Hi,
My husband (wirrah, aka Greg) introduced himself the other day and a lot of what he said is relevant to me! We live about 2 hours drive north of Sydney in Australia on a small property. We have had 8 cockers, 4 of which are still with us and, with the exception of our baby, Ellie, all have been rescues.
I come from cocker-loving parents. My mother had 2 cockers (a blue and a solid black), both of which had "of Ware" dogs in their pedigrees. My father had 2 solid reds, but I don't have any idea of their breeding. As a child, we had a solid red girl, who was with us for 16 years. When Greg and I married, I warned him that one day I would have 2 cockers named "Polly" and "Bertie". As someone who had never had a pet dog, I think Greg hoped that this was some flight of fancy, and would pass. It is now a source of some mirth that while we have had/still have Annie, Lucy, Phantom, Gem, Mia, Ellie, Portia and Caddie, we are STILL waiting for Polly and Bertie!
We moved from Sydney 7.5 years ago, partly because we wanted more room for the pups, and they love the space and all the interesting things they get to chase (ducks, parrots, cows, motor bikes, etc). We have become very involved with the Cocker Spaniel Society here in NSW and with our local obedience club.
I usually let Greg sign up to online groups, and just lurk in the background. The reason I was lured out of lurking mode is that as well as a cocker-lover, I am a migraine sufferer and am keen to get some info on how others cope with cockers AND migraines (two things that don't always mix
). I have also followed with a lot interest the progress of Damian, Brocky and Rommel. We assessed Brocky when he was still in the pound and I am SO chuffed with what Damian has done and how well Brocky is getting on
.
Thanks to Lexi for introducing us to this forum, and hi to Jane, who we met last year at the Australian Cocker Nationals.
For those who missed Greg's introduction, photos of our four legged crew can be seen at
www.pbase.com/wirrah/rescues.
Cheers,
Lynne
PS If Mrs Bridges is really interested in red boys, take a look at my Phantom. I think he's at least as handsome as Byron and if Mrs B is keen to travel, summer in Australia is pretty nice!
