:Happy 8th Birthday

Today is Vickie’s Frankie’s 8th Birthday, along with his siblings Rose, Tony, Eve and Birdie. These puppies were born at my friend Steve’s house. I was somewhere, in some other state, at some swimming pooling. Their dam, Danielle, delivered them within an hour and a half, early in the evening. Talk about an easy whelper!

Nine weeks earlier Julie left a message for me…after several hours of partying with Lhasa Apso people during the Fargo dog shows. “I don’t want to show other peoples’ dogs. I want to kick butt with our dogs. When you breed Danielle to Aaron I’d like a male. His name will be either It Had To Be U, call name Tony, or Gotta Be Me, call name Frankie.”

We were still in the recovery phase from RD. It seems like a long time ago. Since 1996, the year RD was confirmed in our breeding program, so much water has passed under the bridge. This particular litter represented the first second-generation litter of the New Plan; biopsy status known on both parents and all grandparents. I had already decided to go forward as a breeder. Julie still wasn’t sure. She was showing dogs for other people, seriously thought she’d never breed Lhasa Apsos again.

Look what drinking wine with other Lhasa Apso breeders can do! She even had call names chosen!

I’ve long since lost contact with Birdie’s owner. Eve is with Steve, as she has been for all but 2 1/2 months of her life. Julie selected Tony. He quickly finished his Championship, winning most…maybe all…his points as a puppy. Initially I kept Frankie and Rose. Frankie went to Vickie when he was ??? six months old. Vickie suggested he go to kindergarten at her house. Ha! He must have been a slow learner. He’s still there.

Here’s what Vickie wrote this week… “And speaking of TaterMaterMan, he has a birthday on Saturday!!  Can’t believe he’s turning eight.  It was just yesterday he was my tousle-headed puppy.  He’s taken on a new job lately … squirrel hunter extraordinaire!  Quite serious about it, too.  If that bushy-tailed bugger ever falls off the fence, he’s a goner.”

From left to right, Rose, Tony and Frankie..

When Rose was a little puppy, 4 or 5 weeks old, she told me her name was Rose. I know that sounds strange, but that’s how it seemed. I was in the puppy room and this clear message came to me. “My name is Rose.” I took that, combined my hope for a great renewal with our breeding program and came up with FFT U Just Remember as her registered name. It’s from The Rose sung by Bette Midler.

just remember in the winter
far beneath the bitter snows
lies the seed that with the sun’s love
in the spring becomes the rose