This week Thunder turns 10.  Time files.  Since 10 is a milestone birthday, I thought I would reminisce about how we came to own Thunder, our first Chesapeake Bay Retriever.

Before Thunder we had a Golden Retriever.  He came to us as an adult from a breeder who had kept him for her breeding program.  She changed her mind about using him and decided to sell him.  She felt he was too nice a dog not to have his own family.  After initially trying rescue, we put out feelers to other Golden breeders looking for an adult dog and were referred to her by one of them.  We set up a meeting and it all worked out so that we brought him home.

He was a sweet dog and lived to the ripe old age of 13 before we lost him to kidney failure.  He was a healthy dog all of his life, but when his kidneys started to go, we knew his time with us was limited. We were heartbroken and did not want to be without a dog for very long.  When you loose a beloved dog, you can never replace them, but another dog might make the loss a bit easier.

The problem was that hubby and I did not necessarily agree on what kind of dog we should get for our next dog.  We agreed that we would get a purebred dog from a reputable breeder.  Also we wanted a puppy but did not want to wait too long for one.

Lucky for us the big benched dog show rolled around in March of 2006 so we went.  They do not sell puppies at dog shows but it is a fabulous place to meet different breeds of dogs and talk to their breeders.  To their credit, the breeders we spoke to told us both the good and the bad points about their breed.  Any responsible breeder should do the same.  For example, one breed we were considering was crossed off the list because they have a very short life expectancy.  Another because they were prone to cancer.

Hubby really wanted a hunting companion, so we checked out the retriever section of the show.  Once hubby laid eyes on the Chessie section, I think he was sold.  Here was a hunting breed that had changed very little from when it was originally developed in the 1800’s.  Few retriever breeds can say that.  Most have been watered down to be companion animals which is fine for families, but these dogs do not always make the best hunters.

Storm’s breeder had some very nice dogs at the show so we stopped to .  He educated us about the breed and all the characteristics that are unique to Chessies.  They are smart and loyal and make fabulous hunting partners, but they are not for everybody.

Sounds perfect!

The only problem was that he did not have any puppies and had a wait list.  We would be at the bottom of the list.  We really did not want to wait too long for a puppy.  Our hope was to bring the puppy home before we lost our Golden although we knew that was asking a lot.

Lucky for us he knew of a fellow breeder who had just had a litter and possibly still had pups available.  Great!  We contacted her and in fact she did have a male puppy left.  After a thousand questions from the breeder and our questions about temperament and health clearances, we were tentatively on the list for a puppy.  We still had to meet her and the pups, but that would have to wait until the pups were a bit older.

I will be the first to admit that wanting a puppy now is probably not the best attitude to have when picking a puppy.  Sometimes though luck is on your side and things just work out.  That was the case when we got Thunder from a long time respected Chessie breeder.  Our main objective was to get a hunting dog, but we got so much more with our first Chesapeake Bay Retriever.

More tomorrow.