We are so glad to hear you are still breeding as you are, by far, the best breeder we have dealt with. Our practically-perfect Kati dog manages to meet all our needs all by herself so no pup for us yet. Kati, who is nearly six already, (Oct 2017 out of Lacie) does something fun everyday – we go skiing, hiking by the house, hunting/hiking elsewhere or go out on the miles-long sandy shore of the river across from the end of our driveway. Kati has hunted grouse quite a bit here in BC and works chukar several times a week above our house. We are hoping to get her out more on some pheasants and Arizona quail. We keep hoping numbers will improve as they have been rather dismal. Kati is such a cheerful dog. She is happy to do whatever we are doing – hunting is great but so are water retrieves, lap-naps, playing ball in the yard, or playing with her beloved stuffies. She knows her 11 different stuffies all by name and finds them every night before her home-cooked dinner. She appears to believe that the dog with the most stuffies wins… And always insists on taking one along on vacation. Kati did develop a little growth on her forehead last winter (isthmus follicular cyst) and one in her ear (pedunculated fibroadnexal hamartoma) which we had removed so she had to wear this silly snood for a while. But she was totally cheerful about it. Whatever mom wants… She is just a bit spoiled. She can see anyone walking past on Shuswap Rd or turning up the long driveway. She can also peruse the southern half of our land and alert us to any deer, bear, coyotes, etc. Of course, at night she has her spot in our bed with her own pillow. She expects to be properly tucked in every night before we brush our teeth. She is such a good sleeper – never bothering us at all during the night. She is wonderful about staying home alone, too, on the rare occasions that we retired folks have to leave her. No panic like our previous vizslas. I can see, on the security cameras, that she is calm, just watching for our return. And calm when we return too. In mid-May we had another rattlesnake in the yard. This time right ON the patio. Fortunately I spied it before Kati did and she went to get Dad as instructed. I took her to Natural Solutions Rattlesnake Aversion Training in Spokane (sponsored by the hunting dog group there) in late June and it was a good thing since she encountered a rattler on our morning hike just a week later. She sprang back and I called her to me right away, not giving her any chance to go in for a second sniff. Natural Solutions (out of southern California) ran an outstanding program – the best I have experienced by far, but Kati still has an abundance of curiosity, as any good pointer should. This time of year the snakes are rutting and our vicinity seems to be ground zero so we often head to the river midday instead of going on our early morning hikes. Yes, rattlesnakes DO swim but, so far, I have never encountered one on our landing or out on the island. Kati is still about 40 lbs – the perfect size for us – big enough so we don’t have to worry too much about eagles but small enough for me to pick up and bathe in the laundry tub. We are so thankful to have such a wonderful healthy good-natured companion and hope she continues to be well and active for many more years. She is the light of our lives!
- Kurt and Mary Ellen Keskimaki - July 16, 2023