"Buddy" Goes to His new Home

Sigh. I did it. And I didn't cry. I did tear up, but I didn't cry as I handed little brindle "Buddy" over to his new Daddy, Pete Denbow.  We have known Pete for a couple of years; we met him on the show circuit as he is a professional handler specializing in Collies and Shelties. Here he is with one of his Group First placing collies. 

He had been wanting to get into another breed to show, and after a lot of research, he decided to join us crazies already bitten by the BT bug. 

Being "in the business" of dog showing, he did his research thoroughly and found us through the grapevine. He met Freeman at the Canfield shows a couple of years ago and was also referred to us by an assistant of Andrew Greens'. 

At the Edison specialties in 2008 he joined Freeman and I ringside and watched the BT classes, asking us many questions about this dog and that dog and what the judges were looking for and what have you. He was quite taken by Java, my tri-color girl, and although he said he would be open to a male or female, he said he would prefer a colored animal. We told him we hoped to have a litter within the next year and he said he was more than willing to wait. 

If you have followed my blog you know I have a soft spot in my heart for "Buddy", my name for the only brindle male. He is the the one that I birthed by myself and we bonded to one another from the get go. Until about 2 weeks ago I couldn't even imagine placing him; he felt like an extension of myself. But then, as he matured during the early weeks, I realized that he would be perfect for Pete both in physical qualities as well as personality. Right after we placed Caia, one of the tri girls, I called him up.

"Pete", I said, "you better get up here and see this boy before I change my mind." I could feel a lump in my throat.

I wasn't kidding. The longer "Buddy" hung around the more difficult this was going to be and I wanted him to have a home with a doting Daddy. I couldn't think of a better match. In fact, although Pete obviously had to come up and see for himself, I wasn't going to offer "Buddy" to anyone else. If Pete didn't take him, I don't know what I was gonna do!

Pete came all the way up from Maryland with his handler girlfriend Lotta - and it worked! We tricked him into thinking owning a BT pup is a good idea! LOL. No seriously, being a dog person he Did know what he was getting into, with all the inherent craziness. In fact, his compliment to us was that he had found our candor refreshing from the beginning. I don't think it serves any purpose to sugar-coat what BT ownership is about.

Marion always warns me about being kennel blind. This is when you look at your own dogs and litters and think they are all great! Of course, they do all have redeeming qualities, but when you show, to be successful you have to be able to be as objective as you can and know what you have and what you lack and when and where to show and when not to. 

I brought out the whole litter (minus Caia) for Pete to see so that he could view the siblings. One by one we explained the pros and cons of each one and why we thought "Buddy" would work for him. Of the entire litter, this brindle boy has the shortest back, the squarest body and the chunkiest, muscley butt! He made his positive impression easily on Pete and Lotta.

We warned him about hucklebutting (which he had never heard of. I told him to Youtube the term) and the fact that this brindle boy would hold some genetic material that was very valuable to our breeding program in regards to the brindle factor. The co-ownership guidelines are all laid out in the contract and he had no problem with the restrictive nature of this version, drafted just for this litter.

Here above they are taking "Buddy" home (final AKC and call name to come). The tears in my eyes came and went throughout the day, but I am Thrilled that "Buddy" has gone home with Pete. He called me the following morning and said he was happy and quiet in his crate all the way down to Maryland and didn't even mess in his crate overnight. He did try to chew on the Shelties' long hair, so we will see how long that lasts before they put him in his place. We will get to see all of them at the Edison shows and they will come show to the BTCNE specialties. Look for them hanging out with the Legacy/Winsor gang.