Tuesday 29 March 2011

German Wirehaired Pointer Club AGM March 2011

On Sunday it was the Club AGM which as usual was held at Stoneleigh Village Hall in Warwickshire. Sadly but not surprisingly, the AGM was poorly attended. 2010 saw big changes on the Committee not least with the resignation of Claire Shaw the longstanding Secretary of the Club. In recognition of her dedication to the German Wirehaired Pointer Club, members attending the AGM voted in favour of Claire being award Honorary Life Membership. More recently the Rescue Co-ordinator Ian Roberts resigned. The closing of the year saw a mass exodus from the Committee, with only two new nominations being put forward, leaving several vacancies unfilled. A new Rescue Co-ordinator has been co-opted onto the Committee in the form of Ms Una Russell. Hopefully, the old adage 'a new broom sweeps cleanly' will apply and Una will be the much needed breath of fresh air that Rescue needs. The role of Rescue Co-ordinator can be a thankless task and certainly a very time consuming one but we would like to wish Una all the best in this new venture. I think this year may prove to be a pivotal year for the Breed - make or break as it were. One that will either bring the Breed together or send it further on the route of self destruction...

Saturday 19 March 2011

Rieyonne Kommanchi For Klancraig - Roman

Today we awoke to a beautiful, warm and sunny spring morning. Imagine our shock when we got downstairs and discovered that our wonderful spotty boy had passed away peacefully in his sleep.
It was first confirmed that Roman had an inoperable tumour under his ribs in August last year and a series of X rays taken by our vet also suggested another tumour in his digestional tract. Although we continued to raw feed him, we immediately stopped giving him whole bone since it was very apparent that he was experiencing difficulty digesting anything other than soft foods.
Roman managed the autumn despite having several 'off' days during the cold, wet winter months but on the whole coped with his condition fairly well.
Sadly over the last week, Roman's health took a turn for the worst and we knew the time was drawing close to having to make the awful decision to let him go.
Little did we know when we said our goodnights to the dogs last night that we were also saying our goodbyes to Roman.

A lifetime of living with dogs and I have never lost one peacefully in it's sleep, so we are blessed that Roman chose his time to leave us and did so in the safety and comfort of his own home, surrounded by his family and companions. Why then do I still feel dreadfully guilty that I did not know his time was so close and just say those last words of farewell?
Roman's passing is certainly the end of an era - nearly twenty years of owning dalmatians. They are a truly wonderful breed and we have been fortunate to live with four beautiful dogs - Pip, Kromwell, Phaedra and Roman but Roman was a cut above the rest; a kind and gentle boy who can never be replaced and will never be forgotten.
We have all shed a tear today. It is amazing how the passing of one little spotty dog has changed the dynamics of our household so much. He wasn't a noisy dog but the house has certainly been very quiet and Fergus especially has been milling around whining, obviously wondering where his bestest buddy has gone.
Rest in peace old boy - run free at the Bridge, no more laboured breathing, no stiffness, bright and white once more and reunited with all your old chums who have been waiting to greet you.
Reiyonne Kommanchi For Klancraig - Roman - 15 April 1997 to 19 March 2011

Tuesday 15 March 2011

DFS Crufts 2011 - German Wirehaired Pointers

Last week saw the arrival of DFS Crufts which for anyone showing their dog in the UK is the highlight of the show calendar. This year as last, we only took Lottie (pictured here being handled by our friend Mandy Hayes) and our youngster Winnie, despite having 'qualified' had to stay at home.
Both Lottie and Winnie are docked - this is possible since the current docking ban made an exemption for certain working dogs and thus kennels like ours are still able to dock. However, dogs docked after the ban came into force (6 April 2007) may not be shown at a show where the public are charged a fee for admission. Hence Winnie was unable to attend.
Docked and Denied is a campaign spearheaded by Wendy Oxman (Wendavia GWP's) which hopes to voice opposition to this ban by people like ourselves who wish to show and work their dogs competitively and Wendy and her team did a sterling job at Crufts advertising this campaign.
The docking issue aside, we had a lovely day out. Our judge this year was Mrs Pat Dempster (Benreeda GWP's) who had a respectable entry given that so many young docked dogs were absent. As usual, Lottie showed her little socks off - she really is a pleasure to handle in the ring and we were delighted with her 3rd place in the Open Bitch class.