Pico, Granite and I have lost a friend. Nutmeg, an amazingly talented chocolate lab owned by my friends Jon Stapleton and Andrea Bacon was killed on Saturday night after the Pawsabilities event in Harrisburg PA.

Nutmeg was killed because of someone’s senseless act of stupidity. Someone called in a bomb threat to the motel. We all had to evacuate. Jon and Andrea had gone out to dinner with the Keystone club members. Because their other dog was recovering from an injury, they opted to leave both dogs in the motel room where they would be comfortable, instead of leaving them in the car while they had dinner.

When the police or the bomb squad or whomever came to check the rooms, they let Nutmeg out and she ran to look for Jon and Andrea. Unfortunately she ran to the highway where she was killed.

I won’t go into further details of that horrific night, but I would like to write about what a special dog Nutmeg was.

I first became aware of Nutmeg at what I believe was her second event. It was the 2004 KiKi Classic and Jon and Nutmeg turned the finals of that event into a thrilling spectacle. Nutmeg’s jump of 23′01″ in finals was eyepopping! I’m a big horseracing fan, and I’ll never forget the call of Arazi’s Breeder’s Cup Juvenile win. When he came roaring around the turn and left a talented field standing flat-footed, the track announcer screamed “HERE INDEED IS A SUPERSTAR!!” and those were the words that flashed into my head when I saw that jump of Nutmeg’s that day!!

I don’t pay much attention to labs at dock diving events, just as I don’t pay much attention to border collies at agility events. There are so many of them, some great, some good, some not. But Nutmeg stood out because with her talent and athleticism came great kindness and personality. I remember watching her at subsequent events, just hanging out with her owners or waiting in line to jump and thinking “my god, that is a truly great dog in every respect.”

Jon, Andrea and I became friends later, and I visited them at their house. They also have several ferrets and Jon put them out on the deck to play and Nutmeg joined them. I will never forget the sight of that powerful dog playing so gently with those tiny little creatures. She could’ve killed them with a swat of the paw or chomp of the jaw, but she let them tackle her and wrestle with her and was so careful not to hurt them. I’d never seen anything like it…

Nutmeg had it all. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more physically talented dog. She was a rare blend of physical power, amazing flexibility and tremendous speed. Nutmeg was smart, and she didn’t always have her mind on jumping. Perhaps she had more important things to think about. The other competitors should be thankful for that, because when Nutmeg had her mind on jumping, nothing could touch her! Nutmeg could never be counted out at any competition. Just because she had more important things on her mind during one wave, didnt mean she wasnt going to come roaring down that dock and fly to a 25 or 26 foot jump in the next!

I was so happy to be there when Nutmeg had her greatest victory. She set the IDC world record at the Incredible Dog Challenge in Harrisburg PA in November, 2006. On that day, she was limited only by the length of the pool! I was so looking forward to seeing her win at IDC finals this Fall.

Jon, Andrea and Nutmeg were truly a team you were happy to root for, even when they beat the pants off of you. They were so humble in victory, and were clearly delighted with the accomplishments and talents of that wonderful dog!

Nutmeg will be missed terribly.