I am sad to say that we lost Troops last night after he collapsed at home yesterday afternoon.

Trooper was one of the the "Brew x Flutter" kids, a mating that proved very successful and was repeated several times. Although he was getting on in years and looking a bit frail over the last few months, his loss came as quite a shock and even though we had been warned yesterday that the vet wasn't all that optimistic we hoped that he would pull through.

Troops was a very special dog, we didn't get him until he was nearly 8, but he was one of the dogs who transformed our kennel. Incredibly focused when running and a brilliant lead dog, he was the sort of dog who would have run himself to the point of exhaustion if you let him. He literally beamed with pleasure after a run, he enjoyed it so much.

We originally had him as a dog to go on my team, but the first time I ran him on the day we got him, although he hadn't run for quite some time and was unfit and a bit overweight, he still outran my team and immediately progressed onto Graham's. He never let us down, always gave his best and his passing will leave a huge gap in the kennel. As we have said before, it has been a pleasure and a privilege to have him here with us.

So sorry to hear of your loss 

Was he the last living member of that litter?
I took on his sister, Donna, when she was 10 and even then she was, quite simply, an amazing sleddog. She lead my team so perfectly that if I called a turn twice (as I usually do) she looked round disgusted as if to say ' make up your mind stupid human!'

Treasure the memories.

Brian

No, we still have Chalkie here    Another great lead dog, but you have to get the timing right with Chalkie or he makes his own decisions!

Chalkie and Trooper were always great at passing too, not a glance at the other team and I have passed a horse with Trooper leading, the horse was right on the side of the trail about a foot away and Troops never even looked!

We are lucky to have some of Chalkie's kids here, but they have a lot to live up to!

Thinking of Trooper today, I have smiled through my tears, so yes, I will treasure those memories, great dogs like those don't come along all that often.

Sue

Sorry to hear about Troops Sue, thinking of you all.