U-CDX Foxy Lane's Instant Replay, UD, RE, OAP, NJP, CGC
September 4, 1997 - November 26, 2012

I lost my best little pal today. To the AKC, he was Foxy Lane's Instant Replay, UD, RE, OAP, NJP, CGC, and the UKC had bestowed upon him the titles of U-CD and U-CDX, but to me he was "Colby". He was my partner in many an obedience or agility class and we had lots of adventures and made a host of new friends going to trials and matches. He even dabbled in "Earth Dog" when a friend of mine was training her Scotties to go to ground; he loved going after the rats, and put that strength to good use when we moved out to the country and had a barn of our own, complete with the occasional rodent. He was quick to catch any mouse or rat that ventured out of hiding, and acted as a mentor to his younger cousin, Justin, showing him that even though the rodents could climb a fence pole, if you were quick you could pull them back down to earth and take care of business!

Colby took all of his jobs seriously, but did them with zest, sometimes barking in his exuberance to get the job done, much to the displeasure of some of our obedience judges who took points off for "Misbehavior". Our obedience instructors told me again and again that we would lose points, but felt that once we got out of Novice and into Open, he would find it hard to bark with a dumbbell in his mouth. Not true - if he could bark with a tennis ball in his mouth, barking with a dumbbell was a piece of cake! One night, the whole class agreed to yell loudly at him if he started barking as did a Retrieve On The Flat. Sure enough, by about the third trotting step out he began barking. "NO!" the class yelled loudly. He cringed and dropped to the floor. It took me the rest of the week to convince him that it was OK for him to go get the dumbbell; when I returned to class the next week I told the instructors I would take the points off but absolutely would not have anyone yelling at him like that again, even if it meant we wouldn't be participating in DOCOF (Dog Obedience Clubs of Florida) on behalf of the training center. One judge did tell me that he would not count off for his barking, because he could tell it was a happy bark and he liked to see dogs that were happy when they were working. I will show under that judge any day of the week!

One job Colby never formally trained for, but seemed to know how to do, was herding. We had a cockatiel and a parakeet when he first came to live with us and we taught him that they were not toys, but members of his "family". They were allowed to come out of their cages and every now and then would fly down to the floor. Colby seemed to feel he needed to "round them up" and would do so, then sit and look at us as if to say, "Now what?" When our house in Anthony was being built, the cows who lived behind our property broke through our fence and were grazing behind the construction site when I went to check on the progress. Since I had Colby and his sire, Brodie, with me, I let them out of the car and started walking towards the cows wondering how I was going to get them back through the fence. Not to worry; Brodie and Colby started zigzagging back and forth between me and the cows, sending them away from me and towards the hole in the fence. All I had to do was spread my arms out and give a few shouts and in a matter of ten minutes or so we had the herd going back through the fence. Those two dogs had never seen cows before in their lives! I do believe, though, that the hardest herding job he ever had to do came later, when my Scottie-breeding friend brought her litter of seven headstrong Scottie pups out to the farm to stretch their little legs. Colby came through like a champ, though, keeping those devilish little puppies in a group and not letting any of them break free as we walked in the grassy area I loosely called my "dressage ring". After the puppies were loaded back in the car, Colby sat there panting, all tuckered out from keeping his "herd" together.

Being a "low-rider", Colby sometimes found it hard to clear the 8 inch jumps his height qualified him for in Agility, so when the Preferred division came out, it seemed tailor-made for him. Now he only had to clear 4 inches and he seemed to sail over the little jumps easily. He had very few downed rails in Preferred, and became quite fast through the courses. We used to get comments like, "He doesn't look like he can go that fast, but he really flies!" He loved the teeter-totter, so much so that when I was trying to train Justin, our younger corgi, on it, Colby kept butting in line so he could go again and again. Then he discovered that when Justin was coming down the teeter, he could get on that way and meet Justin head on. I finally had to just put him up so that Justin could get used to the teeter on his own, but would bring Colby back out so he could have his fill after Justin was through. He was honored to have competed on two different teams in the Dog Agility Clubs of Florida (DACOF) competitions, holding his own in his height division and helping both of his teams to earn high placings.

What Colby did best, though, and what makes it hardest to adjust to life without him, is to be my companion. He slept on his bed by my nightstand, curled up on the bath mat whenever I took my shower, laid on the rug next to the love seat while I watched TV or read at night and was always ready for the trip out to the barn early in the morning or late at night to either feed the horses, turn them out or tuck them in. He was my escort down the driveway to the mailbox, my "shotgun" partner on trips to the pet supply store or the feed store, and was expert at begging for extra treats from the staff at the vet's office each and every time he went, even when he wasn't feeling up to par. That's what corgis do best and, even though he wasn't a conformation champion, or even a High In Trial in obedience or agility, he was the champion of my heart and he will be sorely missed. Rest in Peace, my little Doodlebug, and I'll see you at the Rainbow Bridge.