A year ago Hank Knoblauch from Bemidji, MN did not foresee that his retriever FC-AFC Tip From A Gypsy "Marley" would be qualified and competing in the 2013 NARC. Last summer, Marley suffered a cruciate ligament tear and required surgery at 8 1/2 years old in order to continue to live a comfortable life. The Knoblauch's just wanted Marley to get well, competing was not on the agenda at this point. Marley received a successful surgery to repair the tear and now required due-diligence during rehab to rebuild muscle and strength. After speaking with several vets the Knoblauch's modified and adapted a slow and comprehensive rehabilitation program for Marley. This involved lots of patience from Hank's wife Linda who was given this surmountable task. Progress for Marley & the duration of walking had to be built upon in small increments, minute by minute and week by week.
Halfway through Marley's rehab Hank's wife was told that she too had to have knee surgery replacement. She was going to have to go through a grueling rehab just like Marley. What to do? The Knoblauch's asked a friend, a retired field trial competitor to come and walk Marley everyday, twice a day. The rehab required for Marley was to swim and include strength training: walking in sand. Oh and by the way I forgot to mention Marley had a litter of 5 male puppies while rehabbing. Whew, a lot for the "ol'girl" to overcome. As Marley got better it was time to move him over to her Professional Trainer, Danny Farmer. Danny had just built new ponds and had the exact grounds Marley needed to get back into shape. Having a wealth of experience with training field trial retrievers, Danny took it slow with Marley.
One day Hank came to visit Marley, Danny made the comment, "This may be the first mark this dog has ran since the injury" While running many single marks and opting out of marks with questionable factors that could re-injure the freshly rehabbed leg, Marley went into a field trial competition with 5 weeks of training under her belt. Marley earned the WIN in the AM stake at the Coastal Bend Retriever Club on 2/8/13. Then on 4/5/13 at the Bluebonnet Retriever Club Spring field trial Marley earned a 2nd in the Open stake and 4th in the AM thus qualifying him for the 2013 NARC!!! The Knoblauch's attribute Marley's success to a slow and thorough rehab program. They also credit Marley's success to a caring, cautious, and patient trainer, Danny Farmer, who knew that the health of the dog was the first priority.
GOOD LUCK TO THE "COME BACK" KID.........MARLEY!
Dog #77 FC-AFC Tip From A Gypsy "Marley"