet emergency clinic in Vancouver where we’re established with his neurologist. Kronda was there with him for 3.5 hours, waiting, getting his exam, and Dr. Wilde consulted with his regular neurologist, Dr. Krull.

His head continued to twitch, but he was a trooper the whole time. We took breaks to walk around the lobby and the parking lot, and get water from one of the women at the front desk. She was so tickled when he gave her a little kiss after his drink. 

After reviewing our options, we agreed to admit him overnight so they could administer IV medication to get his seizures under control. 

At 4:23 pm, I got a text update that he was resting comfortably after they adjusted his medication. 

Jess stopped by around 7:00 pm, but the nurse she spoke with advised keeping him as calm as possible, so she decided not to visit with him and risk getting him too excited.

Dr. Wilde had said we could bring him home around 11:00 am the next day, and that the night crew would likely not send updates. “No news is good news,” she told us.

So when the phone rang at 11:37 pm with a 360 number, my heart sank, and I knew. Obi was doing so well that they had taken out his IV, and he went out to pee. But a while later, the nurse found him not breathing, and he went into cardiac arrest. 

They performed CPR for about 10 minutes, but they couldn’t save him. 

They don’t have an explanation. We think his brain was just too broken from the seizures. 

We rushed to the hospital, but all we could do was say our goodbyes.

Study on Idiopathic Epilepsy in Vizslas

The University of Minnesota is conducting a study on epilepsy in Vizslas.  

From the study website:

“Genetic tests for epilepsy would allow breeders to screen potential breeding animals for this common, frustrating, and potentially devastating disorder prior to making breeding decisions. We are currently banking DNA from affected dogs for potential use in genetic marker studies to develop screening tests for predicting epilepsy”

Medvet was kind enough to collect blood and tissue samples from Obi to contribute to this study. We hope his contribution will help other Vizsla owners to avoid the pain we’re feeling now. 

The researchers also need samples from unaffected dogs. For dogs unaffected by seizures, a simple blood sample can be submitted for dogs 8 years or older with a simple submission form.  Siblings and other relatives would be most helpful for the study once they reach the age of 8.

Our Life with Obi as First Time Dog Moms

Obi came to us at 9 weeks old. First-time dog owners, first-time raising a puppy, first-time being Vizsla moms. We had dreams of puppy snuggles, hiking and camping adventures, and dipping our toes into the world of dog sports.

We spent years researching, reading, stalking Vizslas and breeders at shows, and now we finally had our baby. 

He walked into the house, and Oz met him in the kitchen nose to nose, where he seemed to impart to this newbie that Oz was in charge. Those two never had any issues. 

Some things about Obi were easy- his potty training was immaculate, and he slept happily in his crate from his first night with us, only whining when he was suffering from diarrhea the first few nights and needed to go out multiple times. He only had a handful of pee accidents during puppyhood (our fault, of course). 

We had raced to finish our backyard fence and landscaping and had the clever idea to make an official gravel dog potty area, away from all our new grass and plants. People laughed at us and said we’d never get him to use it. But in a matter of weeks, he would run from the grass, up to his potty area, and do his thing. 

This worked amazingly until the day he got poop stuck hanging out of his butt because he’d eaten too much grass. He whirled around in a panic until one of us could grab a poop bag and help him. 

After that, he would pee in the potty, but refused to poop anywhere in the yard for years. 😂 And so began the tradition of ‘Business Walks.’ Sometimes full walks, sometimes just to the corner so he could do his thing. 

“Obi, this is just a Business Walk,” we’d say and promise him a trip to the park or an off-leash hike later. 

Obi’s Puppyhood

He was a troubled puppy, and later we realized much of his behavior was probably due to feeling bad physically. His shark tooth bites were painful, and he would often get over-aroused and redirect all that energy onto us. 

Tug and other high-arousal puppy games were off the table as we directed all our energy into teaching him calm behaviors. 

It didn’t get better as he got bigger. For a year or more, we avoided being out in the yard with him off leash because his zoomies often turned into over arousal, ending in him jumping up and biting at us.

A Troubled Teenager

Ever since bringing him home, we worked with positive trainers in group settings and privately to assist us as new puppy guardians.  At 15 months, we decided to seek help from a vet behaviorist. After meeting with all of us for 30 minutes, she diagnosed him with general anxiety and offered medication. 

We were torn. As first-time dog moms, we didn’t have anything to compare his behavior to. After all, he was a teenager and full of energy! So many people had warned us that most dogs end up in shelters between 9 months and 2 years old because people aren’t prepared for the teen phase. We wondered if some of his wild behavior was just normal teen Vizsla antics. 

We decided to hold off on meds and pursue training. Brick by brick, we built a village of positive trainers who helped us on our journey. Even so, teenage Obi stretched us to our absolute limits. In addition to his mental struggles, he battled many other health issues. 

He struggled with bowel issues from an early age. His poops were terrible from the day we brought him home. With the help of our holistic vet, Dr Keith Weingardt, we eventually got him on a raw diet that agreed with him. 

Injuries – he took a flirt pole to the eye before he was a year old, and spent far too much time at the vet for other injuries. He was forever weary of any instruments coming near his face, and who can blame him? 

He somehow broke two teeth that we’re sure were painful for a while and had to be surgically removed. 

He sometimes got terrible and painful vasculitis on his beautiful ears that would take weeks to clear up. The only thing that would help was for him to wear a head wrap called the No-Flap Ear Wrap.  That helped it heal and not bleed.

Allergies – Jess happened to mention to our regular vet that he sometimes kept her awake at night with his licking. She let us know that wasn’t normal. This led to allergy testing that showed he was basically allergic to life – grasses, trees, dust mites, cat dander, human dander, and more. With the help of Dr. Ashley Bourgeois and staff at Animal Dermatology Clinic, we eventually got things under control. For the past 3 years, his allergies were only a minor annoyance, thanks to his daily serum and twice-monthly baths. 

Then there were the behavioral health issues—anxiety, hyperarousal, leash reactivity to other dogs – this one we unknowingly contributed to by doing all the things I now like to call, ‘baking a reactivity cake’ – over socializing, not enforcing breaks during puppy play, going to some dog parks, not allowing him to sleep enough at times… despite all our research, we made many mistakes. 

Most people would have rehomed him, but we never even considered it. 

With each challenge, we found the expert professional help we needed to get through it. I kept telling him, “When you’re 5, you’ll be perfect.” And the professionals who helped us kept telling us, we were amazing dog moms who were doing everything we could to help him.

Then there were the normal challenges of raising a high-energy dog in the city. Vizslas are often called ‘Velcro Vizslas’ because they typically are very attached and cuddly. For over a year, while we waited for his arrival, other Vizsla owners told us to prepare for a constant companion who wanted to crawl inside our skin. 

But from the beginning, Obi was an independent boy. He didn’t like being cuddled, preferring to run around with toys by himself vs playing with us. It took some adjusting, but we came to appreciate his unique style of love. He never liked pets on his head, but he loved having his chest rubbed, and oh how he loved his butt scritches. He would start doing what we called ‘the but scritch dance.’ He freely gave kisses and also gave us the honor of holding his bone while he chewed it, while being very careful not to get teeth on us. 

It pained me not to be able to hug him and squish him, so we worked out a system. I would bend over and hold my arms in a circle, and if he was in the mood, he would walk into my arms, where he tolerated some light snuggling, as long as I paid him in treats afterwards. 

At 7 months old, I took him to meet up with a bunch of other Vizslas at 1000 acres. The moment the leash came off, he took off, running 100 yards away to check out some other dogs and their people, and giving me a mild heart attack. We paused unfenced off-leash adventures and worked hard on recall and relationship building. 

SniffSpot wasn’t around when Obi was young, and with dog parks off the table once we learned better, we had to get creative. Whenever someone announced a Vizsla meetup at the dog park, we were the weirdos who showed up and trained outside the fenced dog park, desensitizing him to watching other dogs run and play and encouraging him to engage with us instead. 

Normal walks were a pulling nightmare for a long time, until we found the secret of just using a longer leash. 

Breeders, who often have acres of fenced property and off-leash trails minutes away from their home, and rarely, if ever, do activities other than dog sports, are quick to vilify harnesses and long lines, but when we started walking with a longer leash attached to the back clip of a well-fitted and non-restricted harness, it changed everything. Obi got room to move on neighborhood walks while we maintained his safety with far less conflict. We could finally enjoy walks together. In recent years, we could often meander in our quiet neighborhood with Obi dragging a long line because he was so good about stopping at curbs and generally checking in with us.

With a long line, he could also enjoy ‘free’ time at our neighborhood parks while still following leash laws.

We found access to private land where we could safely hike off leash without worrying about running into other dogs and people. 

We worked at building a small circle of dog friends with the help of regular off-leash group hikes with his Dog Adventures NW trainers and meeting up with friends to do slow introductions, starting with parallel walks and ending with Sniff Spot play dates and finally full hikes. 

We made so much progress, and at two and a half years old, we started noticing major improvements about every 6 months. 

But there was one setback that convinced me we needed one more step to help Obi live the life we dreamed for him. In April 2021, it was the last day of Kronda’s birthday trip to the beach, and I took Obi down for one last beach walk. Without warning, he got overstimulated and launched one of his old attacks. 

By this time, I was an old hand at managing him until he could calm down. The rest of our walk was uneventful. When we got back to the house, I told Jess, “I think he needs medication.” 

We went for a second consultation with Tom Mitchell of Behavet, and after hearing all the training we had done since our first consult, he agreed that Obi’s brain needed a serotonin boost. 

We started him on a low dose of Reconcile (Prozac), and once it took hold, that’s when we turned a corner. By the time he was 5, he really was a joy to live and play with, just as I’d promised him and myself. 

Accomplishments

Alongside all of our challenges, there was fun, adventure, and many things to celebrate. 

We became part of a whole new community of Vizsla friends, and entered the world of dog sports, starting with Barn Hunt. 

Barnhunt

We were lucky to get our Barn Hunt start with a 3-hour workshop held by local barn hunt legend Karla Sanders. Obi got the perfect introduction to rats, and then finding rats, and we learned to read his signals. 

We entered our first trial when he was 6 months and 12 days old, and he LOVED it. He sailed through his Instinct and Novice titles in one weekend and by 9 months old, had completed his Open title. The only thing he didn’t love about barn hunt was waiting in the blind with 4 other dogs. His reactivity was at its height by then, and impatience to get out and find the rats didn’t help. 

We took a break from the sport for 18 months or so while we worked on his reactivity and overall mental health. 

Conformation

Conformation was never a world we planned on entering, but at the request of his breeder, we agreed to make him available for shows in our area. We came to enjoy the shows – what’s not to love about showing up to a space where all the cutest dogs of every breed are paraded around? 

It was a great place to catch up with Vizsla friends, and it was fun seeing Obi prance around the ring. We bought an online course and started his show training almost as soon as we brought him home. He became a very good boy in the ring and looked amazing posing for the judges.  

He didn’t get much love as a gangly youngster with 80% legs, but as he filled out, he began to accumulate points. It took years, but we slowly learned what the heck was going on with this show ring game. 

I dipped my toe in by taking him to Ridgefield and earning his International Championship – a much more low-key environment where the dog is judged against the breed standard and the judge gives you feedback about your dog. 

In 2023 I ventured to a local AKC show in Salem and after winning our class, I was encouraged to show him at the upcoming Vizsla Nationals which was being held just an hour away from home. 

It was a bit like learning to play basketball and then signing up for the NBA finals 3 months later, but we went for it. Day one was a bit ridiculous thanks to my nerves, but at the Specialty on day 2 we managed to represent ourselves better and got 2nd in our class with the same competition from the day before. 

Most importantly, we had fun and got to enjoy the spectacle of hundreds of red dogs. 

Our conformation progress happened in fits and starts over the years. Some highlights were getting noticed on two occasions by legendary Westminster judge Patricia Trotter for first class placement and Reserve Winners Dog. 

And we had a great weekend in Monroe earning Best of Winners 2 days in a row, one of which was a major win. 

Eventually, we got close enough to his championship that we decided to get serious about it. This inspired two lovely dog-cation trips to Lewiston, Idaho and Missoula, Montana in the spring of 2024. We got no love from judges in Lewiston, but the love of friends and getting to hang out after the shows more than made up for it. 

Then, in Montana, on the first day, Australian Judge Lesley Ann Childs awarded Obi Winners Dog for a 4-point major to finish his championship with his breeder showing, and our friends cheering us on. 

Scentwork

Nothing made Obi happier than using his nose. In November 2021, I found a local scent work trial that was 5 weeks away and entered him in all classes. Then I signed up for an online class through Fenzi Dog Sports Academy and we got to work. 

He rocked his first trial with 7 qualifying searches out of 11 total over the weekend. Jess and I continued our tradition from barn hunt of trading off handling. Folks often remarked on how impressive it was that he worked equally well for both of us. 

Obi went on to earn his overall Novice Scent Work title and several Advanced qualifying runs before he died. 

Agility

Agility was one of those sports we listed on our application that sounded fun but we had no idea just how challenging and involved it is. 

Because of Covid, we weren’t able to take classes in person, and back then, there wasn’t much offered locally even if we had been willing to go. So we leaned into online learning and teaching foundation skills at home. We had a tunnel, and added a couple of jumps and some borrowed weave poles. 

He was 4 by the time we started going to in-person classes with standard obstacles. Our delayed start and home training turned out to be a gift. Between making great progress with his behavior challenges, improving our relationship, and the benefit of maturity, we sailed into class and excelled right off the bat. Obi was unfazed by any obstacle except weave poles, which he hated. We worked on them for over a year using various techniques, but any time we increased the challenge such as removing the guide wires, he wasted no time in taking shortcuts. 

He was good enough at everything else that I decided to take him for his first trial just before we brought Yoda home. It was a CPE (Canine Performance Events) trial with competition categories that didn’t require weaves. 

Our first run was a game based on points scored for each obstacle but the order is up to the handler and dog. When we left the start line, he ditched me and went on a zoomie loop, but I was able to pick him up at a tunnel, and then he was with me. We ended up having the most points and getting our first win! 

That ended up being our only official trial as we picked up Yoda shortly after and went into puppy raising mode. 

For the past year, the boys have shared a private lesson twice a month with Peyton at Corral Creek. I gave up training weaves because the goal was for us both to have fun, and that’s what we did. We had some of our best practice runs earlier this month, just 3 days after his grand mal seizure. I’m going to miss running with him. 

Modeling

In late 2020, I got a message from Josh that Ruffwear was looking for new models for their Fall 2021 product updates. 

I wasted no time signing us up, and in February 2021, we met a photographer out at Dog Mountain, where Obi had the time of his life, and I huffed and puffed my way up the mountain between photo setups. There were some product placement issues with the first shoot, so we ended up doing a second shoot out at Syncline in the Columbia Gorge. 

Keeping those photos restricted to my hard drive until the official launch was a challenge. As of the time of writing this, you can still see our money shot as one of the photos on the Overcoat Fuse product page: https://ruffwear.com/products/dog-jacket-harness-all-in-one-overcoat-fuse and catch my hand model debut in the ‘Features’ section of the page. 

Sometimes friends will forward us shorts from the Ruffwear newsletter that show up in their inboxes, and we’re also featured on a blog post about finding dog-friendly trails: https://ruffwear.com/blogs/explored/how-to-find-dog-friendly-trails

Fastcat

Watching Obi run was always a treat. We didn’t do a lot of Fast CAT but when we did, he went all-in. His last run in May of 2024 he was clocked at 27mph. 

Hunting

We are not hunters and don’t aspire to be, but we love giving our dogs the opportunity to express their natural instincts. In the past two years we have taken opportunities to do hunt training here and there through Point Van Pointer Club, with Matt & Jayme Nolan, and gotten awesome mentoring and practice with the help of Will and Lisa, Misty and Sean. Obi had a huge prey drive and wanted to skip the middleman and dispatch the birds himself. 

One day, training with Matt and Jayme, Obi was off-leash, hunting pigeons. He found one and went straight in. As Matt was saying that the bird would be safe under the cage, Obi was saying’ “hold my beer” and grabbing a tail feather. 😂 We ran him on leash after that…

Life with Obi

Daily Life

Obi brought so much into our lives, but the best part was the day-to-day joys of living with what we called ‘Obi 2.0.’ 

He loved to sleep in, but would get up and ask to leave the bedroom to retire to his cozy cave until the rest of the household was up. During warmer months, he lounged on some gray chairs that are so stained and hair-covered, we should have gotten rid of them long ago, but wouldn’t dream of depriving him. 

If he wasn’t heading out for an epic 2-hour hike with his Dog Adventures trainer, or heading to an agility lesson, we might take a neighborhood walk, go for a hike on our own, or hit up one of our neighborhood parks. 

He wasn’t a dog that needed to do something epic every day. On days when I needed more office time, he was happy with morning and evening walks (AKA “walkies” in our house) and playtime. 

He was a sun worshiper who LOVED the heat. On hot summer days, he loved standing in the sun like Jake and Olivia (#iykyk) and baking himself until he panted. He even tried this when the temperature exceeded 120 degrees one year…we ushered him inside.  Silly boy!

Our second cat, Xander, was quite shy and disappeared to the back of the house for months when we first brought Obi home. It was always my dream for them to get along and be friends, and in the end, it was their mutual love of the sun that brought them together. 

Obi would politely stare at the front window curtain, asking it to be raised so he could sunbathe on his bed. He and Xander eventually spent many days peacefully sharing the sun spots in the living room, even sometimes sharing the same dog bed!

He was an amazing communicator and so polite. He had potty bells, but after a few years, he mostly declined to use them, opting to just wait at the door and stare at us, as if to say, “We do this every night, you know what I want, I’m not ringing those ridiculous bells.” 

If I let him out of the bedroom in the morning but forgot to open the baby gate, after a few minutes, we’d hear the faintest, most polite whine, and I’d come out to see him sitting patiently in front of the gate waiting to be let into the front part of the house.

Speaking of patience, when it came to getting out of the house, his patience was infinite. He would lie politely in the front hall while we ran around for 20 minutes having a fashion crisis, looking for coats and wallets, loading treat bags, going to the car, forgetting something, and coming back to the house, at least twice. 

When we first brought Obi home, we had a long talk about our parenting style and agreed that he would not be allowed on the furniture or the bed. 

This rule barely lasted 4 months. Although he didn’t cuddle, he loved sleeping with us and using our legs as a pillow. If we sent him to bed first, sometimes we’d arrive to find the bed in total disarray as he dug up all the blankets to make his nest. 

He was an unapologetic shredder of toys and counter surfer. We had a couple of good years of him staying off the counter, but once Yoda arrived, and we got careless and distracted, he took full advantage, especially if there was butter involved! 

We promised him many times that his last meal would be a stick of butter. I wish we could have made good on our promise, but at least he got some buttered popcorn with seasonings 2 nights before he died. 

Adventures

Obi was an awesome travel buddy, and we loved taking him on adventures. 

Our first time camping, he was so polite that he instantly recognized our campsite as ‘home’ and would ask to be taken for a walk to poop. 

By total chance, I met the pawrents of Obi’s cousin Penny through a work function before Obi was even born. Of course we had to go to their house and meet Penny and get our Vizsla fix while we impatiently waited to bring him home. 

A few years ago, we started a yearly tradition of going on vacation together. We’d get a dog-friendly Airbnb and have enjoyed off-leash paradise cross-country skiing in Bend and other places hiking, mushroom hunting, and even encountering a bear in the woods! 

One of our best adventures was a 10-day adventure van trip in 2022. We made our way around eastern Oregon, paddling on lakes, hiking, mountain biking (and breaking our little weekend warrior by skimming off a piece of his paw pad on sharp rocks), swimming at the bottom of Hell’s Canyon, and seeing the amazing colors of the painted hills. That trip was so fun, we forgot to come home and had to beg our van owner and cat sitter for an extra day. 

One of my proudest moments from this year was taking Obi back to the beach. We were meeting friends who were visiting from out of state and planned to meet up with them for a hike without the dogs. That meant going early and getting the boys tired. 

It was a beautiful sunny Saturday in May at Cannon Beach. The tide was high and the beach was filled with surfers, sunbathers, and other dogs playing on the beach. 

It was the ultimate test of healed reactivity, recall, and engagement and Obi passed with flying colors! He and Yoda ran with each other, ignoring other people, and playing keep away with their toy. They had the best time and we got to see the fulfillment of all the hard work we had put in over the years. 

But we got an even bigger thrill in the afternoon. We decided to all go to dinner so we took them back to the beach post-hike for another run on the busy beach. A girl Vizsla coming from the other direction spotted the boys and ran right over. Soon they were making huge zoomie circles. Weirdly, the other dog’s people never acknowledged us or our dogs. As they continued on their way, I decided to whistle recall the boys. I wish I hadn’t stopped filming to grab my whistle because both boys turned on a dime and sprinted back to us at top speed. We’d come a long way from the dog who would sprint football fields away as soon as the leash came off! 

Becoming a Big Brother

It wasn’t long after we brought Obi home that Vizsla friends started hinting that ‘no one can have just one Vizsla.’ 

As Obi matured and overcame many of his health and behavior challenges, we started thinking seriously about expanding our family. 

In June of 2023, we brought Yoda home. We weren’t sure how Obi would do as a big brother, but he surprised us in the best way. Of course, he was annoyed, as older siblings of all species have the right to be. But in the end, they became buddies who played regularly together and Yoda wasn’t the only brat. Obi delighted in waiting until everyone was settled and then picking up a toy to get Yoda riled up and playing keep away again. 

The two of them were such opposites in every way that together they made the perfect dog. Obi hated agility weaves, Yoda loves them. Obi would pose stock still in the ring, Yoda is a happy tappy-toed wiggle monster. Obi was an absolute ninja at catching treats- Yoda closes his eyes, opens his mouth, and hopes for the best. 😂

With Obi gone, it feels like The Force is out of balance and the house is so empty. 

Obi’s Village

Obi had a huge community of people who loved him from near and far, and we would not have been able to give him the amazing life he had without our village of supporters. 

When we brought Obi home, Sam and Gaelyn spent many long hours on the phone with us, fielding our new dog mom questions. 

Paula and Dan always welcomed Obi into their home, whether to give us exhausted new puppy moms a break or for one of their many epic Vizsla parties. 

Josie, Mahinda, and cousin Penny provided our Vizsla fix until we could finally bring Obi home and we have so many amazing memories of Obi and Penny playing and adventuring together. Josie and Mahinda also took Obi into their home multiple times while us humans vacationed.  We were so happy to host Penny just a few months ago and briefly experience a 3 dog household. 

Our wonderful community of trainers, many of whom have become friends. These folks guided us through the worst of the teenage years and helped us help Obi become his best self.

Sarah McLaodry helped with early behavior modification training and later helped us develop care routines to help Obi be as comfortable as possible during procedures and routine care. 

Photographers Kim Elliott and Sydney Ryan produced stunning professional photos that we’ll cherish forever. 

Our early Wonder Puppy trainers: 

• Christina Perez
• Kira Moyer
• Matt Langel
• Christina Gray (also continued to help Obi in adulthood)

Our Vet Behavior Specialists

• Dr Vali and Sarah McLaoudry at Synergy
• Tom Mitchell and the team at Behavet

Our Barn Hunt Teachers: 

• Karla Sanders and Nancy Griffith of Valley Dog Sports 

Our Agility Team: 

• Lisa Ziomkowski of Sports Paws
• Elissa Looney Ferguson and Peyton Green for the awesome Corral Creek Dog Sports facility and private lessons. 

Emma Brent and Meaghan Summerbell of Urban Pawsibilities for creating reactive-dog-friendly group classes. 

Our teachers at Dog Days NW

• Cheree Roberts (Control Unleashed)
• Lore Joplin (Scent work)

Malina and our walking team from Pawsitively Paws, who were always happy to step in when I needed a little extra time at the office. They took care of Obi during our first pandemic travel during the holidays, and we’ve never before or since received the epic, detailed reports that Jessica from their team sent us over the holidays. Abby took Obi on many a neighborhood walk and always loved seeing him.

Special mention to Kerry Ryan and Our Dog Adventures NW family for being a huge contributor for Obi living his best life!

• Jess Lara helped us so much in the teen phase with private training and boarding. It was always a relief leaving Obi with Jess, knowing he was in expert hands and that he would come back to us even happier than we left him. Her knowledge of behavior and her training skills are as deep as her kindness. We looked forward to ending our vacation days with her detailed daily updates and training videos. 
• Cyrus Heiduska was Obi’s first adventure hike buddy. He helped mold Obi from a wild man of the woods to a well-mannered adventure companion, and Obi lived for their bushwacking adventures.
• Shawna Burk has hiked with Obi for the past two years, and it was one of the highlights of his week. I would tell him, “Just a business walk today buddy, and then you’re gonna hike with Shawna,” His door manners evaporated when she showed up on our porch with leash in hand. Thank you, Shawna, for taking him to the most beautiful places and giving him the thing he loved best – freedom. 

Obi’s Healthcare Team: 

• Alayson Phelps and the staff at Brooklyn Yard Veterinary
• The awesome doctors at Animal Dermatology Clinic
• Our holistic vet Dr Keith Weingardt
• Mandi Blackwelder and the staff at Healing Arts Animal Care for physical therapy
• Our neurologist, Dr. Krull, and the amazing staff at MedVet Animal Hospital.

The dedicated, overworked, under-appreciated staff of the many emergency clinics we visited over the years: 

• Dove Lewis
• Sadie Vet Urgent Care
• Blue Pearl Pet Hospital
• Med Vet Animal Hospital

PetsBest Insurance, for keeping us from going broke from medical expenses.

To all of Obi’s family, friends, fans, and supporters, thank you for loving him from near and far. Obi was an introvert like his momma Jess, and didn’t love having visitors over. But he melted the heart of Grandpa Chuck (who doesn’t care for animals) and loved smothering Auntie Rai with kisses during her stays. 

We teamed up with our friends Sam & Brenna to work on reactivity training with both our dogs. A winter of parallel walks progressed to Sniffspot meetups and then off-leash hikes together. Brenna was obsessed with Obi’s soft ears, and their kids enjoyed feeding him too many apples and leaving us to deal with the consequences later. 💩

Thanks to Misty and Sean for opening their many acres for Red Dogs and Wine Vizsla parties and hosting hunt practice sessions. 

My OpenHaus mate coworkers who always welcomed him to the office even though he wasn’t really office dog material. Especially auntie Cole, who loved watching him while I went for a coffee and promptly rolled around on the floor with him. 

Thank you to Leslie for all of your moral support and inviting us to hang out at your amazing home during your recent vacation during Obi’s last two weeks. Obi was SO happy being able to run laps around your property and chill on your deck. It was one of the most relaxing vacations we’ve ever had. 

To our new breeder family – Jayme Nolan (Red Blend Vizslas) and Jess Mackey (Alpine Vizslas)- thank you for always welcoming and including Obi as if he were your own. Your support has meant so much to us. 

So Long for Now

To our dear Obi– Obi cakes, Red Tornado, Pumpkin, Obes, Butter thief, Flapper.

I could write another 20 pages about your life, and it wouldn’t be enough to express our love and heartbreak. We should have had more time.

You changed everything about our lives, mostly for the better. Because of you, we gained an entirely new community, experiences, and adventures.

You taught us so much about patience, perseverance, and acceptance, and sent Jess on the path to becoming a professional dog trainer. You took one for the team and paved the way for Yoda to have the best puppyhood because of everything we learned from you. 

We overcame all of your challenges to give you the best life possible, and no one would have loved you better than we did. I’m proud of all of us, and our lives will be forever richer because we had the privilege of being your mamas. 

My only small regret is that we couldn’t be with you during your last hours and give you that stick of butter for your last meal. But you were where you needed to be to have the best chance to survive. 

We’re glad your suffering was limited. You’re free now. No more nail trims, baths, harnesses, leashes, or rainy poop walks. 

Go find Xander and lie in the sunshine, run free on the beach and in the woods, sniff all the girl pee, splash in the water, kill all the birds, steal all the butter, treats, and food you want.

We love you more than you know!!!  We will miss you forever, and you will never be forgotten, Obi.

Mommy K and Momma Jess