Although my human family is small (a no-strings partner, daughter, not-quite son-in-law, mother, brother and sister and their spouses, and two unattached nephews) my extended doggy family gives me hundreds of connections.
Having bred Dals for over 40 years, with many of our pups going to other show breeders, Paisley dogs and their descendants are found in pedigrees from coast to coast and all over Canada. It was fun to check out Holly's pedigree and see Winston just a few generations back, a brother to our Morris, and son of Rob and Eloise. One year at the National we went through the catalog and figured out that something like 75% of the dogs entered probably had some Paisley in their pedigrees. Such fun to have so many "kids", "grandkids" and their descendants, our extended dog family. Because of time and space issues, we've never done this on a large scale but we've made our mark and it's been fun to follow the careers of top winning and/or producing dogs who go back to Pooka, or Jocko, or Taylor, or Rob, or Watson, or other special Paisley dogs.
It's particularly fun when a line based on our dogs has gone on to be very successful. We can enjoy the wins of those dogs and the success of their breeders. More family! The dogs have their human connections of course and some of their owners become dear friends, and if the families have kids they are also part of our extended family and we follow them through school, college, athletic events, and higher education. It's particularly fun with they go on to Vet School!
It's rewarding to follow the careers of the doggy kids and grandkids and enjoy their successes, whether it's championships, Special's careers, careers as top producers, or just their careers as beloved family pets. I get great satisfaction from the latter stories too, and look forward to the Christmas cards with the family pictures that include the beloved Dalmatian.
Thank you all for enriching my life!
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