On the 3rd anniversary of Chilko’s death, I thought I’d post this tribute that I wrote for our earlier website….
Chilko was our first purebred Belgian sheepdog. She came from British Columbia, where she had been rescued by Natalie Vivian. From Kamloops, she was transported to Bellingham, WA where we picked her up at Karyn Cowdrey’s place. Chilko had quickly made herself at home among the BlackFyre Tervs. We couldn’t believe how lucky we were to be able to bring that shiny, black dog back home. Natalie and Karyn became the first of a long line friends that we feel a special bond with through our Belgian Shepherds. During our trip home from Bellingham, Chilko’s collar broke as we were letting her out of the car for a potty break at a freeway rest area. She was off like a flash and for a moment Joan and I both imagined the tragedy that could have happen. But Chilko came back at our first call– something she would not do again for a couple of years.
I took my first herding and agility lessons with Chilko. Sheep universally reacted with fear when Chilko stepped through the gate. Neither we nor our trainers could fathom what sheep saw in her behavior that caused such a strong reaction. To humans, she looked no more predatory than the average herding dog. I loved those cold, rainy, winter mornings working Ian Caldicott’s black face flock with Chilko. From that wet pasture, it was easy to imagine generations of Groenendaels learning their first herding lessons on similar fields in Belgium. We borrowed Ian’s ram flock and brought them to our own field a few years ago. I was practicing on them one winter afternoon. A particularly feral beast jumped a dilapidated section of fence and tore off across the hill and then the neighbor’s farm never looking back. I went to the car to get a raincoat and flashlight, then Chilko and I returned to where the ram jumped the fence. I gave Chilko a track command and we were off. The hot scent was easy for Chilko to follow. She led through wetlands, oak groves, and across three farms before I caught sight of the ram temporarily halted at a fence line 500 yards away. I knew I’d never catch that ram myself so I sent Chilko on an away knowing full well she was not capable of an outrun at that distance, but hoping she could pin the bastard in a corner until I could catch up. Which she did. In the last light, Chilko and I sometimes fetched, sometimes chased, sometimes wrestled on the ground with that nasty animal until we brought him home. To this day it was about the most fun I’ve ever had with a dog.
Not knowing anything about how to start training a tracking dog, we began Chilko with games of hide-and-go-seek in the woods. An activity we would do for the rest of her life, eventually stretching the game into searches over two kilometers. Our first formal introduction to tracking was with Nancy Rose-Chism. She and her wonderful German Shepherds showed us it was supposed to be done. Chilko loved tracking more than anything in the world. She would pull in the harness so hard that her front feet would occasionally lift off the ground. She passed her TD first try at the 2004 BSCA national. She tore out a toenail during training a couple days before her TDX test. She was limping and on painkillers the day before the test. I’m still ashamed that I didn’t pull her- but those TDX tests are so hard to get into. I even did my best to position myself between Chilko and the judges as we walked to the start flag so they wouldn’t notice the hitch in her gait. But there was no sign o f lameness once she was in her harness. That track turned out to be an amazing piece of work. I still remember the turns and obstacles. We started urban/variable surface training about 6 months before the 2009 national. It was almost a completely different activity than our previous tracking experiences. During this time I met Dan Castle, one of the very best tracklayers a dog could ever hope for. A tracking handler’s only important responsibility is to understand what his dog is trying to show him. The dog actually learns to track from the lessons laid down by the tracklayer. Chilko loved Dan’s challenging paths across Western Oregon University campus. Only through Dan’s coaching did Chilko and I make fast progress during variable surface training. We came within less than 100 yards of the glove at the VST test at the 2009 national, an incredible accomplishment. It was just another one of those many proud moments I shared with my dog.
Chilko CDX TDX VCD2 OAP OJP NA NAJ HSAs RN HTADI
BSCA WDX-Competition
December 24, 2001 – October 6, 2010
We will always remember the lovely Chilko fondly. It is hard to believe she is gone now three years. Harder still to pinpoint what part of this sweet tribute in video we like best. Though viewed many times now, it just seems to get better and better.
She was one very SPECIAL Belgian and so blessed to find your pack. That she brought Mirra (and Sufi) makes her a forever friend. Thanks for posting it Dave.
What a great story. It was such a bittersweet thing to see her picture and her collar on your counter during our recent visit. I know you share many wonderful moments with her, and I’m glad we got to meet her when you visited Boise. We love all the Obsidian dogs, but both Jeff and I felt especially drawn to Chilko.
Thanks for sharing that story.