A bad start with a good ending......
Actually the litter that produced "Beccy" was not the one we had planned for "Tara," her dam.
Tony Meiehofer of Lorralane Kennel fame had told us that we would have to go out of our line (which he created, by the way) soon and introduce new blood to our kennels
Liz & Miles Gunter, of the Guntop Kennels had imported a new dog into the country. This dog was Ch Salgray's Argo of Memory Lane. We had not seen the dog other than his photo, so I rang Liz up for some information and a chat. After setting the date for the mating I read as much as I could about Salgray's kennels, and saw as many photo's of Salgray's Boxer's as I could.
Finally the day arrived and I was in Sydney with Tara waiting for the big moment. When Liz paraded (Bobby) Ch Salgray's Argo of Memory Lane my heart picked up several beats. He was a magnificent species of the breed. He was alert, good natured, and said, "Look at me!"
Miles finally returned from his day at the office, and after we had afternoon tea we proceeded to the mating room. Tara was in full bloom and waiting, Bobby was only interested in playing with me. Now my heart dropped several beats, had I come all the way from Melbourne for nothing?
I was devastated to say the least! Liz said "perhaps you have counted the days wrongly And she is on the way out". I said, "no I am sure the day is right, bring out another dog and we'll see if he is interested."
Liz brought out Ch Gun Top Rocket Man, a brindle and white dog, which to be honest, wasn't my type. We had planned on an all red litter sired by Bobby. I had planned for Rocket Man to check her out, thus proving she was ready to mate, and then bring Bobby back to try again. Before any of us realised it he had mated her.
| She was a beautiful puppy |
Puppy in Show at 9 month |
But they say all bad starts have a good ending and that is how it was to be and history was created! In the litter were 5 bitches and 2 dogs. One of the bitches was a beautiful red brindle that we named Taratan Shower Bonnet. Ch Taratan Shower Bonnet (Rebecca) had 4 lovely sisters including one red/white (which we subsequently bred from.)
She had a relatively short career as we lost "Beccy" to cancer when she was 6 years old. She had two litters, one to Ch. Taratan Steppin in Fame, & one to Am.Ch. Merrilanes Golden Gloves. Unfortunately she did not have a great time whelping, as we lost several puppies, and apart from one bitch we kept, the others went to pet homes.
