TJ came into our lives in March 1998. When we drove through a snowstorm to pick him up in New Mexico, we had no idea what an impact this beautiful red Akita puppy would have in our lives.
Tom began to call him "Mr. Perfect", not because he was perfect, but because he always gave us his personal best in everything he did. At 8 months old, he made his first entrance into the show ring in Prescott, Arizona. From the moment he stepped into that ring, his exciting show presence astounded us and everyone watching. He won Winners Dog and his first major!
From that day on, TJ gave us thrill after thrill winning multiple Best of Breeds. He loved to show so much that he would tremble with excitement on the grooming table and would drag Tom to the ring. But, it was the Group Ring where TJ really shinned. He turned it up a notch and proudly pranced around the ring demanding to be watched. He just loved it when the crowd would applaud and cheer for him. He won many group placements. With each and every win, he would drag his handler, Connie Gard, to us to get his well-deserved hugs and kisses. At the end of 2001, the Akita rankings were published and, to our surprise, TJ was ranked number 13 in "all breed points" and number 21 in "breed" points! Incredibly, this was accomplished in showing only in Arizona!
TJ and Connie were bonded so deeply. They had a great love and respect for one another. She knew all too well how much he loved to show. His enthusiasm could get out of control if she didn’t hold him back a bit. One time just as TJ was ready to move out on his turn around the Group ring, our friend Trudy yelled, "Go T!" That was a mistake. Connie looked over helplessly as TJ responded by moving out with a burst of speed around the ring. Poor Connie was hanging on for dear life! Her feet actually seemed to be off the ground. Afterwards, Connie went over to Trudy and said, "Don’t ever do that again!" We all enjoyed a great laugh over it.
We all loved TJ, but his true soul mate was Tom. Therefore, when we lost TJ at age 5, it was terribly hard on Tom. We had taken TJ to the Matsuri Japanese Festival in Phoenix to greet the crowd at our Squaw Peak Akita Club booth. He was a wonderful ambassador of the Akita and enjoyed being hugged and petted by many who stopped at the booth.
The next morning, Sunday, February 20, 2003, we were having breakfast when we heard the dogs in the kennel going crazy. We ran out and saw TJ lying lifelessly in his kennel. We had lost our beautiful red boy!
We called our vet, Dr. Hudman, and he went immediately into his office to perform an autopsy. He found that TJ was in excellent condition, no sign of what happened. The only explanation was that the Parvo that TJ had as a puppy could have weakened his heart. All we knew was that it broke our hearts.
Unfortunately, we were never able to breed TJ, but he lives on in his nieces and nephews. We see so much of him in his nephew, Rusty who looks a lot like TJ and is as sweet and loving as his uncle. He helped to fill the void in Tom’s heart. It was as though he knew that Tom was sad and needed him.
We know there will never be another TJ. He will always keep a special place in our hearts. He left us with so many wonderful memories that will never fade away.
Tom began to call him "Mr. Perfect", not because he was perfect, but because he always gave us his personal best in everything he did. At 8 months old, he made his first entrance into the show ring in Prescott, Arizona. From the moment he stepped into that ring, his exciting show presence astounded us and everyone watching. He won Winners Dog and his first major!
From that day on, TJ gave us thrill after thrill winning multiple Best of Breeds. He loved to show so much that he would tremble with excitement on the grooming table and would drag Tom to the ring. But, it was the Group Ring where TJ really shinned. He turned it up a notch and proudly pranced around the ring demanding to be watched. He just loved it when the crowd would applaud and cheer for him. He won many group placements. With each and every win, he would drag his handler, Connie Gard, to us to get his well-deserved hugs and kisses. At the end of 2001, the Akita rankings were published and, to our surprise, TJ was ranked number 13 in "all breed points" and number 21 in "breed" points! Incredibly, this was accomplished in showing only in Arizona!
TJ and Connie were bonded so deeply. They had a great love and respect for one another. She knew all too well how much he loved to show. His enthusiasm could get out of control if she didn’t hold him back a bit. One time just as TJ was ready to move out on his turn around the Group ring, our friend Trudy yelled, "Go T!" That was a mistake. Connie looked over helplessly as TJ responded by moving out with a burst of speed around the ring. Poor Connie was hanging on for dear life! Her feet actually seemed to be off the ground. Afterwards, Connie went over to Trudy and said, "Don’t ever do that again!" We all enjoyed a great laugh over it.
We all loved TJ, but his true soul mate was Tom. Therefore, when we lost TJ at age 5, it was terribly hard on Tom. We had taken TJ to the Matsuri Japanese Festival in Phoenix to greet the crowd at our Squaw Peak Akita Club booth. He was a wonderful ambassador of the Akita and enjoyed being hugged and petted by many who stopped at the booth.
The next morning, Sunday, February 20, 2003, we were having breakfast when we heard the dogs in the kennel going crazy. We ran out and saw TJ lying lifelessly in his kennel. We had lost our beautiful red boy!
We called our vet, Dr. Hudman, and he went immediately into his office to perform an autopsy. He found that TJ was in excellent condition, no sign of what happened. The only explanation was that the Parvo that TJ had as a puppy could have weakened his heart. All we knew was that it broke our hearts.
Unfortunately, we were never able to breed TJ, but he lives on in his nieces and nephews. We see so much of him in his nephew, Rusty who looks a lot like TJ and is as sweet and loving as his uncle. He helped to fill the void in Tom’s heart. It was as though he knew that Tom was sad and needed him.
We know there will never be another TJ. He will always keep a special place in our hearts. He left us with so many wonderful memories that will never fade away.
CH. EBA-ET’S LOADED FR BEAR TMBSKY
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