Fetch Express Bravo Zula
“Bravo”
Dec 2, 2005 – July 19,
2017
My heart is broken. The Owens family lost a family member today.
No he wasn't a two-legged family member, but he was the best 4-legged family
member we could ask for. My Sister in law KC Owens
received this dog as a gift when he was a Chesapeake Bay Retriever puppy from
Sunshine Kennels in McCammon, ID. She wasn't going to keep
him. She had a family ready for him, but changed her mind after he started
alerting to blood glucose numbers and kept him. Her life changed from that
moment on.
Bravo was more than an ordinary dog, he had heart and his impact
was felt around the world. Bravo
visited/trained families with his mom in 42 states, Canada and also in the UK.
He was a true retriever and obtained a Senior Hunter title in
AKC Hunt Tests and jammed a Qualifying at AKC Field Trial. He was in the top 10 in Dock
Diving; both in SV and distance with Splash Dogs with a personal best of
23'6" and 6'10". He quite literally could
jump over her head! He also received his AKC
CDX in obedience and novice titles in Agility and his RE in AKC Rally. He also
held titles in both UKC events and ASCA events. In addition to that he became a
registered Delta Therapy Dog where he volunteered at Aspen Ridge Rehab
hospital, pulling wheel chairs, taking patients for walks, etc. He also
volunteered as well at the University of Utah Hospital. He was nominated 3 times for
AKC and ACE Award for Canine Excellence in 2010 through 2012 and was awarded
Honorable Mention the last time in 2013. In 2011 he won the K9
Hero of the year Award at the Soldier Hollow Sheep Dog Classic in Utah. Bravo also starred in a
Cabela’s commercial and also made the cover of Cabela's Lab Calendar in
2012. (They thought he was a Lab :-)) He also had a part in the short-lived ABC series
Blood and Oil staring Don Johnson.
But the most important accomplishment for Bravo was alerting to Brenda/KC
when her blood sugar would drop low or rise too high. She is a type 1 diabetic
with hypoglycemic unawareness. He saved her life countless times. He helped her
to live a more normal life. However that wasn’t
enough for him, he also saved many other peoples lives as well by either
diagnosing diabetes or alerting them to their problems. He also mentored 100’s of other dogs and
families that come through KC’s home teaching and guiding them on either how to
be better alerts or better handlers.
That was a very nice tribute to Bravo. Bless him and KC for keeping him. RIP big guy
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