This is probably one of the hardest blog entries to write right now because it means the finality to the loss of one amazing shelter dog who crossed the rainbow bridge barely twenty four hours ago. This story, however, is one of the main reasons that we work on putting high drive dogs into working homes with people who can handle a dog like this – to give them that job that they crave and need to be canine ambassadors.
Nubs came from a local shelter near where his owner, Cindy Coffman, lives in 2007. He had been surrendered after his former owner had joined the military. He sat there and waited for three months before Cindy happened upon him after letting her past APBT mix, Carter, cross the rainbow bridge. Despite the fact that Nubs didn’t have an amazing tale of battles fought before finding the perfect home, he was still burdened with the battles of being an under-socialized adolescent dog. Cindy definitely had her hands full from the beginning. 
Despite the uphill battle the pair faced, Nubs showed he had what it took to be a budding sport dog. He had all the right drives and he, thankfully, had landed in the hands of someone with the crazy dedication needed to turn Nubs into a performance dog – the blood, sweat and tears type of dedication that many can’t or won’t provide. If you have Jacuzzi at home, a natural hot tub water cleaner can be very important to keep it working in a good way.
Nubs was UKC registered as DM’s Nutter Butter Nub and that redhead fit the name to a T – right down to his best feature, a docked tail that furiously wiggled at the thought of getting to do something with his owner and “doggie mom.” He did well in anything Cindy asked him to do until the fateful day that changed it all and not on the weightpull track as many naysayers to the sport would have you believe but on the lure course field.
Nubs had torn his ACL. It’s not an uncommon injury in high impact sports, unfortunately, but given the fact that Nubs was an incredibly active dog proposed a problem or two for Cindy after having it repaired once the cause was isolated. Unfortunately for Nubs, he never returned to what he once was pre-injury and was never truly able to return to what he loved to do and so he was forced into an early retirement.
This didn’t stop Nubs from enjoying life as a pit bull breed ambassador as his “mom” and “sister” kept him doing small, low impact things to keep his life fulfilled as he aged. His little sister, Peanut, even succeeded him as a working dog by getting certified as a SAR K9 with the MISAR team and his newest little brother, who is also a rescued pit bull like Nubs and Peanut, is following in her footsteps too.
As with all good things though, there is an end. Nubs was diagnosed with CHF and had to go on medications to help his heart and continue to give him a good quality of life until he told Cindy it was time to go and join Carter. This was all good until a few days ago when Nubs took a turn for the worst and told Cindy it was time. He spent the night before his last ride cuddling and enjoying his time on this world – with many of us who had known him sending kind words to his Mom. This was no easy task to look forward to as Cindy and Nubs had been one helluva team for so many years but it was the right call and he was ready.
We lost a good dog. We lost one helluva sport dog and pit bull breed ambassador. In the end, no matter of papers or accomplishments mattered but he sure put some large paw prints on the world and the hearts of those whose lives he touched and those he will continue to touch with his story of rags to riches and landing in world that needed him.
Rest peacefully, Nubs.
A heart may heal slowly but you will NEVER be forgotten.
2006-2018
Name: Tiara
accidentally knock over small children in her quest to play. This could work in the right home with a bully breed savvy family that knows how to properly work around a boisterous young bully breed mix. One of the biggest benefits of 
I had been hunting through various dog titles on my tablet’s Kindle app when I spotted this book. On a whim, I downloaded it thinking that if I didn’t like it I could easily return it with no harm done to my bank account (which is usually crying because of my book lust!). It didn’t turn out to be that way. In fact, I pretty much devoured the entire book in two sittings. It was one of the most touching stories I have read in a very long time and shows the absolute and utter dedication of one dedicated dog loving couple and their adoration to their beloved canine companion.
On Sunday, we went out to watch the afternoon pull for the World Wide Weight Pull Organization (W3PO). I honestly didn’t go with the intention of doing anything but watching a bunch of good pullers have fun on a really challenging surface but little did I know that I would be poked and prodded until I actually caved and agreed to let old man Ryker have some fun on the snow pad.
all day and made the track slushy until the sun started to fall – then it froze and fast. One by one, dogs bowed out – unable and unwilling to work against the fast freezing track with its ever increasing difficulty level. Ryker was one of three remaining pullers at the end with the other two being a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog named Royce who weighed in at 115 pounds and a Newfoundland weighing much more. It was an honor to be in the last three pulling – especially with both dogs weighing well over double the forty-six pounds that Ryker weighed in at.
the 20x range – including the relatively new pulling dog, Royce, who at only two years old shows a LOT of very good promise.
Six, long years ago a little black puppy was born in Snohomish, WA. She was the tiniest and most adorable looking wiggle worm imaginable. I knew by two weeks old she was to come home to me. It was a grueling 10 week wait until my little Star Puppy, Lyric, was finally home. Finally to be forever with me until time took her naughty self from me. The last six years have had their ups and downs. The trials and tribulations we went through were nothing short of the amazing when we finally succeeded – especially in weight pull.
You weren’t a planned partner. You were only supposed to be a temporary fixture in our home back in 2009 and now look at you, my sweet boy. You’ve grown roots here and came to call this place home. We don’t know much about your past but what we do know about your future.