J&A's Our Heart Aches

Really something special. 

A favorite toy, Julie kept an extra bunny-bun here at our house for Thistle to enjoy when she was visiting. 

GCH CH J&A's SISTERS OF THE HEART JH, FD

"Thistle"

May 10, 2011 - September 21, 2018

It was the same kind of phone call that I'd received on May 2, 2007 when the specialist called to tell me 2 year old Timberdoodle had died on the operating table.  Surreal was the only word that comes to mind. On that day I dropped to my knees in my kitchen floor as the words were uttered and sounds of sobbing came from me that I couldn't even recognize. 

On Friday September 21, 2018 it was that kind of call again.  Only this time it was coming from the one who is truly my sister of my heart and John was the one who'd answered the phone.  I saw him coming around the corner of the porch outside.  His face was one of shock and he was in tears. I KNEW something was terribly wrong. He reached to me and I drew closer and in his initial grief he was innocently giving me wrong information, information which was bad enough in itself. Information which caused me to begin to cry uncontrollably as well.  That's how it is when what you have loved deeply suddenly is ripped from you. Human or animal - grief is grief. 

I listened closely trying to make out the actual conversation on the other end from Julie. And suddenly I realized what she was saying. Which was much worse than what I 'thought' I'd heard, although that, as I said before, was certainly bad enough.

John passed the phone to me and I crumbled on the front porch steps, sobbing, howling, crying and the tears fell fiercely and uncontrollably. Pippin was drawing near to me in a manner in which she had never done before.  Could she know? How could she POSSIBLY know? It was her daughter, her beautiful amazing bouncy fun-loving unpredictable intelligent athletic gentle sweet daughter, her Thistle that Julie was telling me about.  And as I reacted to the awful news then Hemi who is Thistle's twin, came and sat next to his mother on the step that I had fallen upon.  John held me as I cried, we listened to Julie and then he had to walk away it was so hard to believe.  I was left on the steps with Pippin and Hemi; Julie and I were sobbing into the phone incoherently. I don't remember what we said if we said anything.  Together our hearts were breaking, they were shattering into a million pieces and our minds were trying so hard to grasp the reality of the news she had received, the news that Julie nor I could have anticipated hearing. 

There is more to say.  I just have no ability to put what I'm feeling now or what I have been feeling into words since Friday.  John and I had to leave for a field trial in Connecticut where he was judging and running Holly (Thistle's niece). The dogs were all loaded.  So while I physically was traveling to a destination we'd planned well for, my heart was longing to travel to be with Julie, my sister of the heart. (Thistle's registered AKC name reflects the friendship we share, a friendship birthed through the mutual love of God and of Brittanys.  A friendship that has grown stronger through several personal life changing experiences including the death of Julie's husband and our friend, Jim.)

Thistle lived with and was loved, cared for by Julie.  I'm co-owner in name only but I am her breeder. I held her first, I was with her when she took her first breath of air, I nourished her, I raised her and I decided that the best person in the world to have this little gift of a Brittany should be Julie. And the best way to describe my reasoning will be to read this blog written by Julie called "How a Brittany Named Thistle Saved My Life." Thistle lived her life to the fullest and I was one of her biggest fans! It was only a couple of weekends ago that Thistle was here and her eyes were bright, she was playful, and oh so very, very happy! So healthy and vibrant. So, so THISTLE!

I spent 3 days in Connecticut at Flaherty Field Trial Grounds with John and most of our Brittanys. Including my puppy Revere. There were a few in the Brittany community who had heard what happened to Thistle and I was VERY appreciative of their support and understanding.  We also had a wonderful visit with several of our ATB family including those who brought along Revere's littermate.  Then I was so happy to see Dawn who brought Miss Bailey (Pippin's half sister).  I was thankful for the genuine love and friendship extended from them all. John was very busy all weekend which was a good thing. And when I wasn't visiting or walking a dog, my grief overwhelmed me. I spent a lot of the time texting about Thistle and thinking of Julie who was up to her camp. Then we had a very good friend who fell off a horse at the field trial who had to go to the hospital. I was worried about her but thankful her injuries were not worse than they were. 

Today Julie and I have touched base a little bit. My heart aches for what she is going through. I feel it too, I feel for her and I feel our own sense of loss here.  Even though Thistle did not live with me, she was always part of me.  She was special from the very beginning. There's a video out there somewhere that I made and I'm singing a song to her when she's like 5 weeks old saying how special she was. Thistle spent plenty of time here with us.  We both absolutely adored her and we both enjoyed every moment with her. 

I could share a lot about Miss Thistle the Pistol.  A gazillion photographs are at my fingertips.  Here's a favorite taken at the dog show where Julie had her on the grooming table and I walked over for a sweet Thistle kiss. There's one where Thistle and Hemi cooperated along with Treasure to dig a humongous hole in the banking here. Videos featuring Thistle in many notable moments, and some hilariously funny! When I think of Thistle the memory is going to bring a smile to my face, eventually anyway. Like when she earned her nickname swirling dervish by launching herself across the room at Julie and I while we were drinking red wine which ended up splattered across the wall. 

Fast forward to this moment in time.  The pain in my heart is almost unbearable. I don't have anything inspirational to share. Please pray for Julie, for John, for me.  

On Behalf of Thistle is a blogpost that shares a little bit more and also includes links. 

A sad bunny-bun...

(See the unedited video of THISTLES CHAMPIONSHIP JOURNEY)

Revere - J&A's New Bird Dog!

 After enjoying his weekend at the Central Maine Brittany Club Field Trial our puppy Revere was introduced to his own chukar partridge and this time it was alive! Originally I wanted to bring him to the field trial grounds to see if he could find any of the quail who often covey following a trial but the weather didn't cooperate in the morning. Later in the afternoon however Revere and I joined John on a trip to the field we train in to feed and water the birds.  Another first for pup-pup as he rode in the front seat of the truck with us.  He settled nicely in between us but when he is a little older he'll be introduced to the dog topper.  The video is pretty self explanatory and a joy to watch, I promise!

He's really a nice little boy.  I strictly adhere to the schedule "A Day In The Life of an 8 Week Old Puppy" which is a handout that all our new puppy owners get.  I created it in 2005 when Timberdoodle came into our life and have followed it with every pup that has come into our house since. It works!  Right now a good part of Revere's day is spent resting or napping.  He has his periods of activity, exercise, and training.  I am learning so much about him as I step back and observe him.  Perhaps the biggest challenge right now is getting his bladder under control or reading his signs a whole lot better.  No poops in the house at all ever, but the little puddles are created occasionally.  I know eventually he'll get the hang of it. It's hard to understand how he can go 8 hours in his crate without an accident at night and then during the day a trip outside once every half hour is necessary.  

Revere apparently is a natural retriever which makes me very happy! It doesn't matter what it is that I throw out for him he always runs after it and picks it up and runs back.  Maybe not quite giving it to me or bringing it directly to my hand but usually it is close enough to warrant a whole lot of excitement from me which he really likes. Every other day I have been tossing a frozen gamebird carcass for him to retrieve and carry around. 

In the evening Revere has started to have those crazy puppy spurts otherwise known as the zoomies! He gets super feisty, runs around and around the dining room table with a toy, then jumps into one of the dog beds. (I am reminded of how I use to feel at the end of the day when our children were but toddlers and I was thankful bedtime was approaching!) The timing of the zoomies seems to be anytime after 6 p.m. when he's been fed, exercised, and enjoying some free supervised time.  Sometimes, if Revere settles down enough I'll hold him in my arms until he falls asleep but that doesn't happen a lot! Usually I just say "Kennel! Bedtime!" and with a stuffed Kong handy I walk over to his crate and toss it inside and he happily follows. His crate is in my bedroom which yes, goes against my own advice but it makes it easier in the morning when John gets up and heads out with the rest of the dogs.  Sometimes Revere will need another trip outside when it's my bedtime but I am grateful that 8 p.m. is when his body clock says time to sleep!

Revere was briefly introduced to the show lead that I bought for him a couple of weeks ago at the Summer Specialty show in West Springfield. Gosh that was a fun weekend with two of my granddaughters! Anyway, Revere is getting use to the whole concept of being 'led' around by a leash of sometime and of course the placement of the show collar is slightly different than his regular one.  He protested a little bit but seriously, in just a few moments it felt like power steering with him at the end of the lead!  Knowing full well that reaction is not the norm I only pranced him around for the briefest of minutes and ended on a happy note.  

Every day I do a little manipulating of his legs, feet, mouth, tail and boy parts just to get him use to being handled because I do want him to be shown.  He does so well on the grooming table that I decided it was time to introduce stacking blocks. I've always wanted to try these for show training a young puppy so thanks to John's ability to literally put feet to my ideas I have a set of four.  Never having used them before I wasn't quite sure the best way to start off with them. It's hard enough to get a young puppy to stand still for a "free stack" never mind getting them to stand on stacking blocks! I shouldn't have been surprised to discover that in just a couple of tries at this Mr. Revere seems to grasp what is being expected.  We'll be working on this.

We were enjoying trips down to the farm pond up until midweek.  I had Revere on the 15' lead in the back yard when a huge Tom Turkey appeared on the far side of the pond fence. This turkey was frantically running back and forth and suddenly the reason why became extremely clear as a red fox jumped up from behind him!  I yelled at the fox and he stopped, turned, and looked my way then disappeared. I picked pup-pup up and ran into the house to get John. The turkey eventually got away or at least we hope and there was no sign of the fox again. Revere and I will look for another place nearby for water work training.

Holly and Treasure are great with the little pipsqueak and the games they play with him are appreciated. Pippin is coming around and so is Hemi. Charlie likes to pretend the puppy is invisible. Revere likes to accompany me on kennel chores and enjoys interacting with the rest of the crew. Especially Rosie. She always was a good surrogate sister. It's always been important to me to do my best to give every dog one on one time so they don't seem to mind my little tag along.

It was fun for Revere to be reunited with his cousin "Polly" at the CMBC hunt test.  He was there to cheer on his Aunt Skye who earned her AKC SENIOR HUNTER title.  Skye is loved and owned by our friends at Merrymeeting Brittanys, Bo & Christine Longley, and is from Hemi and Luna's second litter. She's full sister to Toph. We were also happy that our Charlie earned his third leg towards his AKC JUNIOR HUNTER title! Next spring should be a lot of fun when pups from Toph and Holly's litter begin to get involved with hunt tests and even trials.

J&A's Brittanys - Revere's First Week

Revere sitting next to me on the porch step.

It's been a whirlwind of a week here for a multitude of reasons and one of those reasons goes by the name of Revere.  Also known as puppy puppy PUPP-EEEEEEEE!! He's a good pup and very smart. I do think that the honeymoon of perfection is about to morph into the reality of day to day life. That's not a bad thing. It shows that our relationship truly is bonding, solidifying while Revere's understanding and exposure of the world is expanding. Thanks to the ongoing correspondence between the majority of our puppy people from Holly and also Toph's litters I am persuaded that we're all on the same page. As long as Revere doesn't jump up and literally rip a page out of what I happen to be reading! He's quite the imp and I must confess his appearance of complete innocence regarding life in general almost fooled me.  Revere cracks me up and he makes me smile.  A good part of the time I simply stand  back and observe this 9 week old Brittany puppy as he explores and tries to figure everything out. He's just so cool!

Just for fun or, preview of coming attractions?! 

This past weekend was the Central Maine Brittany Club's fall field trial.  John judged on Saturday and then ran Holly on Sunday. Julie came to stay with us which is always enjoyable although we didn't get much time to visit there was so much going on. I'm proud to say that Holly Beth earned her 4th adult gundog placement which is awesome considering not too long ago she was a full time momma dog.  She won 4th place out of 18, not too shabby!  True, sire of Toph's pups earned a placement in Walking Hunting Dog handled by grandson Ayden.  Charlie, who we kept from the two dogs returned to us last fall and just love to pieces, had a try at Walking Hunting Dog too with Alana handling. Hemi and Revere also were at the trial just for the fun of being there. I shared some of the other photos on Facebook.

Sokka, Revere, Franklin were good good puppies at the trial!

Two of Revere's littermates and brothers came to the trial too.  I had my x-pen set up and all three of the pups enjoyed playing together in it all day. Reunited again for the day were Revere, Sokka, and Franklin. All three of these boys will probably be trained together as far as going to the bird field goes. I know that Franklin begins puppy classes this week. On a very informal basis I am working with Revere here at home.  He has gone from picking up a wing and sometimes bringing it to me, to proudly walking around the yard head held high with a gamebird in his mouth. To me, this is an important part of early introduction to birds.  Not every adult dog is happy to pick up a bird that has been shot, they may not like the feather in their mouth believe it or not.  Another reason an adult dog may back away from picking up the bird is if when they were very young a planted bird took flight or was launched very close to them. My thinking is that if we start right off with lots of excitement about fetching the bird when pup-pup is young a positive foundation is laid.  I don't grab the bird out of his mouth either at this mouth at this point either. Instead, I let Revere own that bird and in doing so, I learn more about my puppy. When I start right off with text book training or using methods that have worked for every other dog up until now then I quite possibly could be setting Revere up to fail!  We have all the time in the world to get this right. Take a look at this Mike Gaddis quote again

“The desire in an exceptional pup is like a rare young wine, kegged from a proven vineyard. 

Nurture it slowly to perfection and it will pleasure the years. 

Tap it prematurely, and you will squander it’s bouquet in infancy”.

The "proven vineyard" is found through  my knowledge of the inherent abilities in the genetics that Revere possesses. His great-grandmother Pippin surprised me the other day when she found and delivered to my hand a quail at the exact moment I was doing some yard work with Revere. (Later we found out something  had ripped wire off the quail pen in an attempt to have supper!) So I did seize this incident as a teaching moment.  I'd been throwing a rope toy to Revere and he was enthusiastically running back to me with it.  I tossed the quail in the same manner and sure enough, he was happy to run towards me with it which was just amazing to me.  Instead of reaching to take it away and risk a premature mistake I wondered if I could see what kind of prey drive he had when it came to the real thing. He did not disappoint! At one point grandmother Treasure had picked up the quail and walked over to Revere with it letting him take it from her. He did bring it right to my hand when that happened!  Later on after the bird had been properly taken care of Revere actively was tracking scent that lingered behind. A similar situation took place today with a chukar and Revere's desire was even stronger.  So we truly are off to an impressive start. 

John has more than a few projects going on that need to get completed before winter.  The sooner the better! He worked on one of them today inside the house.  This meant Revere was exposed to the loud noises and sounds that various power tools make.  I wondered how he'd react to it all as he had been sleeping in the x-pen nearby. Revere did wake up abruptly and was a bit startled of course. He did react by walking in the direction of the noise and watching to see where it came from.   Revere didn't freak out, withdraw, or act afraid. When pups leave here they are practically bombproof.  I calmly filled his dish with puppy food, added a bit of chicken to it then set it down in the x-pen for him. The noises continued and Revere just kept on enjoying his food like a good, good pup-pup. 

Tonight was a good night and a special night as far as Revere goes. Usually when he has finished playing hard he'll get very antsy and quite bitey too. It's almost like he just doesn't know what to do with himself.  At this point in the day I stuff a Kong toy with something good like cheese or peanut butter and put him in his crate.  Revere loves his crate and does not complain at all, it's where he goes to relax and fall asleep. Instead, tonight I kept him in my lap and massaged his neck and ears in between his attempts to mouth my hands.  It relaxed him to the point where he simply lay back in my arms and fell asleep.  This was a first and I just loved the fact that he did it. I do have a picture on my phone of him asleep in my arms.  It's very cute but at the moment Pippin is letting me know it is time to go to bed. Sorry Pippin, you're right!  It's after midnight.  Take care, God bless and thank you for your interest in All Things Brittany!

J&A's Brittanys Perfect Puppy

Wow! Just... wow.  How can it be September 5th already?  How could the summer have come and gone so quickly?  

On June 24th  I walked out into the early morning darkness, looked up into the sky feeling the warmth of a summer breeze upon my skin and took a deep, deep breath while tears of gratitude streamed from my eyes. I lifted my eyes up towards the heavens and raised my hands to the God of all creation, and whispered words of thanksgiving to Him.  Holly had given birth to her first litter of puppies.  They were beautiful, healthy, strong and thriving as their brand new mother gently nurtured, nursed, and cleaned them.  The summer night was turning into summer morning and it was good.  

Then exactly two weeks later Maryann, Alana, John and I were there with Toph as she labored to bring forth her first puppy.  Our daughter's first litter, we all waited together through the first strong, natural contractions and all the way until it was clear the final pup had been born.  It was a special experience for me to share this with our daughter and granddaughter. llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllI lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

Ha!  Those of you who follow my blog understand what just happened 🤣

I guess basically what I'm trying to say is that THIS SUMMER FLEW BY!  I have joked and tagged a lot of my photos on Facebook as "How I Spent My Summer Vacation".  But it's true and I knew that one day it would be the first day of summer and the next thing it would be Labor Day weekend.  I sort of was reminded of similar feelings in the past when pups were born in the winter months and by the time they go home it's springtime! 

You might think that now because  all the puppies are in their new homes I'd be catching up on some sleep and getting back into a normal routine.  Normal is over-rated anyway. Especially in regards to  8 week old Brittany puppies.

Like everyone else, I have a copy of "A Day In The Life of An 8 Week Old Puppy" posted on my refrigerator door.  I have made extras just so that every day I can write on it the specific times that my puppy does what.  I did mention I kept a puppy, right?! 

In the middle of the kitchen is an x-pen.  In my bedroom is a crate.  Being a multiple dog family and also because John is a morning person and I never have been or will be one - it made sense to bring the crate into the bedroom.  I can let my puppy out without disturbing the other crew, and they in turn can join John first thing in the morning.  So far so good and I think I have the perfect puppy.

On Sunday "Revere" slept through the night from 11 p.m. to 5. a.m. in his crate.  He had his beautiful blanket Aunt Julie made and a Kong toy stuffed with treats and peanut butter there.  At 5, I attached his 15' lead to him and brought him outside. At that point he hadn't mastered the stairs but that's no problem now! Outside, he did his business and I quickly brought him right back in, replenished his Kong toy and closed the crate door behind him.  And I went back to bed.  Not a sound from him. 

I'm compromising on my new wake up time.  Maybe if I MAKE myself go to bed earlier it will be easier in the morning.  Anyway, I gave him breakfast at 7, he played and went outside for awhile.  Brought him back in and put him in the x-pen with blanket, toys, water at about 9 a.m. and he was content until about 11.  He'd napped but otherwise, was just happy to watch what was going on around him.  That was Monday morning (DAY ONE) I had a slice of cold, leftover pizza for breakfast and finally got back to my coffee which by then of course was cold.  I drank it anyway.

At 11 he went outside for awhile then came back in to play with supervision in the living room. We are getting mixed reaction from the rest of the canine crew but it's all good and as they say, it's not our first rodeo!  So then I fed him again, we repeated a lot of the above but this time I decided to use the wooden end table crate in my living room. Figured that way I could get some work done and he'd be right there by my side. I expected a huge protest but I didn't get it.  Instead, he complained just a little bit and then quickly settled down. Laying on his back, belly up with the fan blowing on him. 

So on and so forth for the rest of the day.  Bedtime is being established as 7 p.m. with a quick outside a few hours later.  

He's a very serious puppy, very sweet and interested in things all around him.  It's been a joy to watch him as his world as he knew it has completely changed. He's taking it all in stride with such confidence.  The adult dogs are helpful to a point.  My training is done when it is just he and I.  So far he's bringing a canvas dummy back to me a few times for the fun of it.  He's been to the lake as well as our small farm pond.  He will go into the water and he has swam a few times too! This matters a lot to me as I'd really love  to test him in NAVHDA's Natural Ability and swimming is a requirement for the NA title. 

Okay, I guess I'm going to have to finish this exciting story tomorrow. I just deleted all the text and replaced it with rows and rows of the letter s. But the other thing I wanted to say is that along with retrieving the bumper for me, he's also been bringing back the quail wing that I toss out. I don't keep doing it for repetition sake. I want to instill within him joy and delight at pleasing me at an early age.  Focused obedience will wait for when he's much older. His first year is going to be a fun one. We have all the time in the world. He's coming when called most of the time. I won't repeat his name over and over and over nor will I use an unnatural tone of voice. He's getting it. 

In the meantime I'm going to focus on catching up on some sleep. Take care, God bless, Good night!  

PS Did I mention I have a perfect puppy? 

J&A's Brittanys - 1st Day Photos (Patriotic Litter)

And then there were...

10 happy families with smiling faces with their puppies who are more than ready
to leave at 8 weeks old! Perfect.

John and Kim with "Silas" formerly Franklin.  An experienced Brittany family, there are a lot of great plans in place for the handsome full liver colored Silas.  He's marked very similar to grandmother Treasure. As an added blessing for me personally, I have a new sister in Christ. God does weave our lives together through Him using ATB. I appreciated knowing where the referral came for John and Kim to contact us and look forward to what the future will bring for our friendship as well as for Radaph Silas! (Radaph has to do with the way Gods goodness and mercy you.)  Welcome to the ATB family!

You all know who this is!  Congratulations to our daughter and granddaughter on breeding their first litter ever.  The family had Sokka (pronounced like Soccah) formerly Hamilton picked out from the day he was born. If you're familiar with the AVATAR series (I'm not LOL) his name coincides with their Brittany "Zuko" and also "Toph" , mother of the pups, with additional AVATAR names. He's going to have the time of this life with his active experienced Brittany family which will include paddle boarding, hiking, hunting, hunt test (NAVHDA and AKC), trials, and more!  Love you Sokka!

Jeff and Marisa are at such a great place in their life to add a puppy to their home. I've appreciated their diligence in their long term planning to welcome a Brittany into their heart and home.  Working with friends of ours who are also Brittany breeders, there was to be no pregnancy so they were referred to us. At that point they were well prepared and quite excited as were John and I as we began to get to know them.  They have named their puppy Rocko and he was formerly "Sam". Looking forward to seeing them around at hunt tests, field trials, and of course bird hunting! 

Welcome to the ATB family!

John and Linda are no stranger to Brittanys, their daughter owns one now and besides that, their prior Brittany lived into her senior years and was related back a few generations to this litter with a pup from our friends at Hills Brittanys. As things worked out, Miss Betsy, who will now be called Queso (Spanish for cheese!) already has a training table waiting at home for her as well as a quail pen, plans are to train her to hunt both upland game and waterfowl. I mentioned to John that she is a little spitfire and he said no problem they are ready for her with a wonderful active life. Welcome to All Things Brittany family of close working gundogs!

One thing I have learned about Tracy and Steve as I've enjoyed getting to know them is that they absolute LOVE to camp and they LOVE the water!  They know where to go and where is the best campsites. They're very active and also have shared their heart and home previously with a special Brittany who they said goodbye to last fall.  I was happy when they contacted us and learned their story and happier still when things worked out for them to have a puppy. We're going to help them discover how fun introducing birds and field training is! Their puppy was Banner in the litter and is now "Drake"!  Welcome to the ATB family! 

Here's another way God works things altogether for good.  Dee and Linda had 2 Brittanys from us.  One is Becca (Molly/Jack daughter pictured here) and the other was Durgin (Molly/Smoke).  Sadly, they recently lost their heart dog Durgin and I know that the pain of such a loss is unbearable at times.  Dee reached out to me to know when we might be having another litter of pups, assuming all of ours were spoken for.  As it was, I was intentionally holding back a pup until my mind was made up who I wanted to keep, if any.  Things worked out and the ever sweet Spangles, who will now be known as Coburn, has gone to bring some smiles to not only John and Linda but to Becca as well.  Their Brittanys have an awesome life in the great North woods of Maine. It was AWESOME to see Becca, a perfect combination of her parents.

When Paul and Sylvia reached out to us again there was no question about availability for them for a puppy from Toph and True.  This lovely girl here is Tripper and she is a True/Piper daughter so now she's going to be a true big sister!  This is Patriot who will now be called Obi (as in Obi-wan).  I admire this active couple who, since we first met them, have retired and built a beautiful dream home in Maine.  They also have done a lot of traveling and thoroughly enjoy the great outdoors together. And of course indeed, grouse hunting with a close working gundog in the fall.  

Thank you both for giving Tripper such a great life, nice to see you again.

Jeff said one reason he wanted a male Brittany was because he feels a little outnumbered!  I loved meeting not only two of his daughters when they came to visit, but also seeing our niece Lori and her daughter come with them.  He knew he was interested in a liver and white boy but thought that Rocket was already spoken for.  After the temperament testing it was clear Rocket was going to be an exceptional choice for a first time Brittany owner who is also an active sportsman including bird hunting.  Rocket is now going to be called 'Franklin" in keeping with the original patriotic theme.  We live close enough to them so that it's going to be possible to do some field training together, giving us an opportunity to all get together more. Lori and Jeff attending a Brittany field trial in Maine a few years ago, walked some braces and enjoyed that so who knows! The genetics are there in these pups that is for sure.  Welcome to the All Things Brittany family!!!

Oh the wonderful friendships we form!  Linda and Stan are holding Hope who will now be called Dixie Cup (Love it) and Miss Ellie.  Ellie is out of Pippin and Wilson consequently she and Dixie are closely related.  They also share their home with a senior Brittany, a sweet girl named Pepper.  I have so enjoyed getting to know Linda and Stan, especially Linda as a special friendship has grown and flourished.  I appreciate the home that Ellie has who is now an AKC Junior Hunter.  Ellie as Pippin's daughter is sweet and spunky.  I think that Dixie Cup has a measure of that spunk too. 

Thank you guys for everything. 

I did not make my decision on what pup to keep (if any) until just a few days ago, after Polly left. We  still don't have his AKC name picked out!  But we did decide to keep his litter nickname which is Revere (after Paul Revere but also I like the definition of revere which means to be in awe of.  Well, I don't mean to be in awe of this puppy exactly although he is really pretty cute, sweet, smart, and wonderful.  But it reminds me to be in awe of God, to stand in awe of Him, of all that He has done, is doing, and will continue to do.  Having said that, my dreams are going to continue for our breeding program. We're not getting any younger but this breed does demand you remain active.  John and I are happy to welcome REVERE to our own personal family pack of close working gundogs. Stay tuned.