Since we are on the subject of names, I thought I would explain Jessie's "Never" name. Jessie's NGA racing name was "Never Make It". Its the only racing name I have kept for competing later with. I thought it was funny and ironic.
At one point, I actually spoke to her prior owner and breeder. He seemed to remember her and said that she went after the lure hard, but then would back off. She had some issues with the starting box, but she showed a lot of late speed. He did not think she would make it as a racer and therefore named her as such. She was sent to Birmingham and washed out after a few schooling races. I adopted her just before her 2nd birthday.
Unfortunately, it was too late to rename Teresa. She was already competing in agility with the name Teresa, a name she had been called since she was rescued as a puppy at 4 months with a broken leg. She was adopted and later returned at the age of 4. We adopted her at that time. She is still very much a "Never" greyhound though.
When Jes passed away, I said "She is not my most famous hound, not the highest titled, and never made a top 10 list. But she was my screw-up dog. The screw-up dog is the one you train and retrain over and over. The one who endures all of your mistakes, hard lessons, and your what-NOT-to-do moments. The screw-up dog is the one that helps you to make your future dogs be all they can be. I'm so grateful for everything she taught me, for getting me hooked on dog sports, for making me learn about clicker training, and for all the great times we had."
The photo below is beautifully framed and hangs in our living room. The brass plaque attached to the frame reads:
Never Make It FCh CD NA NAJ aka Jes
Made It!
