A Dream and A Promise

 

rone was the first step to building a foundation of training and offspring for our business

but little Rone puppies were never to be...

 

“Here’s the deal,” said the dad to the 12-year-old girl. 

 

"If you save half of the cost of the dog that you would like to purchase, I will match that amount.” 

 

That was absolutely already done in Megan’s mind. She was a 12-year-old girl who from the time she was 2 years old, had a room full of stuffed animals; carried around, dressed, and generally smothered our non-compliant (LOL!) Shih Tzu, and persistently worked to get her hands on any form of dog that she possibly could. She started to research her favorite kinds of dogs and put her plan into action for achieving her part of the bargain.  She began saving immediately and obtained her first "real" job at Chick-fil-A at the age of 14.

 

As a family, we began to explore what arenas might be available for opportunities for Megan to learn, train, and compete in some sort of sport work with her dog. After much research, conversation, and thought, we collectively decided that adding a specifically bred, working-line German shepherd to our family would be the right choice for us. 

 

Unknowingly, these events set the stage for our family to move down a path to becoming something we never imagined:  a family business that would have the privilege of producing and training

our very own

Brave and Faithful K9s!

 

We were not totally unfamiliar with the amazing aspects of the breed since our family pets for the previous 20 years had always included these incredible canines. We had even chosen to allow one of our family German shepherds to have a one-time litter.  We loved this experience and spent much of our time with our little fur balls.  We had just never considered entering into the sport-work arena that is available or becoming professional breeders.

 

We finally found the puppy of all of our dreams...

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After close to two years of researching and searching, we found... Platon z Jirkova Dvora (Rone)-An amazing, attentive, interactive, little fluff ball German shepherd imported straight from the Czech Republic. Rone would become our joy and sadness all in one.

 

The purchase of Rone was really where Megan’s introduction to and love for training in the sport of IGP/Schutzhund (which was completely unfamiliar territory to any us) began to unfold.  In order to obtain breeding rights to Rone, the contractual requirement was put in place to obtain BH and IGP1 (IPO1) titles.  We agreed to set the course for this goal, and at the age of 14, Megan ordered her entire world around learning to take care of this new little puppy’s needs, train him in the basics of obedience, and relentlessly learn about the Schutzhund sport through reading, videos, blogs, websites, and private training; really, anything that she could get her hands on. 

 

Our Heartbreak

 

At the age of 2, we scheduled Rone for what we thought would be a routine hips and elbows exam.  It was not routine at all.  Our conversation of future plans and hopes for Rone and all that we would do with him were quieted and crushed when the veterinarian stepped into our room to inform us that Rone would NOT pass his hip exam; his left hip was mildly dysplastic.  We were stunned.  Tears immediately began to run down Megan’s face along with sobs on our 2 hour ride home.  It was a devastating time for all of us.  The questions of what the longevity of Rone’s joint health and comfort would be ran through all of our minds.  The excruciating feeling of loss of the exciting dreams that had been in the process of developing for over 3 years, and the dedication to the hundreds and hundreds of hours of training that Megan had literally put her whole heart into-gone in a moment.

 

Learning to Persevere

 

Much was learned from this difficult time and healing has taken its place. We all refused to set aside our dreams despite some of the heartbreaks and adversities that have been experienced along this journey. It is still important for Megan to finish the goal that she originally committed to with Rone regardless of the fact that Rone will never get to be part of our breeding program. She is currently working toward obtaining Rone’s IGP1 (IPO1) title....

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they did it!!!

november 23, 2019

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Megan & rone IGP1 trial pictures

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