Sage
Wavemaker Surfer Rosa RA FDC NA NAJ CAA FCAT5 MBDCH-G CGC ATT FGDCH
Some Staffords tell you exactly what they were meant to do.
Sage wanted to work.
Born from our dual-sired Hula litter, Sage was one of two girls sired by Seamus; the two boys in the litter were sired by Cyril. From Wavemaker she went to a dedicated performance home in Alabama—and that proved to be exactly where she belonged.
What followed was a life filled with training, competition, partnership and an extraordinary amount of activity.
Her titles tell part of that story.
They do not tell all of it.
A Serious Flyball Dog
Flyball became one of Sage’s defining sports.
This is a fast-paced relay sport in which teams of four dogs race head-to-head over hurdles, trigger a spring-loaded box to release a ball, and return over the hurdles before the next dog crosses the line.
Sage didn’t simply participate.
She built a substantial competitive record.
She earned the Flyball Grand Champion (FGDCH) title, an achievement requiring 30,000 NAFA flyball points accumulated through successful team racing. She also earned Multibreed Dog Champion–Gold (MBDCH-G), reflecting another significant body of work in NAFA multibreed competition.
She was also ranked among the top Staffordshire Bull Terriers in flyball, reaching the #1 Stafford position multiple times during her career.
For a breed built around athleticism, determination and enthusiasm, flyball suited Sage beautifully.
She was fast.
She was driven.
And she wanted to play the game.
Built to Do Things
Flyball may have become one of her specialties, but Sage was never a one-sport dog.
She earned titles in rally, agility, Fast CAT, coursing and other performance activities, along with temperament and good-citizen credentials.
Her accomplishments included:
- RA — Rally Advanced
- FDC — Farm Dog Certified
- NA — Novice Agility
- NAJ — Novice Agility Jumper
- CAA — Coursing Ability Advanced
- FCAT5 — Fast CAT
- MBDCH-G — Multibreed Dog Champion–Gold
- CGC — Canine Good Citizen
- ATT — AKC Temperament Test
- FGDCH — Flyball Grand Champion
The letters are impressive.
What they represent is better: years of physical ability, enthusiasm, trainability, confidence and partnership.
Sage had all of those things.
The Right Dog in the Right Home
We have always believed that breeding a good Stafford is only the beginning.
The home matters.
Opportunity matters.
And what someone chooses to develop in a dog matters enormously.
Sage’s performance home in Alabama recognized what she had and gave her somewhere to use it.
She trained.
She competed.
She raced.
She learned.
And she thrived.
There is something deeply rewarding about watching a puppy you bred leave your home and become more accomplished than you could ever have made that dog yourself.
Sage was one of those dogs.
She didn’t need to remain at Wavemaker to represent Wavemaker.
Every time she entered the flyball lanes, stepped onto an agility course, chased a lure or tackled something new, she carried a little piece of us with her.
More Than Titles
Performance titles quantify accomplishment.
They cannot quantify the relationship behind them.
A dog does not spend years successfully training and competing across multiple disciplines—and accumulate tens of thousands of flyball points—without an extraordinary partnership on the other end of the leash.
Sage was talented.
She was also deeply loved.
For more than ten years she had a life filled with the things Staffords tend to love most: activity, interaction, challenge and being completely involved with their people.
That is ultimately the accomplishment of which we are most proud.
Losing Sage
Sage was ten and a half when she was lost suddenly to a ruptured liver tumor.
There was little warning and no gentle transition into old age.
Her long title string tells us what Sage did.
The grief surrounding her loss tells us something much more important about who she was.
She mattered.
Her Legacy
Not every dog’s legacy is measured through descendants.
Some leave theirs through the life they lived.
Sage demonstrated the athleticism, versatility, determination and willingness that should remain fundamental characteristics of the Staffordshire Bull Terrier.
She also reminds us why placing puppies well matters so much.
We may breed them.
We may raise them through their first weeks and make the decisions that bring them into the world.
But eventually, their lives become their own.
They become the dogs they were capable of becoming because someone else sees what is there, puts in the work, gives them the opportunities, and loves them enough to let them shine.
Sage’s family did exactly that.
They took the puppy we bred and gave her a life equal to her gifts. They developed her talent, celebrated her accomplishments, and—far more importantly—loved the dog behind all of those titles.
That is everything a breeder can hope for.
Sage was ours at the beginning.
She became theirs in all the ways that mattered.
And the extraordinary life they built together became her legacy.
We are simply very proud to have had a hand in beginning it.
