Why a puppy?

When I got Shadow from a breeder in Michigan, there was a big hole in my heart that only a Springer could fill.  3 months earlier I had lost my 4-year-old Springer Molly to an immune disease and it broke my heart.  I still had two dogs, but they were very independent and not as affectionate as a Springer.  Molly was always waiting for me when I went anywhere.  She would race up, bark, and tell me how much she missed me.  The other two dogs would sometimes barely raise their heads and glance in my direction when I got home.   I needed the love of a Springer.

So now I am getting another Springer and I still have my wonderful Shadow.  Coming home from work, she is sitting at the end of the driveway with her head pointed in the right direction, even though she can’t see.  She hears the car and starts barking hello.  I give a little beep of the horn and she keeps barking hello, while getting out of the way – moving toward the grass and waiting until the car is in the garage.  Then she is at the car wanting to be petted and to tell me how much she missed me and adores me.  It would be hard to top this. 

I had planned to get a puppy and begin agility with it before I knew Shadow was going blind.  I hoped that for Shadow’s last year competing in agility, we would have the puppy with us to watch, learn, and begin agility.   Maybe we would even have a few trials with both of them competing at different levels.  But fate stepped in and it all changed.  What hasn’t changed is my desire to do agility.  It is an exhilarating experience with your dog.  I also love tracking and do plan to take the puppy with Shadow to track.  Just as the puppy would have learned about agility, I believe it can learn from watching Shadow track.  My friend M said she would bring her other beagle Vinnie along with Hank, Master Tracker, and the puppy and Vinnie will learn together.

Last Friday there was a horse event at Twin Towers where we track.  So we laid a long straight leg for each dog.  They both did great and we practiced with them at 20 feet out on the line the way they will need to track for a test.  Both dogs did very well.  It was great for them to be successful after the awful time before tracking that we blamed on the change in weather.  We decided that maybe we need to mix it up for them with simple tracks sometimes so they can be successful.  Here’s William a black and white Springer.  Do you think he might be my Magnum?