Santa and Me

Luther has a small stuffed Santa doll. That and an old bone are his only toys. He will strut around the house holding Santa. He loves to grab the pompom on Santa's hat and give Santa a twirl. It's a happy thing!

Luther's World

Here's a picture Jimmy took yesterday of Luther sitting in the boat at the dock. Luther loves riding in the boat and better yet, retrieving ducks and geese. This was just an expedition to try and locate the Ecollar that Jimmy pulled off of Luther and fell in the James River on Thanksgiving Day. Jimmy's convinced he will recover the Ecollar! I'm afraid that by the time it IS recovered, it will be corroded and we'll need new equipment. Time will tell...

Brandywine Hunt Test

Recently we drove up near Washington DC to take Luther to a Hunt Test. We had him signed up for one Master and one Senior test. We got there about 10 minutes to 8 AM. I hopped out of the car to air Luther and Jimmy took off to find the Senior test site. There I was...with a dog in hand and the Master Test dog was running the course and the Judges were explaining their requirements and I couldn't see any of it because I was stuck with Luther. Luther was the second dog to run. Needless to say, I turned into a bag of nerves. I think Luther knew it, too. Luther nailed the land retrieves. He started off on a perfect line to the land blind and then took a left turn. From there it was down hill. His second land blind was okay but the first had too many errors (my fault) and we were dropped.

Jimmy ran him in the Senior test. His land series was great. He is so focused, he doesn't miss a retrieve on land or water. His entry into the water for all the water marks was perfect...the angle in was great...his blind was right on. So all was not lost since Luther got his first Senior Hunt Test pass.

Luther has continued to be my angel, guardian and best buddy. My chemo treatments leave me tired and sick and he will follow me around like my shadow. If he is at the office window checking out his neighborhood, he'll return every 15 minutes or so to check on me. He smells my breath to judge how I'm feeling. Otherwise, he sleeps next to the bed near me. What a great dog the good Lord has gifted me with. Some kind of special!!!

Tidewater Retriever Club has wonderful picnics. It's good to have relaxation time to visit and catch up with the latest news with fellow members and their dogs. And of course all the new puppies are here for you to love and watch. It wouldn't be an event without running the dogs so you can sign up your dog in one category ranging from Open Dog to the Puppy Class. The club has several large trophies that are given to the first place winners of each respective division. Each winning member (and their dog) is given the club trophy, has a plate with their names added to it, and keeps it for one year. The trophy is returned to the following year's picnic to enhance the fireplace mantle of the next winner! It's a lot of fun especially when the winner is informed that by being the trophy winner, they judge their division test next year!

The day was overcast with a nice breeze and I can tell you that was wonderful and much appreciated for July 14th in Southern Virginia--past Stony Creek in Sussex County to be exact! Just as we were finishing running the dogs, some raindrops fell. We all jumped in our cars/trucks and went on a parade through paved, gravel and dirt roads looking for the food venue. It was fun. We arrived amongst sunflower, cotton and tobacco fields and were surprised to find a nice new building complete with kitchen facilities, a real bathroom, and a large room with tables and 2 flat screen TVs. Just as we went inside, the sky opened up and it poured outside big time. We needed the rain so their were no complaints. All of the food was delicious--BBQ chicken, potato salad, boiled potatoes, green beans and rolls. Plus Banana Pudding for dessert. After dinner, the new winners were announced and trophies were presented.

It was a great day in the countryside. Everyone, including the dogs, had a fun time! Thanks to David Witt and all the members (and there were a bunch of you) who helped make this a memorable day.

Simply The Best!

Sorry it's been a month or so since I last posted. I've had some health issues that took priority. It's great to know that when you need help it's there. Such is the case with Luther. Since I had surgery (colon cancer) and was hospitalized, Jim Elam agreed to keep Luther and train him. We went down yesterday to visit and watch the training. Luther was as glad to see me as I was him. Jim said last weekend the Yadkin River Retriever Club visited his kennels. Jim used Luther as a Demo Dog to demonstrate training in the technical pond in the field behind the kennels. He said Luther did perfect. They are a great team together. I can't say enough about Jim Elam and the training program at Lake Country Retrievers. Luther is smart and talented and Jimmy and I were trying to learn and train at the same time and it just wasn't working out. At LCR, they are professional and hard workers. Each team member is talented and knows their responsibilities and the program works so smoothly. Jim Elam has made Luther the fine athlete he is today! The journal entry says: "Our goal when we got Luther was for me to have a buddy and Jimmy to have a good Hunting Dog. As Luther grew, we recognized that Luther was way more than an ordinary dog. We stumbled along the way with his training. Lauren Hall Koch got Luther off to a great start. The problem was she is in Montana. After trying to move forward, we realized there was so much we didn’t know. Our quest for a trainer brought us to Jim Elam. This was the perfect solution for Luther and us. Jim is about the nicest fellow you’d ever want to meet--and he’s in tune with each dog, it’s talents and shortcomings. Luther would never have gotten his first Master Pass at 2 years and 2 months without Jim Elam. Lake Country Retrievers has the finest, caring team working with each dog making them the best they can be. Jim has even worked with me teaching me handling skills with Luther. Needless to say, I can’t say enough accolades about Jim Elam. It’s a good thing!"

Visiting Honey

My grandchildren, Barton and Reagan, come to visit for a few days during Spring Break. One day we drove down to Emporia to watch Jim Elam train Luther. Mike Griffith was there training his 3 labs. Mike left a step stool by his truck and I turned to see both kids on the stool looking in and talking to Honey, Mike's yellow lab. My favorite photos are those that capture the moment like this one.

BLUR

Luther is quite a fellow. He has so much go power that when he runs up a hill, there's a dust trail behind him. At his Junior Title test, Luther was the first dog to run. The judge turned and asked the gallery to clap for him (he put on such as show) and told them that the rest of the dogs should thank Luther since he literally blazed a path up the hill to where the bird was. Cover? What cover? Nothing has changed. He gets as excited and focused as ever. That's what this layout is about. Jim Elam has done a fantastic job training Luther and harnessing his energy. Jim coordinates his direction and focus, has him mark, says "Luther" and off he goes! A BLUR!