Congrats Greg and Millie !

Greg and "Millie" Opening Day

Well, John and Jack were not the only lucky ones on the first day of Maine's Bird Hunting Season !  Greg sent us this awesome picture of him and Millie and a real nice pheasant.  We've had the pleasure of knowing Greg for about a year and a half now, since he and his family first stopped by to meet ATB when looking for a Brittany pup.  I remember being very pleased that he had been referred to us by friends who operate a gundog supply store in Windham, Maine.  Greg knew what he wanted in a Brittany and they said we could help him out.  Anyhow!  Greg and John had talked a lot about training Millie and the best way to do it. In the end after meeting with our friend Bob Paucek and with John personally assuring Greg it would be great for Millie, he sent her to summer bird training camp.  We knew it would be very hard for Greg to part with Millie and had several discussions about it.  I also personally understood the hole in your heart that comes when you send a dog away to be with a trainer.  Yesterday though it all came together for both Millie and for Greg even in the pouring rain! Greg wrote about Millie's stellar hunting performance and we are just as happy and pleased as we can be - and so is Bob! *I was just reading Gregs June 27th comment posted here, when he had just dropped Millie off for her 3 months of training - wow has the time gone by quickly!

Still battling a rotten cold but things could be a whole lot worse.  John is looking forward to getting out and doing more bird hunting in the afternoon next week. I'm taking it very easy all the way around.  The third synvisc injection was done last week and now I have a month to wait for real pain relief.  Again, John says he sees improvement in my gait but the knee itself is far from pain free even with the percieved improvement on flexibility. I simply have had to resign myself to the fact for the time being my daily activities are minimal.  I'm extra careful around the dogs who also seem to be extra careful with me when outside together. 

Wow it's pretty cold tonight, I guess we're supposed to have a heavy frost. The wood stove is already. I came close to starting a smudge in it the other day but held off.  Last winter Linda Hobart of West Forks Maine gifted me with a wonderful pair of hand knit slippers. She and her husband Dee have two of our Brittanys, Becca and Durgin. Speaking of handcrafted items, at last count Julie is 4 puppy blankets up in anticipation of Treasure and Gibson's hopefully soon and succesful repeat breeding! 

I'm enjoying the 2nd book in the Highlander/Outlander series by Diana Gabaldron - what took me so long?  A friend of ours gave me the first book but it took me forever to get going with it.  Now that I have I am hooked!  Julie has the rest of them and has already loaned me book number 3.

Well if you get a chance to comment on the website let me know if you see any goofs or what you think, better or worse.   And in the meantime take care and God Bless and thank you for your interest in ATB,
John, Ann and the crew