Essay, by Carol Lantiegne
S.R. Adirondac Tupper Tee CDX JH WCX OD
Tupper came to us at one of the absolute lowest points of our lives. On 12/3/90 our home burned to the ground, the fire taking everything we owned including the lives of Adirondac Sky-Hi Marcy CD WC and her ten 8-day old puppies. We had planned to keep one of the female babies so our hearts were already opened for a new puppy. By wonderful co-incidence, Tupper had been born on 11/7/90. Her sire, Sy Liberty Blue was a pup I had sold to a dear friend who wanted a robust and talented dog. Sy's dam, Tigathoe's Cayuga Cascade CD WC was without doubt the toughest dog we'd ever known, and Sy turned out to be an all-business dog, too. I told my friend we needed the puppy with the most spirit, and that is exactly what we got! Following a 3 hour drive to our meeting place, 7 week old Tupper literally exploded out of the crate, ears and tail UP, and they've never come down since. Heart of Attitude and Hope.
Naming her was easy. In an interview once, Torch Flinn chose Stilrovin Tuppee Tee as her all time favorite. My affinity to Torch led right to the "Adirondac" version of Tupper Tee (for Tupper Lake).
As a pup, Tupper was bold, fearless and pushy and despite our very depressing tasks of listing our losses for insurance, attempting to recoup business and tax records, trying to find our next place to live AND worry as America entered the first Gulf War, she made us laugh. She buoyed our spirits with her antics and made us actually want to go on with life. Fortunately, the night of the fire, Tigathoes Omega CDX JH WC and Adirondac Rondeau CDX JH WC were outdoors in the kennel, and lived to mentor little Tupper. Well, Tupper just adored Rondeau and he wanted nothing to do with her. She simply ignored his growls and bad humor and slept curled up against him until he finally just gave up being nasty.�� She toddled after him everywhere - fearlessly following him onto the huge tilted ice slabs along the Lake Ontario shoreline near the house where we had found temporary quarters. We were scared to death for her, but she thought it was great! Heart of Brave.
As she grew up, her assertiveness grew with her. Her ears and tail were always UP�she was nicknamed "Tail-in-the-air"," Ida-eyeballs", the" Bulldozer" and "The Terrible Tupper Tee". She would TWITCH her head around and make her ears flip, every movement done with confidence and speed. You could never ignore Tupper. She is one of those Goldens that grabs your sleeve as you try to write and make you pet her. She was wonderful therapy for me when I was a hostage piloting Ernie's charter boat by the endless hour on Lake Ontario. I would only have to THINK about petting Tupper, and I would feel better. During the years that we ran a B&B for our fishing customers I'd get up at 3:15 a.m. and would be bustling around the kitchen to get breakfast on the table at 4. Tup, like a hermit crab would lay in wait under the desk watching me with those incredibly large eyes, and when she decided it was time, out she'd come and would hook her front leg around one of my legs and HANG ON while I dragged her around the kitchen! Heart of Disrespect!
Tupper steals everything, but gets the most joy out of taking things belonging to Ernie. You cannot set anything on the ground while doing a job, as she will abscond with everything not tied down, be it a glove, a heavy tool, the directions, or she'll even try to steal the eyeglasses off your face if there is nothing else in reach. Probably her most famous robbery occurred while Ernie was putting posted signs on backboards out in the garage. We'd had an early snowfall of about 3 inches in the driveway, and Tupper snatched up the cardboard box of nails and staples. Ernie's explosive reaction positively DELIGHTED her and she frolicked out into the snowy driveway, shaking the box and distributing the hardware everywhere. After about two hours of talking to himself as he retrieved the tire-killers, Ern was back to talking to Tupper. Thief of Hearts.
When we started obedience competition things got even more interesting. Tup learned the exercises quick as a wink, but then decided it was more fun to do things her way. We were stuck on the drop on recall. Two legs down, and a very bored, stale, hard to motivate (or depend on) Tupper. And she was getting older so her days of jumping were numbered. I finally had an entry that looked like my best chance. We were early in the ring at an outdoor show. Tup was UP and very full of herself. Drop on recall - leave your dog. I called - she charged toward me - I signaled-she dropped - - momentarily - then stood, grinning and wagging her tail. Then she dropped again, this time in a FROG position, throwing her rear legs out behind. The judge and I both had to laugh. "There," I said, "that makes up for one of the times we didn't drop!" Heart of Mischief.
The day she passed her WCX test was a true exhibition of heart. Her flier duck was very alive and spent the whole trip back to the beach clawing at Tupper's face, while she fought her way through a solid mat of lily pads. The memory duck was long and laying in some very still, black water. Tup hunted and hunted and HUNTED� I always feel like there is a little time-clock ticking while a dog is hunting, and after a certain length of time, the dog will just quit. Tup, like the Energizer Bunny, just kept going, WAY beyond what I believed to be her outermost limits. My heart was bursting with pride when she delivered that duck to hand. Heart of Steel.
Tup had 6 litters, several sired by her beloved Rondeau, producing 48 puppies. Enough of them are good enough that she is recognized as an Outstanding Dam. Heart of Fame and Pride.
She is now 15 years old and has taken up the very rude habit of barking at us whenever she wants food, or out, or just to compete with our conversations. She loves to be "bad" - always testing to the limits and, of course, we indulge her and pretend to be upset by her behavior. But in reality, we treasure every moment that she remains with us, knowing all too soon she will be found only in our Heart of Memories.
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