08/17/2026
Today we're celebrating the life of one of our teammates in the true meaning of the word. Kathy Schultz and Missie. Kathy will be helping Missie to cross the rainbow 🌈 bridge this evening. Missie has been one of the hardest, most stubborn dogs in flyball I have ever had the honor of loving so much. She was a rescue that Kathy brought home who we werent sure would ever actually compete but who has ended up being Kathys highest pointed flyball dog to date. She actually picked up the game pretty easily and got the pattern down quickly. At home, this girl was a dream, loved dogs, loved people but in the lanes, loved to run around the jumps, especially coming back.
Her absolute favorite thing to do though was BUZZ the English Cockers and bite them in the butt on the way down the lane. Except Ella. She never did it to her, just Chance and Cody. Poor Kathy, she never knew where to start Missie as there was no telling how far out of her way shed go to bite a butt.
While Sadie taught Kathy patience, Kathy only had to keep driving or coming to flyball class with her. Once Sadie started competing she was pretty darn solid. With Missie, we had to be strict, if she ran around a jump, she was done. Back to her crate. Done. All day done. If we let her get away with it, it escalated. It became chasing. You could literally see her smirk at us. So, we always had a FT back up and a plan. Kathy often spent a lot of money for Missie to run around a jump and spend the weekend in the crate, usually glaring at me (Missie, not Kathy). When she ran, she was great, helping us be very successful. Her fastest time was 4.1 and you have to consider we couldn't even get her in the lanes until she was almost 6 lol.
I think one of the things we're proudest of is we went to CanAm and she was so good (once Jennifer Steede picked up Piper) especially since there weren't any English Cockers on Alamo Racing Canines. She raced with one of her two best friends, Kenzie, and was such a good girl. I don't think she made any mistakes.
I know Kathy will miss this special girl who has taught us all so much. She has taught me to be a dedicated trainer who has to make a decision and stick to it. Consistency has been key with her. I have appreciated all input from others along the way. One thing Missie has really taught me is how Kathy continues to be the best person and teammate ever. She fully commits every time. We drove hours together knowing that there was a chance it could just turn into "mat time". I love you so much and i know your heart breaks today. I will miss her, Kenzie will especially miss her. Ella will miss messing with her. Missie go find Chance and Cody and bite them on the butts. Watch out for Nyeya though.
