I have been trying to get hold of a breeder - Diane Baker, who is in Ottawa, IL by Starved Rock State Park, so we could go down and look at some adult dogs she has for adoption.
I found her online on a Chesapeake Bay Retriever website and I have been e-mailing and phoning her back and forth since before Christmas. She breeds and shows both Goldens and Chesapeke Bay retreivers and they recently moved here from the east coast of the US ( carolina's, I think) I feel pretty good about her kennels, especially after talking to her a couple of times by phone. I have researched her dogs and her kennel online (though they don’t have a website, many of their dogs are listed in the show listings) and through my golden friends - and I feel very positive about her and her dogs - Hopefully she will have a dog that will suit us.
One of the things that I'm talking to her about is that Diane breeds Chesapeke Bay Retrevers, and she also co-owns the kennel with a partner ( who I think is her brother) and together, they breed and show Goldens. the kennels are "Bonacres Goldens " ( or bonny acres) and "Sandbar Chessies". Since those are the two breeds that went into creating our very special and unique Tristan, we thought we would look at and compare Chessies and Goldens. and where could I get a better source of info that someone who breeds and lives with both?
But getting together with her has been difficult to arrange. She shows dogs all over the country on weekends, and is often traveling. First, I thought we would look for another dog BEFORE Tristan died, while he was still feeling good and could enjoy the companionship of another dog. We had an appointment to see her, and she had to cancel because her mother-in- law was ill. Then Tristan took a turn for the worse, and it wasn't fair to him to take attention away from him when he needed us. Then he died, and by the time we were ready to think of another dog, her family all got some kind of flu bug and it took awhile to work it's way thru the whole family and for them to feel up to handling the work of the dogs, the kennel, dog shows, and visitors.
I had sent her an e-mail with our schedule - hoping that maybe one of Jon's days off from school would work - and it has - she called me back tonite. So Monday, (presidents day) we are going down to Ottawa, IL to see her dogs –
she has at least 4 adults between 2 and 5 yrs old that she wants to 'retire' from her breeding program and re-home with families .
there’s a 5 yr old Chessie Male, “Mojo”, who is her particular favorite – his kennel name is ‘Sandbars no laughing matter” and he is a champion and Register of Merit stud dog. She says he is extremely friendly and personable, and just needs more personal attention than they can give him in the kennel. (there's a photo of Mojo on Tristan's website)
Theres also a 2 yr Chessie Female that is available, though she didn’t say a whole lot about her, except that she is also very friendly , but sometimes gets possessive of toys around other dogs. (not a problem in a 1 dog home like ours)
There are two, almost 2 yr old golden girls, Grace and Fizz – different litters, but born the same night. Both were intended to be a part of their breeding program, and have a number of show titles that don’t mean much to me. However, both of them have very minor heart defects that, while they won’t affect the dog’s health or longevity in any way, the breeder does not want to risk passing on in her lines. The 5 yr pedigrees of both girls have heart clearances on all parents, but this showed up as a very minor defect. Grace’s is almost non-existent, and the vet would have passed her, but the breeder is VERY conscientious about her breeding.
Grace is an Alpha girl – very confident and outgoing.
Fizz is neither alpha or submissive – just described as a happy-go lucky clown.
All of them sound promising to me!
Jon is real excited about going down, too - it's become very quiet here without Tristan. Our little kitty, Teal’c, helps – but it’s just not the same as having the constant companionship of a dog – esp when we are used to the constant interaction we had with Tristan. Tristan was really a ‘people’ to us – and his forever puppy demeanor really set the tone for our household.
We miss Tristan alot, of course - but we did most of our grieving for him while he was sick and while we were fighting his Lymphoma so hard. It isn't so much that we feel bad about his death, because we expected it and know we did everything possible for him - but we miss his joy, his bouncy personality, the fun we had with him and all the future walks, cuddles, camping trips, and car rides we expected to have together in the years to come - all the things that were taken away from him, and us, too early.
No dog will ever replace Tristan - just as he couldn't 'replace' Toby and Tara before him - but another dog can help fill the empty quietness of our house, and we'll love that dog for their own special qualities.
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