What a day! In a nutshell, our most recent NW3 trial with Cartoon was one of the best days I’ve ever spent in my 15-16 years of training and competing in K9 Nose Work! Cartoon and his sister Tricks are my 5th and 6th nosework dogs. We’ve had our ups and downs, but yesterday Cartoon was on fire! His desire to work in this sport is everything one would want. His drive and determination to get to source with quick problem solving skills was enviable. I just have to stay on my feet and do my part! 
We completed Cartoon’s NW3 adventure to his NW3-Elite title with a 1st place finish in 3 elements, a 2nd place finish in the 4th element, a 1st place overall, 5/6 searches as “Pronounced” and a total time of 3:19.92, over 3 minutes faster than the second place finisher. WOW! 
This doesn’t happen in a vacuum! There are people to thank, first and foremost, our instructor is a big part of this success. There are hosts, volunteers, officials and judges. It truly takes a village!
As Ron Gaunt used to remind us: Every competition is like a horserace and sometimes it’s just your day! I have been on the opposite end of this day’s success. So I try to keep this in perspective and stay humble each time we cross that start line. 
 Onward to Elite!Â
Photos of Cartoon with all his ribbons by Marcella Winslow
