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.