It was in 1991 when we got our first Borzoi and we have been hooked ever since. He was called Trancas The Whistler, pet name Sam or Samski, and he was just over two years old when he came to us. Sadly, we lost him at the age of 13 on Christmas Eve 2001 and we miss him yet. He was a really special boy , so soft and, whilst maybe not the greatest show dog, he will always be "Best in Show" to us.
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Shortly after we got Sam we went to Border Union Championship Show held at Kelso. While there, we visited a friend of ours who had just bred a litter of Birman Kittens. I went to have a look with no intention of having one and it was then our Lovely Keri came into our lives! We called her Keri because of her startling blue eyes. |
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Not long after that our daughter, who handled Sam in the Showring, decided she would like a "little" dog to show too and that is how we got Dream (Howrigg Beautiful Dreamer), a little Black and Tan mini longhair Dachshund, who sadly we lost just six weeks after we lost Sam. She was a little cutie and we all miss her to bits. |
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When Dream was about three years old we got Ludmilla (Vashla Valotta) our Borzoi Bitch. She did quite well in the show ring until she was attacked by two dogs off leads - a staffie and a staffie cross - one of whom went for her and the other went for Robert! That was the end of her show career as the staffie crushed her jaw and caused her teeth to loosen. As these would have given her trouble eventually, we decided it was better to have them removed before this happened. We lost her at the age of 12 on 14th March 2007. She is sorely missed.
Two months after we got Ludmilla, a young friend who was a member of the Ayrshire Junior Handling Club was looking for a puppy and, as we had let her handle Dream on occasions as she did not have a dog of her own, she decided she would like a mini Dachshund too. I had got one all sorted out for her in agreement with her parents but, at the last minute, her parents decided she was not to have it - in fact the evening before we were due to go and pick up the puppy from the Breeder! I phoned the breeder and told her what had happened but agreed to go up and see the puppy anyhow. Not surprisingly, I came back with Brodie (Polinard Creme Chantilly), my little mini cream longhaired Dacchie who will be 11 years old in April. Sadly poor little Brodie went off his legs about 4 years ago as he had a slipped disc but, after months at the hydro pool, we got him back on his feet. Although he now walks with a slightly crooked gait, he has quality of life and that is what is important. He and Faun (Polinard Golden Eye), another little mini cream longhaired Dacchie, have great fun playing together. Faun will be seven years old in May and is from the same breeder as Brodie.
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After I lost old Sam and little Dream, I said there would be no more. That lasted until 2003 when handsome Rye (Mischran Coming Thru' The Rye) joined the gang, followed just over a year later by the baby of the family, our darling Pellow (Mischran Zarak) both lovingly bred by Mr H and Mrs A Baker of Mischran Borzois. |
In 2007, Rye & Pellow appeared in a book called Polly & Friends written by Gill Pavey.
That is a brief history of our super dogs and of course Keri the Birman Cat!
Eunice and Robert Anderson
Burns' Country
March 2006
