going to do? What started off as something personal for Kate, Oakley, and me grew into something so much larger. Three people in the United States have gone to Italy, took the training, and became instructors. We have students all over the United States. If Kate and I dropped out, who would continue the work?
ended up starting a GoFundMe page with the goal of raising money to buy a rescue boat in Oakley’s honor. The next thing we knew, Oakley fans had pledged $10,000. Most of them knew Oakley only from social media. Some donations were as small as $2; others were as much as a thousand. Companies we had worked with heard our
rescue, to the puppy, 110 percent. I never like to compare Kelby to Oakley and this is not putting Oakley down in any way. We didn’t start training Oakley in water rescue until she was almost 2, and she was 4 before she was fully proficient. Right now, in water rescue, Kelby, who started water rescue training at 6 months, is where Oakley was at Oakley’s peak. Since COVID, there have been no lifeguards at Beltzville so it’s swim at your own risk. I don’t know exactly how many people were there, but the park capacity is 5,000. It was jammed. Despite the crowds, the day was pretty uneventful—until 3 o’clock.
story and helped by offering discounts on their products. Sea Eagle Boats provided the boat and we bought the motors with the donation money. We named the boat “4 Oaks.”
Maiden Voyage On Memorial Day 2024—a little more
Within 24 hours, I announced Oakley’s passing on our Facebook and Instagram accounts. We had been very active in chronicling our journey, both her education and ours. As much as we put our time and effort into social media, social media came back and helped us through our most difficult, darkest days. So many people contacted us with so many stories we had never heard before, incredible stories of how Oakley helped them through hard moments in their lives. Many reached out to us, saying they were sending donations to AKC and the Newfoundland Club of America and other working dog organizations. A close friend said she thought it was wonderful that Oakley’s fans were making donations to these organizations, but the money was going to go unnoticed as something to commemorate her. “Let’s do something in memoriam for Oakley,” she suggested. We
than six months after Oaks passed—we were patrolling the lake at Beltzville State Park, in Lehighton, Pennsylvania. It was the first day out for Kelby, her first real-life assignment. She was only 17 months old. It was clear that Oakley passed her skills, in obedience and water
A jet ski flipped over, tossing the two men on the craft into the deepest water. One of the men did not know how to swim. I managed to help the driver get back on the jet ski and we were able to nurse it back to the boat launch. But for the guy who couldn’t swim, we needed canine power. I was in the water already and I called Kelby. She flew off the boat. All I saw were those two big paws out in front of her, coming toward me. Then she splashed down and was next to me instantly. I had her go around the swimmer in distress. She pulled in front of him, waited for him to grab hold, and that was pretty much it. She knew what her job was.
Missouri Pet Breeders Association | Page 47
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