March is supposed to be my “Happy Month”. Our first show dog, the sire of 2 of our litters, celebrates his birthday, one week later my better half and I celebrate our lifelong commitment, and one week after that is my birthday. Nothing bad is supposed to happen in March. Spring is on its way, racing and lure coursing are starting and our favourite walking trails are drying up so people and dogs aren’t so muddy.
This year, however, there are no happy times in March. My best friend, my litter mate” as we often referred to each other, and the other half of our “shared brain” is gone. By now some of you already know of the passing of Bonnie Goebel, Ragtime Whippets, on March 16th but many of you may not know her or just how special she was. Bonnie was never one to “Blow her own horn” so I have taken it upon myself to do it for her.
Bonnie gave so much to the dog & sighthound community in general and the whippet community specifically. She attended almost all the local SPCA dog walks and FIDO displays bringing a wealth of information on whippets and their activities and a wealth of whippets! She encouraged other whippet and sighthound people to bring their hounds and join her on these outings. We had such fun on the walks and with our picnic afterward. For the FIDO displays she would bring a complete bedroom to set up in our booth and amaze the patrons with the number of whippets piled on the bed and under the covers. Bonnie never tired of answering the eternal questions that most dread…”Why are they so skinny”, “How fast are they”, etc. etc.
Bonnie was passionate about her sport, lure coursing. Bonnie owned Canada’s first Field Champion Whippet. She was the statistician for the Canadian Sighthound Field Association and was responsible for getting those results to the Canadian Kennel Club. They were never done by computer, always by hand, and never wrong. Bonnie policed the CKC by reporting any mistakes they may have made in a dogs points or any inaccuracies in their published trial results. She was involved in writing the lure coursing rule book for the CKC when they took over CSFA and knew that rule book backwards and forwards. Bonnie was a part of the CKC’s lure coursing council for a great many years and worked hard at keeping them from “over managing” the sport. She was a well respected lure coursing judge in both Canada & the U.S., her integrity above reproach and the safety of the hounds her priority. She was responsible for the training and guidance ofsome of Canada’s top lure coursing hounds and their people.
Bonnie was as devoted to her whippets as they were to her. She loved and was proud of each and every dog that she bred. Bonnie had a quiet way of guiding her “puppy people” in the right direction with the care and trainingof their dogs. She was never too busy to take the call of someone who needed her advice.
There are so many things I would like you all to know about her….She had love for all sighthounds and had a real knack for handling them in the ring with her calm presence. She had wonderfully twisted sense of humour, often telling people that she watched CSI for “research” while shooting the evil eye at her husband. She loved walking the dogs in autumn when the days were cool and the leaves were colourful. She loved Stephen King novels, doted on her grand children, hated strawberries, loved black liquorice, banana bread, and Mochas. Both our vans were programed to find the nearest coffee place after a dog show.
Most of all I want to tell you what a wonderful friend and mentor she was to me. Any success we have had in the whippet world is because of her. She never dictated, she guided and encouraged us to do our own thing and not follow the trends when planning a breeding. She allowed us to have Zappa, Ch.Ragtime Mark of Kryptonite, FCh., CGN, TRP, DPC and Zoe, Ch. Ragtime Firestarter, FCh., CGN, the foundation of Fireworks. She was there when our first litter was born. She was there to celebrate if we did well in the ring or on the field. The times when she couldn’t be at the field or show, she would be the first person I would call when I got home and we would talk for hours.
There has been a huge chunk of my heart torn out….she was not yet 55 years old….we were supposed to get old and cranky together and go to dog shows and say “Remember when….” and laugh at each others jokes and trade husband stories and discuss pedigrees, and………………. I am consoled by knowing we will meet again and go walking with our whippets and the trails will never be muddy. I am also consoled by the fact that she knew how much I loved and respected her. So, for all of you, if you haven’t done it yet, call your best friend and tell him or her just how much they mean to you because sometimes they are gone too soon.