nerves like nylon, nerves like steel

Well, what a long week. It feels like we’ve been on a roller coaster.

After we weren’t able to visit one breeder last weekend to see their facilities, we did more web searching for a reputable breeder in the St. Louis area. We found a couple of people to contact on the American Spaniel Club’s website. I emailed Sandy Roland of S’Posan’s Cockers. Sandy is involved with the Cocker Spaniel Club of Easter Missouri as well as a breeder and agility trainer of cockers.

I ended up talking with Sandy for almost an hour one evening, and she recommended a couple of breeders in the area. After emailing back and forth with a couple of them, Jane and Paul Moody of Moody’s Countryside Cockers said they had a couple of pups available. Additionally, they would be in our area Wednesday evening and could bring them down for us to see.

So now we have a 6 month old parti-color cocker running around our house: Ignatius Thistlewhite, named for a character in the Christmas special The Year Without a Santa Claus

He’s really adjusted to our family well. Having a pup is quite different from Wuf when he older, and he can hear us!

After 3 years, chele and I are ready to bring a new dog into our family. It’s been almost 3 years since we had to put Wuf down, and while we still miss him, we miss having the companionship of a dog in the house. The kids are old enough to have some responsibility with the dog as well.We’re looking for another cocker spaniel, but it’s been hard finding a reputable breeder. We’ve done a lot of web research but it’s difficult to tell the quality of a breeder from a website and pictures.
The right breeder and puppy is out there for us, the challenge is finding him.

P.S.: Wuf, we miss you.