Fostering Health and Well-Being for People, Animals, and Nature
Celebrating the Life of Joyful Jewel
Queen of the Bitterroot River at Dunrovin Ranch
Raising Funds for the Angel's Eye Sanctuary
The Friends of Dunrovin will match your donations up to $500
A Canine Retrieval Contest Like No Other!
Jewel had one rule in life: Have fun! She would not want a fierce and serious retrieval competition in her name. No, she would want one full of mirth, nonsense, and laughter. She's getting what she would want with this all-breed open retrieval competition in which all levels of retrieving skills, or lack thereof, are rewarded. Successful retrieving is not the goal. Fun for dogs and their human partners is.
A Few Simple Rules!
Bring your dog's favorite retrieval items. You will have 5 minutes in which to demonstrate your dog's river retrieval skills. The only way to disqualify is to get mad at your dog.
Dogs must have a no-bite history and be kept on leashes when not competing or in our special dog park.
An Award for Every Category
Special guest judge Mackenzie Cole will determine the winners in each category: 1. Longest retrieve; 2. Most retrieves; 3. Best retrieve; 4. Least retrieves; 5. Shortest retrieve; 6. Most enthusiastic; 7. Most cuteness; 8. Best refusal; 9. Least wet; 10. Happiest retrieve.
Win Dunrovin Horseback Riding Prizes!
Dunrovin Ranch will present the winners of the most retrieves, the best retrieves, and the most cuteness with their choice of a gift certificate 1) a Dunrovin horseback River Ride; or 2) a 90-minute riding lesson for a pair of adults or children.
Spectators Welcome: Contestants Limited
The contest is limited to 10 dogs. Register with the form below. Spectators are not limited, cannot bring a dog, and need not register.
Everyone will be asked to make a donation to the Angel's Eye Sanctuary.
Schedule
1:00PM: Welcome and Rules of the Road by host Mackenzie Cole.
1:20PM: Meet some dogs who call Angel's Eyes Sanctuary Home.
1:40PM: Head to the river to start the contest.
3:00PM: Awards ceremony
3:30 to 4:00PM: Introduce your leashed dog to our equines.
My Golden Girl by SuzAnne Miller
We celebrated Jewel’s 17th birthday on October 10, 2020 and we said goodbye to her a few days later on October 22nd . Jewel’s decline had been precipitous in the last couple of weeks of her life. She could hardly get to her feet. The pain on her face was obvious each time she attempted to sit down. Those back legs that had carried her over hundreds of miles of mountain trails, leading the way for her horses and keeping her little pest-of-a-brother Kola in line, were giving out. Winter’s killing cold had arrived to chill her bones and deprive her of any comfort. It was time.
Our family gathered by the river to lay her down. Nature enfolded us to sooth our pain. The cry of a pileated woodpecker echoed from the forest. A noisy flock of geese arrived to dominate the skies. Three black horses from the wild Ghost Herd on the ridge across the river paused from grazing, lifted their heads, and looked in our direction. In what felt like a final salute, a lone migrating osprey appeared low over the river, tipping its wings as it passed by, fully lit by the afternoon sun.
Jewel loved the Bitterroot River. It was her playground, her toy. It could never fool her. She understood it. She worked with it. Its cold clean water quenched her thirst and bathed her sweaty body on hot summer afternoons. She cut through it like a fish. Taking advantage of their draft zone, she always crossed the river with her horses on their downstream side. Ice did not scare her; she could judge its thickness and ability to support her body. She read the current like a book. No matter where you threw the ball or stick, she did not fetch it by swimming towards it. She swam to where she knew the current would take it, arriving at exactly the right moment to let it gently float into her mouth. It was a thing of beauty to watch her unerringly gauge the current’s variable speed and effortlessly intercept the object of her fetching passion. The only harsh strong words ever spoken to Jewel were “No play!” in a desperate effort to be released from her relentless games of fetch.
In life, Jewel owned that river. It is without doubt her heaven now. It is fitting that it was a golden day to welcome our golden girl. The sun’s brilliant rays lit the autumn leaves ablaze and shimmered like diamonds on the water. She is one of those diamonds now. She will forever shine in my eyes when I visit her river.
My son Jake adds these lovely Haiku Poems by Namagusai Tazukuri and Mitoku
In fall
The willow tree recalls
Its bygone glory.
The foam on the last water
Has Dissolved
My mind is clear.
This event is brought to you by the Friends of Dunrovin. Please support the Friends of Dunrovin's mission to raise funds for other nonprofit organizations that foster human, animal, environmental, or community health.
