Roger Brown & Tehanu Kimmy (Kim)
Kim was handed in to the RSPCA as her previous owners “couldn’t cope with her”. The RSPCA took her even though they were not accepting dogs at the time due to the Foot and Mouth outbreak (they have goats and sheep at Barnes Hill). We soon discovered that Kim was housetrained and eager to learn, mastering
‘Sit’ and ‘Come’ on day one, and ‘Down’ on day two. She proved to be a dream to work with, she is always eager to please and though not a “cuddly” dog, she loves interaction and lives for the bond she has with her family.
Having taken Kim to obedience training classes from the start, we were very proud to be asked to join the ‘Paws For Thought’ dog display team. Kim was a hit with the crowds, showing off her skills at picking pockets in the tricks section of the display, and taking part in obedience and agility relay races. She performed at many events such as the Malvern and Stoneleigh Agricultural shows and also at Crufts in 2003, and gained her KC Good Citizen Bronze award with ease.
After two seasons with the Display Team, we decided Kim was ready for new challenges, and found an agility club nearby. Roger was persuaded to take up agility, on the understanding that he was in no way interested in competing. Not at all… However, when he won his first rosette at the agility club fun night, he was hooked, and entered several KC competitions in 2005. He and Kim haven’t looked back since, winning out of Elementary in Kim’s first season, out of Starters the next year, and scooped 61 rosettes and awards in 2007, despite Roger having spent the first 6 months of the year recovering from major surgery and chemotherapy. Roger puts his recovery down to his furry friend – he had the best incentive to get ‘Team Kimmy’ back up and running! Kim also took up Flyball during 2006, and obtained ‘Flyball Dog Intermediate’ status with the ‘Kiddy Monsters’. 
Kim qualified for the SupaDARL finals in June 2008 and we enjoyed meeting other members of the League and had a lovely day, managing to finish Third in the Agility final – Kim has only just finished the huge bags of food which the sponsors so kindly donated! Kim finally gained that elusive Agility win to progress to Grade 6 at Dashin’ Dogs this September, an achievement of which Roger is immensely proud. She has also gained her AWS award this year, as well as her UKA CAP and Agility Addicts Games and Agility Expert awards, due in large part to the fabulous training and support from Kidderminster Agility Club.
Kim’s success in winning the Medium Grade 3-5 SupaDARL and Agilitynet Rescue Me titles this year is her finest achievement to date. She is a cracking little dog and a wonderful, loyal friend. She is as happy climbing mountains or lying by the fire as she is zooming round an agility ring; and she has taught us that Rescue Dogs are the greatest companions you could ever wish for. Thanks to Karen and everyone else who makes the SupaDARL league happen, we have had lots of excitement this year following Kim’s progress and have made some very good friends through the league, and comparing SupaDARL points with Kim’s fellow pack member, Buddy (winner of the Large Grade 1 award) makes the competitions even more fun! We look forward to taking our whole Agility Family to the Finals in June ’09.