My mother used to say be ready when opportunity knocks! I discovered relatively early in my life that opportunity knocks all the time. The real question is ever… do you answer the door? Many people wish for greater things in their lives but fear giving up the certainty of the life they are living for the risk of the life that they desire.

I’ve been very quiet in my web log—for a variety of reasons—chiefest of which might be the niggling understanding that this isn’t a privately held journal but a very public discourse. There are things that aren’t for public consumption.

Here’s the deal… Dogwood Training Center is in contract. We’ve made arrangement to sell the business and the property. I’ve given my life’s blood for over ten years to build an agility training center. I built a training building, put up a mile of fencing, cultivated a canine athletic turf, planted hundreds and hundreds of trees; and built a customer base of some of the finest dog people in this part of the world. This property has been the goose that lays the golden egg. These people have been my friends as well as my clients.

I’m not exactly giving it all away… but we are selling it. That’s the bottom line.

Being in contract is not fait accomplis. But it’s clear to me now that this is just about a done deal and there’ll be no squirming out of it from me for fear of giving up the certainty of the life I am living for the risk of the life that I desire.

Marsha and I have been very careful in our selection of buyers (I know it seems absurd that this is something in the sellers power. Just trust me on this one.) We greatly desired that any person assuming the management of this training center will have a compatible philosophy of the game and will not create a jarring culture shock for our students and friends. Columbus Ohio—for all that it is a very competitive in the number of agility training centers—is very limited in choices.

I will write more of the buyer later. I think she’s a super lady, gifted in her skills, with a wonderful and inspiring positive attitude, who is passionate about the game. There will be no void left behind when we leave.

What’s Next?

Marsha and I have been planning our next move for some time now. We have our eyes on 28 acres in southeastern Ohio with a beautiful log cabin home and a couple of more rustic cabins. This property is in the wilderness near the confluence of the Ohio and the Muskingum Rivers. It is a heavily forested property with a pond nestled at its center; and is bounded on three sides by forest and by farmland on the other.

My first chores will be to put up a training building and some fairly elaborate fencing. I am already in contact with contractors in the area.

Our ambition is to establish an agility training camp and resort. It will be a bed & biscuit. For now we are calling it the Agility Dream Resort for Dogs. This is a bit of semi-retirement. I’ll be contenting myself with training camp income.

It’s a scary thing to give up what has been my desire and burning ambition for so many years. But you know… I kinda like the look of the new life too! I won’t work nearly as hard. And I’ll have everyone I love around me. How could one do better?