13 years ago...

Yesterday was a joyful and hard day all at the same time as it marked the 13th birthday of my first litter at Ersehnen. I am happy to report that I am still in touch with 3 owners of pups from this litter and they are doing well - a little slower but well. Tempering this joy was the fact that my boy from this litter is no longer with me. Andy, you can see him in the header, was the love of my life and he left some mighty big paw prints to fill. He was my constant companion, confidante, and protector. Jay took him out hunting pheasants - 9 yr old Andy's first time out on birds - they got one which Andy kind of retrieved. But what made the trip memorable for Jay was Andy telling him off for not shooting the ducks flying over head. Andy would look up at the ducks, look at Jay bark then back at the ducks all the while Jay was trying to explain that the ducks were too high and out of range. I wish I had a picture of that as I can just see the expression on the Old Man's face during this exchange. He was a handful but it was because he was too intelligent for his own good. Andy got bored quickly so made up his own rules to the game. It was a given that once every show weekend I would walk into the ring with the class clown on the end of the lead and he would do his darnedest to not get it right. There was one set of shows that had someone ringside who had seen Andy at his best and worst for over the years and they sat by an old GSP man who commented 'shame that woman didn't train that dog cause he could have gone far'. Come back tomorrow and watch was the only response. That day Andy had fought me tooth and nail, acted like he hadn't been on lead before but still managed to win breed and a Group 2. The next day I could have sat ringside as Andy never put a foot wrong and I didn't have to lay a hand on him the entire time - he started moving when the judge told us to 'go 'round' without any cue from me. He again won breed but this time got a Group 1. The gentleman from the first day shook his head and simply stated 'oh he's one of THOSE' and smiled. He certainly was one of 'THOSE' and I loved every minute of it.

December 20, 1995 - a day that changed my life in more ways than I ever thought possible. Happy Birthday Frankie, Joker and Tego!! May you have many more with your devoted owners.