ATB Remembers Timberdoodle

7 years ago on January 1, 2005 I was on the phone with a breeder in New Hampshire telling me that, even as we spoke, my liver and white Brittany puppy was being born.  I was so excited I could hardly contain myself! (Timber would be the first liver and white Brittany to come back into our lives since the passing of our beloved Hunter from our very first litter born in 1990.  Hunter died in 2003 at the age of 13 and the pain was so unbearable.  We couldn't decide whether the timing was right for another pup, or if we should wait.  We did know we could not bear to bring another male, liver and white pup back into hearts quite yet.  The sense of loss was great, the hole in our hearts difficult and we knew we needed to have that love of the Brittany back in our lives, the sooner the better.  Soon, bouncy, fun loving, orange and white Molly Rose, entered our life!)

Timbers breeder lived in the White Mountain region of N.H. and we made a day trip when the pups were old enough to go look at the pups.  There were two liver and white boys and the rest of the pups were all girls.  One boy had very nice markings and stood out but he was also a spazz.  The other guy was cute too, but it seemed as if his markings could have used another brush stroke of white across his muzzle! That was our first visit, and we went home certain of which pup we would bring home and we went back when the pups were 10 weeks old to bring our sweet new puppy home.

Poor Timberdoodle, he was sick to his stomach from the time we left the snow covered White Mountains to the time we arrived back home.  When we finally arrived home we placed him down on the ground of the snow covered driveway.  He was so upset and all 4 legs went out from underneath him.  I don't think he'd been away from his litter mates or his mother at all and everything was so overwhelming to him.  All I wanted to do was let him know he was 'home', and that we had been waiting for him a long long time with a lot of love to give.  One of my favorite pictures of Timber and John is in the collage above.  John got right down to Timbers level and lay on the floor, letting the pup approach on his own terms according to his comfort level.  Patiently he waited and soon, Timber came over to sniff John's face eventually showering him with puppy kisses!

Molly was almost 2 years old when Timber arrived. She was not quite sure about her new little buddy. He wanted to be friends. She wanted to be sure he knew she was the boss of him! And it worked out for both of them.

Timber taught me a lot of new things about this breed I love so much.  Although we had Hunter previously, and his parents, and eventually Molly Rose - there were so many things I had yet to discover. I suppose this is because I had spent most of those earlier years raising our two children, instead of raising Brittanys.  But at this point they were both living their own lives with families of their own.  I could spend hours with Timber in the woods and I did just that.  We had an awesome time that summer as I 'practiced' my field training skills on him. It really wasn't too difficult. He came from a long line of national field champions and also enjoyed the mentor ship of several established Brittany breeders and trainers. 

Timber was a talker. He would say "Rye Ruff Rue".   Seriously.  Just like Scooby the cartoon character.  For those of you familiar with Timber's son, that is where his name came from.

One day we had Timber on a check cord, trying to do a little whoa training.  He was not supposed to move when the bird was flushed and I was supposed to be holding onto the check cord to be sure he didn't.  Not the way it happened.  The bird flushed, John shot it and the check cord slipped out of my hand because Timber took off. John was not happy with me or with Timber.  But there was a happy ending. Timber soon returned, quite proud of himself, with the bird in his mouth.  A natural retriever with a soft mouth at the age of 8 months.   Not good for field trial dogs. Excellent for hunting dogs though!

Speaking of field trials, I wanted to give that a try so we entered one.  The first few minutes out on the course I'm wondering what was I thinking. My Timber had never seen a horse but our judge was riding one immediately in back of me. Timber was scared for me I think. He would run ahead but then stop and turn, look directly over my shoulder at the horse behind me and run back to me.  Whoever I was braced with thought it was a foot race too and it seemed like they wanted to push me off the trail. Hmph.  Then there was a whole lot of yelling, screaming, shrieking the whistle at dogs and I was fool enough to believe that what was written in the rule books is the way my first field trial would go. How this could ever improve my time bird hunting in the woods was beyond me, so I was pretty green and admittedly ignorant about all of that.  But I did have fun! And so did Timber.  We placed 4th in our first field trial, and it did feel like gold medal to me. 

A lot of people said Timber had great potential to be a field trial dog and that we should at least give him the opportunity. I really didn't know much about this but his father is a well known field trial champion and winner of many classics, trials, and championships throughout the country. I was persuaded to let him go south with a good friend of ours over the winter.

On Timbers 2nd birthday he was in South Carolina.  I called Bob up and asked him to please tell Timber happy birthday for me. Bob said but of course he would do that for me, why not?!!  (He probably though yeah right lady...)  I missed my pup something terrible.  There was a CD that played in the kennel all winter long by Eva Cassidy called Songbird.  One of the songs on there was Fields of Gold (by Sting). I always cried when I heard that song because there are fields here in Acton that we train our dogs in. And Timber was the first to run in them.  In the summer I would sit down and hide in the tall grass from him.  He'd always find me and come bouncing over and we'd topple over together. I would be smothered in dog kisses from my doodly boy.

I counted the days until Timber would be home again with us. I just couldn't wait to be reunited with him.  Sending a dog away for training or with a handler, no matter how near or how far away they are or how much you trust the person who is caring for them is not always easy.  At the end of March the call came that he was back in Maine and I drove over to pick him up. I brought a present with me - a jumbo size Kong chew toy stuffed with peanut butter, something he loved.  We drove home together with Timber sitting happily in the passengers side, looking out the window and then back at me.  Timber arrived safely back home just in time for a successful courtship with Wish!

A few days later I noticed Timber was extremely lethargic and called the vet for a test to see if we were dealing with Lyme disease. It was positive and he immediate went on antibiotics which typically will cause the symptoms to cease. That was not the case.  Instead Timber became progressively worse. He could not walk, he had no appetite and he appeared to be in pain. Over the course of 4 weeks Timber went from being a finely tuned, healthy athletic dog to an animal who had to be assisted to stand while eliminating. During this time we went back and forth several times to several vets and specialists, many tests were done, and various medicines and procedures attempted to no avail. Our hearts were aching and we felt hopeless and lost, bewildered and frustrated.

The final trip was made to a neurologist.  I lay on the floor in the back of our van next to Timber who was laying on a soft dog bed, covered with his blanket while John drove to Portland. I cried and I prayed, asking God to deliver this young dog from this disease and affliction which was stealing his life. We had to say our goodbyes to him at the facility in hopes of a positive outcome.

The next morning the dreaded phone call came.  A voice on the other end of the line was telling me "Mrs. Short, I am so sorry... he died of a heart attack on the operating table."  I dropped the phone to the floor and cried out into the emptiness. When the neurologist had opened Timber up to explore, he found diseased tissue surrounding his spine, and a deterioration of some of the spine itself. A necropsy was done, tissues sent away with the results being my sweet Timberdoodle died of a form of cancer which is extremely rare in our breed.  We consulted a specialist on the west coast who has done extensive cancer research on behalf of our breed at U.C. Davis. Assurances were given that this could not have been predicted.  It was a rapid growing highly invasive and debilitating form of cancer.  We also learned that fortunately, it was not genetic in nature, but instead was a true anomaly and we should not be fearful in consideration of the anticipated arrival of a litter of pups sired by Timber.

On the afternoon of Timbers death I was sitting out on the back lawn with our daughter who had driven up to comfort me.  We were hugging Wish closely. We watched with amazement as first one eagle, and then another gently yet powerfully flew overhead. They looped around, circling overhead where we were.  It seemed as if they hovered briefly, and then suddenly flew upwards towards the heavens, soaring for the clouds where they disappeared from sight.  I whispered goodbye to Timber in that moment.

A few weeks later Wish delivered a healthy litter of puppies under a photo of Timberdoodle that I had taped to the wall.  Later that morning while walking across the yard I lifted my eyes to the heaven, praising God.  As I paused to do this I was suddently overtaken with a deep knowing as I realized the number of puppies just born, were the same number of eagles gracefully soaring high above.

I knew there would be a boy from that litter intended for me, I just didn't know which one.  It did not take long though because within the first few days some very remarkable and amazing things took place, tucked away privately in this breeder's heart. And he was named: J&A's Soaring White Sequoia with a call name of Scooby.  His name says it all.  And Scooby is another story!

January 1st marks the beginning of a New Year for all of us and families and friends celebrate and enjoy the holiday together.  For me, it also brings forth so many memories of a very special Brittany pup, born on this day. A Brittany whose memory is forever before me, a dog often thought about with a smile, and a heart dog never ever to be forgotten.  Happy birthday Timberdoodle!