Archive for the ‘Rattlebridge Cavaliers’ Category

July 20th is (or was as I am late in posting this) Al’s 80th birthday.  When I met Al on a blind date on January 20, 1984, I knew. After dinner having a drink, I wanted to put my head on his shoulder–the only person in the world that I ever did.  I had talked to Al on the phone for the first time two weeks before I met him; we talked about growing broccoli of all things and about his farm where we subsequently built our log ranch on the river in Delaware, Ohio, before the dogs necessitated we move to our larger farm in Marengo.  After talking to Al, I told my friends that I had met the man I was going to marry.  I was 39, successful in my career, had raised German Shepherds and was judging, doing community theatre, and enjoying my beautiful home in Columbus and the fact that my lovely mother lived with me;  in other words, I was used to doing exactly as I wanted as I had the freedom to do so.  I had ended a twelve year relationship with a  much older Middle Eastern  man because although he gave lip service to my dog involvement, he was really a control freak who little by little was reining me in.  I finally realized that I could not walk ten paces behind and ended it; I thought as used to my independence as I was and as driven in my career and dogs as I was that I would never marry or risk having another significant relationship as I could not allow myself to give up so much of me again. 

Then I met Al and married him in six weeks start to finish.  I was not going to let him go!  I asked him what first attracted him to me and he said “my moxie”–a quality that has driven him crazy ever since.  Al hated New Yorkers because he thought them brazen and pushy; I am from Brooklyn–brazen and pushy.  It took me years to figure out why I often turned Midwesterners off; only a couple of years ago did it dawn on me that Midwesterners are more laid back; not as pushy or as verbally assertive and aggressive as those of us from the East coast especially my Brooklyn. Once I figured this out, I have used being from Brooklyn as my excuse for everything!!!  Anyway, after twenty five years of marriage, we are still working out the kinks!!!  We have gone through a lot together and share the same code of ethics and hopefully incorruptible integrity.  As different as we are on the surface, we think the same way and are really made from the same cloth. Al has been my rock, my security, my refuge, and my love.  Any success that Rattlebridge has enjoyed is due to his steadfastness; I depend on him totally and would be lost without him.

Happy Birthday, Al, and many many more to come.

 Al the Befuddled!!!

Al with his wonderful Tia who was his girl for 16 years:

Below is my favorite picture of Al.  He and Ch. Rattlebridge Kathleen, ROM, were enjoying being on the water in this photo. “Katie” lived to be 14.  One of Al’s fondest memories is showing Katie to two best puppy in show wins at two old club shows beating me handling Ch. Rattlebridge Reginald each day for Best Puppy!!

One of our wedding pictures.

Al looks the same, but I will never be this thin again!!!

I had the honor of judging the Summerfest cluster of shows the fourth of July weekend in Ventura, California, and had a marvelous time as I always do when I judge these shows.  Our hotel was located right on the beach and the shows next door at the fairgrounds. I caught up with some of my judge friends and really enjoyed their camaraderie.  I judged some lovely dogs.during the three days of shows and then traveled to San Diego with my really dear friends Jeff and Tami Byroads who got their first Cavalier “Tilt” from me. Tami recently showed Tilt at the Bay Area Cavalier Club specialty where he won Best Veteran.

The Byroads home is San Diego is truly lovely, but the biggest treat, besides hanging out with my friends, was seeing my “kids:”  Tilt, Winnie and Costume Party.  Friends of Tami and Jeff’s were celebrating a birthday on the beach of the La Jolla Country Club. It was such a lovely night and the food was beyond delicious.  I went to California showing off my weight loss and came back with a bigger girth due to the desserts served at the party. The sunset on the beach was glorious.

Tami and I went to the San Diego zoo!  This Zoo is unbelievable and changed so much since my last visit several years ago.  The elephant exhibit was my favorite, but I enjoyed all we saw, just a little of the huge zoo.  Hopefully, all the walking took off a couple of ounces of dessert. 

I had the opportunity to talk to the Cavalier Club of San Diego about the responsibilities of breeding and ownership.  This is a rather new and very enthusiastic club who put on their first specialty show last February.  I was supposed to judge, but Al’s brain surgery kept me home.  Great club, great club members.   Until next time . . .

Rattlebridge Pistols at Dawn is a son of Ch. Rattlebridge Delta Dawn by Ch. Wildflower Jack-in-the Pulpit.  He is co bred and co owned by my great friend Sherri Meyer and me.

We have great hopes for him in the show ring, but his greatest asset besides his beauty is his outstanding Cavalier temperament.  He has never had a headache!

My friend Sandy just sent me this wonderful photo of her Murphy.  Sandy came to us for a girl, but all I had was this little boy.  I finally convinced Sandy that the boys are always special;  my favorite saying is that Cavalier girls love you, but boys fall in love with you.  Sandy tells me that I was so right (of course!!!); she cannot picture life without Murphy who just earned is Canine Good Citizen and is on his way to therapy dog and maybe other titles. 

My friend Donna reports about her “Casey:”

I just finished reading your “blog” about Wendy and I laughed so hard.  I think you have bred the “woo woo woo” gene into your Rattlebridge dogs.  Casey sounds like he is being neglected and abused anytime he is separated from his favorite humans ( this includes but is not limited to us, all the neighbors, the UPS man, mailman, any company,  his groomer,  and especially his pet-sitter). It’s hard to believe  that he has been with us for almost two years.

He embodies the  “joyous and carefree” description of Cavaliers. He knows every single neighbor, the UPS man brings him treats, and he has multiple play dates on a regular basis. He passed his Rally obedience class  (barely) and was either perfectly behaved or a total non-conformist. 

He continues to visit with Tom at the local assisted living center 
and accompanies him on his Meals on Wheels rounds.  I ran into Casey’s brother Truth or Dare” at a show in  Brooksville, Fl. They look so much alike.

Casey is saying “you sure look like me.”

I went to Tennessee a few weeks ago to visit with my buddy Margaret Valentine in Memphis.  We had our usual happy, relaxed time together just hanging out and going to her lovely lake house at Greer’s Ferry in Arkansas.  Our top winning Cavalier Ch. Rattlebridge Adagio lives with Margaret and I took “Gio” with me to Clarksville, Tennessee, to take  our Kelly who lived with Margaret to her new home in Clarksville, Tennessee where my brother and his wife live.  I had a great time visiting John and his wife Uni and then went on to visit Brenda Radford who was to give Kelly a new home.  Brenda had already embraced our Trixie and Gio’s mother, Ch. Rattlebridge Master Card, “Credit,” when show careers and maternal duties were over.  It almost killed me to let Credit go to a new home as I loved her dearly, but Al and I have always said to do what was best for the dog and at Brenda’s Credit would get much more attention than at home as we had quite a few other dogs at the time.  Credit and Trixie lead enchanted lives at Brenda’s.  It was wonderful seeing the girls once more. Credit is thirteen and still going strong, but I did so want to see her once more because one never knows when she will go to the rainbow bridge.  To see Credit and Adagio together once more was a very teary thrill. In the picture above, you will see Adagio, me (with my double chin, Credit, and the very elegant Brenda Radford.

Leading a queen’s life as she should, Credit loves to snooze on Brenda’s bed. Below is our Kelly who immediately made herself at home at Brenda’s by jumping into the rocker in the kitchen and staking her claim. 

We had a Cavalier get together today at a training facility. We had a short meeting of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel of Central Ohio of which I am an officer.  We then had two conformation training classes for our dogs, mostly puppies or young dogs.  My three new hopefuls conducted themselves quite well since only one of them had been on lead.  They soon got the hang of it and made me very proud.  Rattlebridge Dueling at Dawn and Rattlebridge Danger at Dawn are six month old half brothers from the same mother, Ch. Rattlebridge Delta Dawn.  Miss Delta could not satisfy herself with only one stud dog but bred herself to another that somehow got through a dog door because he found her so irresistible.  AKC allows multiple sire litters with DNA testing.  So all is done and the boys are off and running!  Will post a picture of the both of them soon as I am really excited about them if they continue to develop as well as they have.  Nothing is ever certain in breeding dogs!

Our little girl by Ch. Rattlebridge From Dusk ‘Til Dawn out of Rattlebridge Alice Blue Gown handled herself beautifully for her first time on lead and a venture away from home. Rattlebridge Tete a Tete at Dawn is very sweet,  loving and well behaved The boys, her hooligan first cousins, are not as demure as she which is to be expected!

We had absolutely cold, drizzling, dreary weather today.  My newborn daffodils are really protesting by laying on their sides.  My tulips have all been eaten by deer or rabbits so won’t bloom and I planted at least two hundred bulbs!  The deer come right up to the sitting area by our bedroom window and heat all the birdseed from the squirrel proof bird feeder.  What effrontery!

Until next time . . .

Fourteen years ago, I let a dog named Walk the Walk, Dash, go home with Jim Mineo who has loved him and has cared for him so well over the years.  I just got an email from Dash that I would like to share:

Greetings from one of your pups….”Dash”….Walk the Walk.  I am getting
on in years, 14, but what a good life I have had.  I moved to Canfield Ohio
from Rattlebridge and have always had a companion cocker spaniel to play
with. on occasion even a springer.  I had to show them the ropes and what
was expected of them.  The highlight of my year was always the summer when
my family spent time at their lake house, and the arrival of three
grandsons, oh how they love me!!!! Unfortunately time marches on and I have
lost all my canine companions and am now alone.  I would miss them except
age has taken its toll on me as well and am not as playful as I was in the
early years.  I ma blind, deaf, lost most of my teeth and have seizures, but
I still manage to find my way to the dinner bowl, my bed on a couch in a
bright and warm sun porch, and of course to any friendly hands willing to
give me attention. I just had a haircut last week and look like the puppy
that left Rattlebridge many moons ago. Keep up the good work and breed many
more puppies just like me………Love Dash

I am so touched by Dash’s note and know that I will see him again at the Rainbow Bridge someday.  Stay happy and healthy, Dash.  Thank you, Jim, for loving him so much. 

Also, from Marilee Snyder, a wonderful picture of “Harley” (who really needs to drop a bit of weight!!! as Marilee knows. LOL) waiting patiently to be asked to play in the snow:

I keep meaning to update this blog more frequently, but have been so busy with so much going on in our lives.  First of all yard work, yard work, yard work–both here and on our farm.  I go into a planting frenzy every spring and fall; since this was our first fall at our wonderful new home, I have gone crazy extending flower beds, planting probably much too many bulbs, spruce trees, Washington Hawthorn seedlings from our farm to line our property, split perennials from the farm, and my precious daylilies which have followed me from house to house for almost forty years.  Four weeks of yard work from morning until night does wonders for one’s hands–NOT!!!  Al is thanking my upcoming judging assignment this weekend for forcing me to stop the yard work and get my hands and nails done so I look more “lady like,”  a state to which I have never really aspired. 

Our lovely Ch. Rattlebridge Delta Dawn has her first litter of three boys and a girl which are really darling.  The rest of our dogs are doing great at our new home although I am sure they must miss all the acres that they had to run at the farm.  We do field trips to the farm often for them to run and play. 

I do wish the farm would sell, but the market in our former county is so horrible that we can only hope with the election over that things might pick up.  Please pray for our new President and Vice President that God guides them to bring our country back not only economically but internationally also.  We all have to suck it up and do our best to give back to our country which is the best place to live in the world.

I love the following little story and thought others might enjoy reading it.  “Puppy Size” follows:

This little story has been reprinted many times.  Author seems to be unknown. This is one of the neatest stories you will ever hear. You will know precisely what this little girl is talking about at the end (you’ll want to share this one with your loved ones and special friends)! It is called

“Puppy Size”

Danielle keeps repeating it over and over again. “We’ve been back to this

animal shelter at least five times. It has been weeks now since we

started all of this,” the mother told the volunteer.

“What is it she keeps asking for?”, the volunteer asked.

“‘Puppy size!’” replied the mother.

“Well, we have plenty of puppies, if that’s what she’s looking for.”

“I know… we have seen most of them”, the mom said in frustration.

Just then Danielle came walking into the office.

“Well, did you find one?” asked her mom. “No, not this time,” Danielle

said with sadness in her voice. “Can we come back on the weekend?”

The two women looked at each other, shook their heads and laughed.

“You never know when we will get more dogs. Unfortunately, there’s always

a supply,” the volunteer said.

Danielle took her mother by the hand and headed to the door. “Don’t

worry, I’ll find one this weekend,” she said.

Over the next few days both Mom and Dad had long conversations with her.

They both felt she was being too particular. “It’s this weekend or we’re

not looking any more,” Dad finally said in frustration.

“We don’t want to hear anything more about ‘puppy size’, either,” Mom

added.

Sure enough, they were the first ones in the shelter on Saturday morning.

By now Danielle knew her way around, so she ran right for the section

that housed the smaller dogs.

Tired of the routine, mom sat in the small waiting room at the end of the

first row of cages. There was an observation window so you could see the

animals during times when visitors weren’t permitted.

Danielle walked slowly from cage to cage, kneeling periodically to take a

closer look. One by one the dogs were brought out and she held each one.

One by one she said, “Sorry, but you’re not the one.”

It was the last cage on this last day in search of the perfect pup.

The volunteer opened the cage door and the child carefully picked up the

dog and held it closely. This time she took a little longer.

“Mom, that’s it! I found the right puppy! He’s the one! I know it!” She

screamed with joy. “It’s the puppy size!”

“But it’s the same size as all the other puppies you held over the last

few weeks,” Mom said.

“No…not size… The sighs. When I held him in my arms, he sighed”, she

said.

“Don’t you remember? When I asked you one day what love is, you told me

love depends on the sighs of your heart. The more you love, the bigger

the sigh!”

The two women looked at each other for a moment. Mom didn’t know whether

to laugh or cry. As she stooped down to hug the child, she did a little

of both.

“Mom, every time you hold me, I sigh. When you and Daddy come home from

work and hug each other, you both sigh. I knew I would find the right

puppy if it sighed when I held it in my arms”, she said.

Then, holding the puppy up close to her face, she said, “Mom, he loves

me. I heard the sighs of his heart!”

Close your eyes for a moment and think about the love that makes you

sigh. I not only find it in the arms of my loved ones, but in the caress

of a sunset, the kiss of the moonlight and the gentle brush of cool air

on a hot day. Take the time to stop and listen; you will be surprised at

what you hear. ‘Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the

moments that take our breath away.

Until next time . . .      Meredith

In the past couple of months, we have lost tow of our older Cavalier ladies. Rattlebridge Time after Time loved and owned by Roxy Hayes since “Kelsey” was eight weeks old.  

Roxy bought Time after Time from one of our first litters.  Her sire was my beloved Bounce.  While she did not turn out to be a show girl, she was a wonderful producer beginning Roxy’s Roxian line.  She was also Roxy’s soulmate just as my Bounce, Bandi, and now Clooney have been to me.  Of course, no one comes close to me as my Bandi or as close to Roxy as her Kelsey Sue.  Bounce kids have always been special.

Two weeks ago, I lost my wonderful, yet sometimes annoying, Ch. Rattlebridge Rosie O’Grady, ROM.  Rosie and I had a power play going on since she was a puppy.  She loved me, but certainly would never give me the benefit of showing her utter devotion.  Yet she was devoted to me.  I was the only person who showed her.  She and I were a team and while in the ring she did all I asked, but step out of the ring and she took total control, barking “Yeah, Right.” at me constantly.  She died one month shy of fourteen and I will miss her for a long, long time.  Sleep well, my pushy girl, and give all my other loves a big kiss (in your own sparing way, of course). Tell them one of the benefits of my leaving this earth will be to embrace all my dogs once more as well as hopefully seeing The One who created us all.