CHuBBS

After achieving Hall of Fame status with my previous Beefeater girl, Gracie, Laura Haney and Renee McCandlish generously offered me another puppy to work with. The cobby little bright red brindle girl with wrinkled body and dark button eyes was a real “firecracker” they told me. I had intended to give her the name, “Joy”, but that was quickly vetoed by my husband and four sons. My youngest offered the perfect moniker for her so she became “Chubbs”.

It became obvious from the get-go that this sweet little girl had one very big dislike. She absolutely hated the collar and leash! And this was something she never outgrew. This could be a bit of an issue for a future obedience prospect, but we soon came to a basic understanding—she would tolerate wearing this contraption, toddling along by my side—as long as I never applied any pressure to that collar. The slightest tug and she immediately put her brakes on. I knew I’d have to be more creative in training this little redhead!

We succeeded and she earned her first CD leg along with the first of several High In Trial awards well before her first birthday. Her CD, CDX and all three of the newly established Rally titles were earned in rapid succession. We spent the next several years with many near misses working towards the elusive Utility Dog title, but finally in the summer of 2010 she completed the requirements for her UD—as well as a spot in the BCA Performance Hall of Fame.

Chubbs had a fetish for bare toes! When she spied a set wandering by, her button eyes would light up, her flews raised into a grin and she’d jump in for the attack, ever-so-gently nibbling at the tempting morsels! You could gauge how tired she was by the length of tongue protruding from her mouth. One time I looked down to see it curled into the shape of perfect “lips”! She also claimed any box that was set on the ground, immediately climbing inside.

She was everybody’s best friend and never met a critter that she couldn’t “mother”—baby bunnies, kittens, hamsters—or humans—were all fair game! She won the hearts of anyone who met her, and she holds a special place in ours as we fondly remember our little Chubby Girl!

• BCA Hall of Fame (Obedience-Utility Dog)
• BCA Bulldogger Cover Dog-#161

OBeDiENCe: Companion Dog (CD), Companion Dog Excellent (CDX) & Utility Dog (UD) Titles
RaLLY: Rally Novice (RN), Rally Advanced (RA) & Rally Excellent (RE) Titles
CiViC: Canine Good Citizen

ThE My THReE SoNS LiTTeR: Chubbs had a litter of three beautiful boys (unfortunately the two girls didn’t make it) on April 26, 2005 sired by BIS BISS Ch Beefeater’s Brass Knuckles.