Flash

Grand Champion Raisin's Jr High Crush

Grand Champion Raisin’s Jr High Crush, “Flash”
3/2/2003 – 3/6/2019

When I was 12, my life was forever changed when my family drove down to Kentucky to Linda Guihen's home to select our first show puppy. Pulling out of Linda’s driveway, with my new puppy on my lap, a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, inspiring the name Flash, and marking the start of an incredible 16-year journey that covered 100,000 miles, 43 states, and 5 homes. It led to amazing new friends, blue ribbons, pink and green ribbons, and times when we left a weekend with only lessons learned. Thousands of tennis balls were thrown, hundreds of movies were watched, and several heartbreaks were healed with my face buried deep in Flash’s coat. Dreams others said were impossible were achieved, and with my partner always there beside me, continuing to dream big became the norm.

He constantly reminded me that even though the competition was fierce, it was always a good time to chase your tail. He showed me that being nervous traveled down the lead, but so did confidence. He taught me that teamwork does make the dream work, and if I did my part in working for my partner there was nothing in the way of us meeting our goals.

Almost all of you reading this are doing so because Flash was a catalyst for remarkable relationships, such as being the reason our family spent countless hours in the car, bringing invaluable mentors into my life, inspiring me to pursue animal science in college, approving my husband, or just giving me and my shy awkward self-something that I loved to talk about. And in all of those relationships, each of you contributed in whatever way you could to ensure the time Flash and I had together was nothing short of epic.

While it’s hard to realize this era has come to an end, Flash left a legacy for what a human-dog partnership can be, and should be, that will never be forgotten.

Play big, jump high, and bark loud my friend. I’ll see you on the other side.