I have been tagged by LaDonna to tell how the dog that owns my heart came into my life. As many know that dog is Garrett. Garrett wasn't the first dog to own my heart but he is the current one. In the 50 + years that I have shared with Dalmatians I have lost count of how many I have owned, bred but most importantly loved. Of that vast number of spotted dogs I have been blessed with four that touched a spot in my heart above all others. They were my first Dalmatian Buckshot who I got in 1958, Watson, Watson's daughter Chloe and of course Garrett. After breeding Garrett's mom Posey twice with discouraging results I decided to try a third time. This time I chose a very sweet old dog by the name of Dutch who had a very nice pedigree to sire Posey's last litter. Dutch had been neglected due to his former owners marital problems when my friend Jeff rescued him, fed him and subsequently finished his championship. I had known Dutch from the time he was a young dog because I competed against him many times with Sherman. I would have bred Chloe to him years earlier if his owners at the time would have finished his championship title. Dutch could not breed naturally due to an injury to his back when he was hit by a car so I brought him to my home so we could do an artificial insemination. From that I got a litter of 6 puppies. All 14 ounces of Garrett entered my life on January 13, 2002 at 7:25 PM. I swear I bonded with him before he was completely born. As you know Dals are born white but while they are still in the birth sack you can see their spots. Once they are dry the spots are no longer visible. In that tiny window of opportunity I saw the teardrop under his eye like Watson had and I had the feeling that the spirit of Watson had come back to me. I knew at that moment that Garrett was here to stay. I have never regretted that decision for a moment. I can't even bear the thought of him not being with me forever...Now I would like to Tag Cindy and Eric to tell us how they became Dalmatian lovers. Any of the GPDC members who get tagged can use the GPDC blog http://www.gpdcspot.blogspot.com/ to tell your story!
2 comments:
Garrett, Garrett, Garrett. Hahahaha
How well I remember how much you talked about him when he was young and how well I understand about how though we love them all, there are some that wrap around our hearts. Gage, Gage, Gage. Garrett, Garrett, Garrett's grandson comes to my mind..
Garrett, Garrett, Garrett....Do you think Barb loves this boy! Barb took Garrett out of retirement for the GPDC Speciality on June 19th and of course in typical Garrett fashion in the show..he kicked butt! Garrett took home Best of Breed! Yeah! Garrett and Barb. Great job.... BUT we all know what meant - more gushing about Garrett. I had the pleasure to hear first hand what Ladonna always heard. Garrett, Garrett, Garrett, I love that dog...oh he's sooooo handsome, I love that dog, that's my boy, I love that dog, so again with well deserved pride, Barb got to tell everyone that enjoyed her win with Garrett how much she loves him! and rightly so. Well Done!
"Garrett, Garrett, Garrett"
Ryder is very proud of his dad and hopes he will follow in his paw steps!
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