| We lost Cody this morning. I took him for a walk by the river, here in Montana. He lay down in the grass, on a beautiful cool morning, and just stopped breathing. I assume his adrenal tumor burst and he bled internally. We will bury him this afternoon at a beautiful hillside behind our veterinarian's clinic.<br><br>Cody was a fighter to the end. He enjoyed life to the fullest until his last day. We have taken him training every day, but recently have just given him a fairly short single, just to keep him happy. Yesterday we gave him a flyer, about 150 yards, down a steep hill, across some water and up another hill. He almost broke, then pinned the bird and came back with his tail up high and wagging like mad. Last night he jumped on the bed and clowned around as usual.<br><br>We purchased Cody from Carol Lantiegne�s Adirondac Goldens as a seven week old puppy. We were both working at the time, and took him to the office every day. Evenings we would take him to a friend�s pond, and let him retrieve tennis balls. All the training we gave him was basic obedience. When he was 14 months old, we both retired, due to Sally�s health. Shortly thereafter Carol invited us to a Hunt Test, where she was running some of her dogs. We didn�t even know what a Hunt Test or Field Trial was. We went to the HT and were instantly hooked. Carol helped us tremendously with his initial training, and Bob Reckart also helped get him in a Hunt Test mode. He got his JH title that fall, and his SH the following spring. Meanwhile we had sold our house, and started living in a motor home full time, allowing us to chase the sun. Master Hunter proved to be more of a challenge, but he got his title by the time he was three. Then he went on to pass 23 MH tests, including nine in a row at one point. |
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A newly crowned Outstanding Sire
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| We met Roger and Kaye Fuller at the 2003 GRCA Specialty, and they invited us to spend the winter at their ranch in Texas. They are wonderful hosts, and have bred very nice Goldens for many years. Their property also offers great training grounds. The first winter we trained with the Fullers and with Bruce Curtis. In the fall of 2004, Karl and Cyndi Gunzer arrived at Fuller�s, and set up their trailer next to our motor home. We started training with them; Sally and I were their bird-boys that winter. Karl soon convinced us that Cody needed more of a challenge, and we started running him in Field Trials. He ran 11 Quals, and finished 8 of them. Later he won an Amateur second, and an Open third. Had he started Field Trials at an earlier age, and had he had a handler with more than my feeble skills, he would have gone much further.<br><br>Cody�s HT and FT achievements were nothing compared to his love and companionship. He was always full of fun, and loved to set people and other dogs up. He lived most of his life with us in the tight confines of a motor home, and made every moment enjoyable. Our life in retirement would have been very dull, and probably very short, were it not for Cody�s enthusiasm and love. He was bred many times and recently was awarded the GRCA Outstanding Sire award. Pilot, our three year old Cody son, who has won two Quals, lives on in memory of Cody. |
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