KEENMOR GOLDENS
Our Dogs - Gone but not forgotten...
We have been very fortunate to share our lives with many wonderful dogs. Each one took a bit of our hearts with them, when they left us.
Keener
HR WR; MOTCH GMH Zaniri Goldngun Keen4Anything WCX; Am CCA (11/19/2009-2/15/2021)
GRCC and GRCA OD
https://www.k9data.com/pedigree.asp?ID=369504
Keener came to be out of the heartache of the sudden, unexpected loss of wee Gusto. The Kinney’s had a girl pup available, from their Sniper x Wynn, breeding, when I really needed a pup to ease my pain.
Keen was a VERY confident girl. Quite frankly, she always thought she is brilliant, and she often was. In the field, she was very impressive to watch…unless you were the owner worrying about injuries! She was VERY fast, an excellent marking dog and very tenacious.
Although Keen was a high drive dog, she has a great on/off switch. She was very quiet in her kennel in the truck and was a couch potato at home. She was quite sweet and liked to snuggle. Keener was not a “princess” …unless it is in the “Xena the Warrior Princess” variety! She was such a strong, powerful, talented girl. She was probably more than I could handle at the time. Oh, how I would love to have her now! My joke when running Keen in field events, was that she is like driving a Ferrari, but you never really know if the lug nuts are fully tightened!
Spy
CH Justmoor Get Smart WC JH CDX AGN-S AGNJ-S (6/16/2003-9/13/2012)
GRCC VCI
https://www.k9data.com/pedigree.asp?ID=115567
Spy, Spy, Spy... After achieving so much with his uncle, Boon, I honestly thought that I could do it all again, with another show bred dog. Unfortunately I met my match. Spy was a WONDERFUL dog...just not a great working dog. If he were a person, he would have been living in a frat house, wearing a toga, smashing beer cans on his forehead!
Spy had potential, but he never took life too seriously. He was exceptionally handsome (and hairy) and had an impeccable temperament. He truly was a great dog. Spy taught me that I wanted a dog from a working pedigree, the next go-around.
Because we lost Spy unexpectedly at 9 ½, I was on the search for a Golden from a working pedigree. Although I never had any intention of breeding Keener, when I searched, I realized I had a wonderful potential dam, at my feet. I had done all her clearances, for my own information. Less than a month from when Spy passed, Keener came into season and I bred her to Leanne Tucker's amazing Puzzle. And so it began...
Denver
SR; U-CD Feathermarks Wanabee A Cowgirl CDX JH WCI; Am CD CGC (4/16/1995-10/12/2004)
https://www.k9data.com/pedigree.asp?ID=14136
Denver was bought as a pet dog, from my sister Catherine's Clipper x Shiloh breeding. For whatever ever reason, I decided to try to earn our WC...the gateway drug/title to getting people hooked on field work. Denver did not have much of a work ethic and wasn't very birdy. Her titles were a case of me being persistent. She was a quirky, beautiful girl, who preferred being a pet. What Denver did do, was introduce me to the idea of owning a working Golden, as well as a group of like-minded dog people, starting out on our journey in dogs.
Roxy
CH Tellise Royale Roxanne CD (3/2/1983-6/1/1995)
https://www.k9data.com/pedigree.asp?ID=19550
Tom and my first dog was Roxy, a retired brood bitch, from my sister Catherine. At six years old, she already had her Show Championship and CD titles, so I did not do anything with her, other than love and enjoy her. Knowing what I know now, I think she would like have been a pretty good field dog. She managed to find and retrieve to hand, much to my disgust, any pheasant carcass left by the coyotes in Fish Creek Park.
Roxy only had eyes for me (and Tom) and was a loyal...and protective...as any dog could be.
Gusto!
Goldngun A Bird In The Hand WCI JH (4/27/2008-12/23/2009)
https://www.k9data.com/pedigree.asp?ID=299300
After Spy, I had decided that I wanted a field-bred dog for my next Golden. I was waiting for a specific breeding that the Kinney's were waiting to do. Rick and Louise Robert's had two female pups left from a breeding, that they were looking for working home for. At a hunt test near Edmonton, where I was watching a friend, they asked me to take one of the pups for the day...and to run test dog with that pup's half sister. Running Streak, who had just turned two, as test dog in the Master Test, sold me on taking one of the pups. So I went to a hunt test...and left with a new pup!
Gusto was everything we had hoped for. She was birdy, smart, fearless, mentally sound, agile and totally adorable. Sadly, it all came to a screeching halt, when she had a "catastrophic immune reaction" after her spay at 19 months. The cause of the per-acute vasculitis of her heart and her brain was unknown. There was no sign of infection or any issues with the spay itself. In hindsight, I wish we had checked for TBD, but we didn't even think of it at the time. There were no tick bourne diseases known on Vancouver Island...six months later there was a confirmed case of Ehrlichia on VI.
Our world was shattered...but if we had not lost Gusto, we would never had Keener...and the wonderful girls down from her.
Boon
MHR; CH GMH OTCHX Justmoor Boodacious WCX AGNS; Am CDX CGC (9/25/1997-2/9/2008)
GRCC VCX VHOF
https://www.k9data.com/pedigree.asp?ID=18061
Boon came to live with us, when he was 16 months old. He had a great start in life, but only knew the commands “stand” and “come”. His breeder, Marjorie Moore of Justmoor Golden Retrievers thought he “might” have some potential as a working dog. At the time, we had a cranky Bassett Hound who was not going to accept a puppy into the house. In a three-month period, before he was two, Boon earned his WC, WCI, JH and NAHRA SR titles. He finished his Show Championship in six shows, including a “Best Puppy in Group”. He earned his CD, CDX and AKC CDX without a non-qualifying performance. Boon completed his Canadian OTCH in two weekends and his Master Hunter title, qualifying in five of six tests to become the first CH-OTCH-MH Golden Retriever in Canada. He went on to earn his OTCHX and his Grand Master Hunter titles. As a Veteran, Boon had some very nice conformation wins, including a Best in Specialty Show over 57 Goldens, owner handled. Two months shy of his 10th birthday, Boon added an Agility Novice – Select title to his name. As well, Boon was a therapy dog extraordinaire with the PALS Pet Visitation program.
Boon may not have been the most precise competitor in the ring or field, but he always had a good time, as evident by his ever-wagging tail. One of my most precious memories, is when a curmudgeon of a hunt test judge, said to me, as Boon was returning from a challenging water blind for his Master Hunter title… ”That dog LOVES you, and trusts you completely.” I still choke up thinking about that special moment!
Boon allowed me so many firsts, many, many wonderful memories and proud moments. He accomplished more than any novice trainer and handler dared to dream. But more than anything, he was my partner, my best buddy and an adored family member.
On February 9th, 2008 we lost my heart dog to prostate cancer, which is rare in dogs.
Carling
Carling Bassett (1988-1990)
Carling was literally rescued from the streets of Ma-Me-O Beach. She was running with a pack of other dogs...decidedly out of place with the other large breed mutts. Carling was such a character, and made us laugh every day. Later in life, she was hired for a movie "Snow Day", with Chevy Chase. She learned every skill she needed, with ease...more ease than the child she was paired up with. He was cut from the movie and therefore she was as well. Funny thing, in a review of the movie, it was said the movie needed a DOG!
Carling was all the best of a dog (funny, smart and game for anything), and all the worst of a dog (incredible shedding, cranky with other dogs and stubborn). We always thought we would have another Bassett, but I think that notion has passed.