Sundae was the finest bitch I ever hope to own.  Her tragic death, one point short of her championship, will always haunt me.  Sundae was my pride and joy back in the 1970’s when I was a young handler finally able to make my childhood dream come true.  She was a granddaughter of Ch. Stormhaven’s Dolf and a result of the Bernd X F-litter Arbywood cross that produced so many fine dogs.  That’s me in the picture with her.  She went Best In Match at the Jacksonville, FL Specialty Match that day under Barry Brimacomb. 

Two weeks later, at under 2 years old, she won a 5 pt major at the 1971 Atlanta Specialty under Dr. Walter Frost.  It was our first time in Open.  I will never forget that night.  We entered the ring last in a long line of spectacular bitches.  Young Jimmy Moses and Doug Crane were there with the bitches that everyone knew.  We were nobodies.  The class lasted forever, and I thought my lungs would burst.  Sundae pulled me around the ring endlessly and effortlessly.  Every time we went around, Dr. Frost moved us up one more place.  I think there were 27 bitches in the class that night.  The crowd was going wild! 

Finally, we were second behind Jimmy Moses.  As Dr. Frost moved back down the line, Jimmy turned to me and whispered, “Stretch her out a little more!”  I didn’t know if I could trust him but did as he suggested.  When Dr. Frost came back up the line, he took another lo-o-n-n-g, h-a-r-d look at Sundae.  After taking just Jimmy and I around a few times, and having us switch places each time, he put Sundae up front and took the whole class around one last time.  “That’s it!” he said, “One, two, three, four!”  I collapsed in a mud puddle, shoving a piece of hot dog in Sundae’s face.  Then I started to leave the ring, overcome with joy.  Jimmy stopped me.  “Where are you going?  You have to go back in for Winners.”  I didn’t think I could make it around that ring one more time, but Sundae wasn’t through. She pulled me around a few more times.  When Dr. Frost pointed at us, I thought I had lived and gone to heaven!  I buried my face in her neck and cried, “Oh, Sun-Sun!” over and over.  No matter what else happens, THAT is the night I will always remember.  And SUGARFOOT’S HOT FUDGE SUNDAE is the bitch I am trying to get back to in my current breeding program. Above, right, is the poem I wrote when Sundae died.

Saxony’s Serena of RiverRock TC HIC (2 pts)

Serena was sired by GV Ch Stoneway’s Uecker out of Saxony’s Hey Jude.  Uecker is my all-time favorite dog, and I had searched for two years for a Uecker daughter when Bob Eaton directed me to Serena’s litter when we met at the Canadian National many years ago.  Serena had the best temperament of any gsd I have owned.  When I took her home at 10 weeks, crated in the front seat of my car, I thought she must either be asleep or frightened.  She wasn’t making a sound.  When I glanced in the crate door, however, she was just as cool as a cucumber.  I said aloud to myself, “That is the most serene puppy I have ever seen!”  And that’s how she got her name.

After raising several puppies that didn’t turn out, I thought Serena would be my first champion and foundation brood bitch.  She certainly had what it takes!  Unfortunately, she also had severe elbow dysplasia in both elbows and a subluxated patella in her left knee.  All of this surfaced when she began to limp right after taking her first two points.  I loved her so much that I shelled out thousands of dollars for surgery on both elbows and the knee.  Poor Serena underwent a lot of surgery!  But, she recovered well and was my special girl for eight years until it was time to let her go.  I knew our time together would be brief and resolved never to turn her down when she brought me a leash or a ball. I kept this promise. 

I took Serena to the National for the Temperament and Herding Instinct Tests in Perry one year, and Bob and I talked again.  Even though he was not Serena’s breeder, he was the one who replaced her with Stoneway’s Venus of Woodside, a Rollins daughter.  When the time came, Serena left me as calmly as she rode home with me that first day.

Stoneway’s Venus of Woodside OFA H&E

Venus is a Sel Ex Ch WeLove DuChien’s Rollins ROM daughter out of Am Can Ch Woodside’s Futuristic.  She is the foundation bitch that replaced Serena.  Venus came to me at 4 months of age, so she did not get the early training my puppies usually benefit from.  She hated the show ring and refused to have anything to do with it.  While this picture of her is blurry, I was lucky to get a stacked picture of her at all!  This picture was taken after she won her class at the Minneapolis/St. Paul match.  Then she wouldn’t come out of her crate for Winners!  That’s Venus!  But, she loved the whelping box and was a great mom. 

I had to wait several years to breed her while I put my son through college, so she only had two litters.  Bred to Ch Kenlyn’s Aries v HiCliff ROM, she gave me my first champion RiverRock’s Hotel California.  Bred to Ch Marquis’ Stealing the Show, she gave me RiverRock’s Charmaine who won Best Puppy and Best in Match her first time out at 12 wks!

Venus was also a great protector.  She foiled a burglary at my house one night.  The thieves had already stolen from my neighbors when they opened my back garden gate.  Venus slept in the house by a glass patio door that overlooked that gate.  The burglars came face-to-face with her when they opened the gate and Venus slammed her upright body into that glass door!  My neighbors’ belongings were scattered all over the road in the burglars’ hasty retreat!  She more than compensated for not being a show dog!