A higher calling

Love is creation raised to a higher degree

- Toyohiko Kagawa

I often hear people say "oh him? he's just a pet" or describe a puppy a simply "pet quality". So what does that really mean? Well to me it means an individual who has a unique set of characteristics that give it such strength of inner character it can accept anything life can bring it's way. It is a dog capable of loving unconditionally, without reservation or hesitation, and accepting that same kind of love in return. It is a dog who's temperament is stable enough to forgive the "mistakes" of their owners and who's eyes are so soulful and charming they can convince anyone to forgive them theirs. These "pets" are the weekend warriors who keep their families safe from invading squirrels and mice with the same gusto their working ancestors kept their owners sheep safe from foxes. They can wake you in the morning with a kiss, swim in the lake and run in the grass all day long, fall asleep at your feet on your lap in the evening, and protect you from the creatures that lurk in the dark as you sleep. They do all this with such joie de vivre one can not help but be energized. They carry the unique ability to captivate a heart and enchant a soul. They will be remember long after they are gone and spoke of with such fondness that anyone listening would think they were hearing the memoirs of the greatest dog to ever live. These dogs may never set foot in a competition ring but they will be unreserved champions from the day they set foot in their homes.  They will hold more secrets and comfort more tears and will always know just when and where they are needed. They will bring such joy and lead their families into such great adventures. They are the embodiment of love and what it is to live. Yes being "just a pet" is by far the highest of callings and an accomplishment of very special individuals. Any dog can win a ribbon but it takes a truly unique individual to win a heart. We are lucky, and proud, to say that many of our terriers have gone on to be "just" somebody's pet and watching them and the life they share with their new families brings me no greater joy. Whether your terrier competes in national agility, wins championships at dog shows, or is the king of the couch it is the bond you share with them that makes me proud and the love you share is one of the greatest rewards of being a breeder.

Time flies when you are having fun

 

"A breeders lap is a marvelous space where proud and noble champions once snoozed"
                                              - P. Adamson

Wow it has been such a busy few months I didn't realize how long it's been since I posted anything. SO much has happened around here since our last post I don't even know where to begin. Kiwi welcomed her first, and much anticipated, litter on February 3rd of 4 sweet little girls and then her niece Loki whelped a litter of 5 robust boys 4 days later on February 7th. Both litters were sired by our stud dog Woofgang Stash and I am so beyond impressed by his first efforts for us. We kept one little girl from Kiwi's litter, a female we have name Covet or Coy for short, who we are pretty excited about and we have retained a co-ownership on her littermate Promise ("Mia") who has gone to live with a good friend in Colorado.

Inseguire Covet ("Coy")

Inseguire Promise ("Mia")

Several of the puppies from both litters have gone to sporting homes and we often get to see them at flyball tournaments and follow their progress on facebook.

Inseguire Fleetwood "Flea"
Kiwi x Stash

 

Inseguire Bazinga with his sire Stash and dam Loki

Inseguire Corsair "Cory"
Loki x Stash

In other news we traveled all the way to Virginia in April to escape the cold and kick off our trial season. All the dogs did very well with Cali and her daughter Snookie (owned by Denise DeCosta) taking first and second in the ultra-competitive rough/broken under girls class. Warden won his class both days to close out his puppy year and Stash was right on winning Reserve Working Dog to National Champion Little Eden Dempsey on Saturday and then turning the tables on Sunday and beating him to take the title of Best Working Dog.

Inseguire Calliope "Cali"

Woofgang Stash

As you can see it has been a busy spring and I haven't even gotten to our recent trip to Colorado and our little May "surprise" but best to leave me some incentive to write again soon!

Waiting



 

It is can be paralysing to realize how much you love something that has not yet even taken it's first breath in this world. The fear of uncertainly catches your breath in your throat and momentarily stops your heart. The people that know me would say I am your typical "A"type personality. I like to be in control; of my environment, my emotions, and just about everything else that is really important to me. In contrast whelping is something you have so little control over it can be emotionally overwhelming for the average person and down right terrifying for a conductive personality like me. Add to this mix that my heart is so wholly engaged in this process that it is one of the few times in my life where I am left completely open, raw, and vulnerable to the whims of outside forces far beyond my jurisdiction. This realization always hits me a few days before my girls are due to give birth, usually while they are sitting on my lap and I can feel the new lives inside them maneuvering themselves around in the rapidly diminishing free space. I do everything I can to stack the deck in my favour but I know all too well that in the end I will be forced to let the chips fall as they may and accept whatever outcome is given to me. As with most terrier people I possess the same tenacity and stubbornness our breed is infamous for but sometimes no amount of willingness can change a situation, and it is that knowledge that tightens it's grip around my chest and puts me on edge. The tenseness doesn't ever fully leave until my puppies are around 4 months of age and thriving but it does ebb a little after they are born and filling their little bellies for the first time. Once they are here, they are living physical beings I can put my hands on, and their mother is doing well I feel like I have just the teansiest bit more control over their destiny. I have the luxury of choice at this stage and the ability to monitor, supplement, and administer veterinary care if necessary to any individual who is not thriving to my standards. I have influence. But, until they are here I have but faith and hope that the love I have for them, and the generations of terriers behind them, will deliver them safely into this world and my waiting arms.

 

"So when you buy a puppy and with your precious dollars part,

remember you only give your money but [the breeder] gives their whole heart"

- Anonymous

Winter Wonderland

 

 

“Snow on one side of the canvas, silence on the other. I’d call that a perfect painting.

”
          - Jarod Kintz

I think we have seen more snow already this year than in the past several combined. I have always loved the snow and thought of it as a trade off, a reward of sorts, for surviving the frigid temperatures of the Canadian north. In excess it can makes things like driving and some outdoor events a little trickier but it also covers the landscape in a fresh blanket of white every time it falls, renewing it and making it pristine again. There is something so peaceful about a fresh snow and the near daily dustings makes our winter walks feel so tranquil and serene. I am not normally one to use words like "tranquil" and "serene" to describe pack-walks involving terriers but watching them lay the first footprints into the uniform white landscape and disappear behind large snow drift only to reappear seconds later brings about near unparalleled feelings on contentment.  It is our daily routine to bundle ourselves in our warm winter clothing and head out to the forest trails just outside the city where dogs are permitted to run off leash and it is these hikes that are the part of my day I look forward to the most. Even when the wind is blowing a bitter cold across the prairies we can escape down the trail and be enveloped by the large trees that serve to quiet the air and on heavy snow days only permit a select few flakes to fall gently through. The terriers bring life to the hibernating land and adore their winter playground as much I do. They run, explore, sniff, and cavort in the snow and when we leave each day they snuggle in to the car for the drive home quiet and content, remaining that way through most of the evening. In contrast to our busy, active, full-to-the-brim summers winters around here are for recharging, re-centering, and simply enjoying each other's company.