# @susangarrettdogsthat on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/Da8k2pQuKya
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/68209353-susangarrettdogsthat-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/78fb97cf06.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-07-18T19:50:38.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Susan Garrett (@susangarrettdogsthat) — https://gondola.cc/susangarrettdogsthat

## Caption

On Sunday July 26, 2015 Swagger and I ran in the European Open Finals in Germany and won a silver medal. It also happened to be my 54th birthday.

Sunday July 26, 2026, is my 65th birthday, and my dream was to step onto that same stage with my three-year-old German-born boy, Prophet, and see if the poetry of the moments would play out how they had in my dreams.

Unfortunately, the European Open has now been cancelled twice in the past few days. While the organizers continue working tirelessly to find a new venue in France, I had to make a difficult decision before boarding my flight tonight.

Was it fair to put Prophet through a long international flight when there was still a very real possibility the event wouldn’t happen?

So, with a heavy heart, we made the decision to stay home.

My heart goes out to everyone affected by the devastating forest fires in France—and at home in Canada. I feel for the organizers who have poured countless hours into this event, for the competitors already in France facing so much uncertainty, and most of all for the people and animals whose lives have been turned upside down.

And yes…I’m disappointed too.

This would have been my first European Open since Swagger’s early retirement shortly after our last appearance there in 2015. I was excited to return.

But agility really is all about adapting to how the course you planned plays out in real time.

So now our focus shifts to the Agility World Championships in Finland this September. We’ll channel this disappointment into more training, more growth, and more determination.

One fun coincidence: July 26 won’t fall on a Sunday again until 2037. By then I’ll be 77 years old…and if there’s one thing I know, it’s that dreams don’t come with an expiry date. 😉

A heartfelt thank you to the management team of Agility Team Canada for all of the work you’ve already invested, to our sponsor myleash_canada for our beautiful team leashes, and to my friends at 4mymerles for rushing a new order of tug toys for Prophet. They’ll definitely still get plenty of use. ❤️

#AgilityTeamCanada #EuropeanOpen2026 #HardDecisions

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## Tags

harddecisions, agilityteamcanada, europeanopen2026

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