Grip was a great little dog. Not King Kong, but an sweet dog that tried hard. She had lots of toy drive and a decent build. Her hips were OFA Good. When Dread got too old to continue working with my Canine Safety Workshops, Grip stepped in and handled the job. She not only did all the bitework (25 to 100 bites per workshop) but traveled as my Service Dog to and from these workshops. At that time my knees were so bad I was on crutches a lot of the time, and she pulled all our gear around the airports and hotels, and flew up top. She was always well mannered and well received.
Grip had a short, glorious and heart rending career in IWPA weight pull. Grip never cared much for pulling, so I just pulled her one season to earn her Working Dog Superior title. She busted her ass for me. She was undefeated and in first place in the highly competitive Region 2 60 pound class when she ate rat poison set out by a co-worker in an area of the animal shelter where dogs roamed free! She had to be kept quiet for a month while being treated, and when she came back at the end of the season she had to end up settling for 2nd place in the region. That hurt, because she deserved first. She earned her IWPA WDS easily, and was retired. She was one helluva puller.
Grip earned her SchH I and went on to earn her II when disaster struck. On the courage test, the decoy was nervous because the three dogs in the trial were all high flying and hard hitting dogs. He was very concerned about not jamming the dogs. This caused him to turn his arm before the dog's made contact and all three dogs missed the bite. In Grip's case she sailed through the air and landed ten feet behind the decoy upside down landing on her head. At that time her jaw was injured and it was almost a year before she could grip again. (Though I will say with pride that she finished the exercise perfectly).
Unfortunately, Grip could not continue her SchH career due to my health. Later in life, when she was 8 or 9 years old, I took her to a French Ring trial, and she did very well, passing everything but failing to earn the title when I made a disqualifying handler error. (D'oh!) Having proven herself to me, she retired back to being Queen of the House.
When she was five years old, I bred Grip to a stud from Sarona kennels. I had her ultra-sounded twice during her pregnancy. Both times the vet assured me there were only 6 pups. She had 14. Two were born dead and two were euthanized for temperament. Two were given to Annetta Cheek (Grip's breeder) one went to a friend, one was sold to Canada and later when dumped by that owner was returned to me and now lives with me, and I kept the rest.
Grip was hilarious till the day she died. I have to have a lock on the refrigerator door to keep her out of it. She constantly stole the roll of toilet paper if I don't put it in the holder. She would sit right behind me as I work and eat one of my shoes. She was a wonderful friend, co-worker and sports partner. Grip succumbed to lung cancer at the age of 14. |
Pit Bull Informational Pages by Diane Jessup 
