Blue Knight Labradors - Spotlight: Boldcrest Catch The Wind ~ "Mandy"

Five Most Popular:

Admin Login

Administrator

We have homes in Southern California and North Idaho. In the past 28 years we have served on the Board of two Labrador clubs, holding neary every office and committee that one can hold in a dog club. We were founding members of a local club in North end of So. Cal., and we are active members of the San Diego LRC. Our next move will be to join a club or two in the North West! We started in Labradors in 1980. We love the Labrador Breed, and hope to enjoy the company of Labs forever. We have all three colors accepted in the Labrador Retriever Standard (Black, Yellow and Chocolate). If you're looking to enjoy some photos of Labs, or if you're trying to learn about the breed, we hope we have provided what you're looking for, and that you enjoy browsing the site. This site is intended to help people learn about the breed.

We believe the Labrador Retriever is one of the best all-around dogs available. We can't imagine our lives without them. We are, and always will be, actively involved in the promotion and protection of the Labrador Retriever. Showing our dogs gives us a lot of pleasure!

Spotlight: Boldcrest Catch The Wind ~ "Mandy"

Mandy was bred by Barbara Davis (owner of Ch. Bold Aaron). I was still new in the breed. Everyone who has been in dogs for any length of time has the memory of one dog that was the 'perfect' dog in our mind. For me, it was Ch. Bold Aaron ~ "Aaron". Mandy was the granddaughter of Aaron, and the daughter of Ch. Strinesdale Black Rod. Barbara agreed to co-own Mandy with me, and I brought her home when she was 10 mos old. Little did I know that Mandy would be our foundation bitch. Nearly every bitch (and most of the dogs) in the kennel goes back to Mandy somewhere in her pedigree. She stamped a look on my black bitch line that comes through even today, some five generations later.

The following photo was of Mandy (far right) her daughter next to her, and two of her granddaughters on the left.

Mandy was a gentle soul, who did everything she could to please us. She easily completed her C.D. with Dan as her handler. Field work was initially more difficult, as Mandy just didn’t seem to grasp the notion of going out to get the bird. She amazed Dan, when after some time of trying to teach her to retrieve birds, she went to her first working certificate practice, and ran as though she had been hunting with Dan all her life. With an eight week old litter of puppies at home, Mandy earned her W.C. without any difficulty at all. Dan's favorite memory of her, was when they went to Tulelake California with friends, and when all three of the men shot one duck each (at the same time), Mandy went out and retrieved all three ducks in rapid succession, returning to the water quickly, and bringing each duck to the man who had shot that individual bird.

Her last litter was the subject of a story I wrote about that litter: Thankful For The Labrador The story is a tribute to Mandy's temperament.

We called Mandy our little "Peter Pan"~She never grew up.

One cannot talk about Mandy, without talking about her kennelmate Sugar (our first Champion). Sugar and Mandy were inseparable. They were best friends in the truest sense. Where you found one, you would find the other. They slept together, they ate together, they played together. When Sugar Died at the age of 12 1/2, Mandy turned inward. There was no pulling her out of it. Her bright eyes grew dull, her muzzle gray. Mandy died, also at the age of 12 1/2 in Sept. 1998, just seven months after Sugar. She has left us with the most beautiful legacy...her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren.

Last Updated ( Sunday, 12 July 2009 )