New Homes

It's been hopping around here since last Thursday when Debbie Claussen and Lisa Newton arrived from California to see the pups, select their girl and take her back to CA. We had so much fun for the three days they were here.

I have to give Lisa and Debbie credit. It was FREEZING while they were here but they were up every morning doing woods walks with me, the pups and the girls. One day it was 4 degrees and I think they had on all of the clothes that they had packed, but they were out there trooping around.

Debbie and Lisa took home Miss Yellow last Saturday. I haven't gotten the final word on her name but I think she is going to be called Taitt (after Champagne Taittinger www.taittinger.com). Taitt will be doing conformation, obedience, tracking and field. Neither Lisa nor Debbie has gotten hooked on agility yet but I suspect it is only a matter of time. Taitt took the 6-hour flight to CA in stride and has eased into Lisa's house without problem. She wasn't eating for a few days but is sleeping through the night and having fun with Lisa's three other dogs, all of whom are O'Reilly descendants.

On Monday, Sue Weider and I packed up the pups for their eye clearances. Everyone passed with flying colors and the majority were very good. Mr Green got a stern talking to from the ophthalmologist and then he was a good boy :-).

On Thursday, Sue was back with her friend Sandy to pick up Mr Red. I think he is going to be called Wyeth but I don't know what his registered name is going to be. Sue? Mike? Have you all decided on his name yet? Sue and Mike's pup is going to be doing agility, field and hopefully conformation.

Friday, it was time for Miss Pink to head home with Carol Stepczuk and Blanche Wisniewski. She is going to be known as Chase and her registered name is Gaylan's Free Run Chardonnay. Here is a description of "Free Run Chardonnay:"

Free run is exactly what it sounds like: the juices that naturally flow off the freshly harvested grapes before they go into the destemmer/crusher. They are the pure essence of grape core, with no skin contact, and no influence of seed. The resulting wine is pale like straw, as clear and fresh as a spring day, and brilliantly executed.

Doesn't that sound great! Fresh as a spring day! Brilliantly executed! Hope she can live up to this. Chase is doing great in her new home and Auntie Kite is learning to play gently with her. Blanche and Carol plan to do tracking, agility, field and maybe other stuff with her.

Saturday, Maggie Lukiewicz came to pick up Mr Green and Gina and Clark Koertner flew in from Chicago. Mr Green is now Scorch, officially Gaylan's Rimfire. Rimfire is an Australian winery (www.rimfirewinery.com.au/). They describe themselves as the "Real Deal" so hopefully Scorch will be the "Real Deal" golden retriever. I spoke to Maggie this morning. Scorch is settling in well, doing his woods walks, learning that stealing McDuff's cookies is not a good idea and generally being a good pup. Maggie and Scorch will be doing field, agility, obedience and conformation.

And finally, Mr Blue departed this morning for frigid Chicago with Gina and Clark. Andy and I so enjoyed having a few days to get to know this young couple. They are so excited about their new pup. He is going to be known officially as Gaylan's First Harvest (he was the first born in the litter) and I think his call name is going to be Schafer. He will be Clark and Gina's companion and Clark's hunting companion. Hopefully, they'll do some hunt tests, too.

So, the Wino's have been launched and the house is quiet again. I'll reclaim the dining room later today and get everything readied for Corey and Tango's litters. In the meantime, we all need some rest and time to train the girls. Thanks to all of you who visited, brought gifts, joined me for vet visits, tested and helped out with the pups. I've come to believe that it takes a village to raise a litter and you guys are the best village around! Congratulations to all the new owners and hugs to those babies.

For those of you who have followed these puppies through my blog, thanks for reading. It's been a fun way to share the pups with you. I've heard from many people--old friends, new friends and friends I haven't met yet--who have enjoyed the blog. Thanks for your feedback. I'll be taking a break for a while but may offer some thoughts about other things until the next litter comes along.

In the meantime, you can follow the Wine litter and meet the rest of our dogs on our website at www.gaylans.com.