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Grendal's Lair
Bremusa aka Brem - she's not just a dog, she's my best friend and my
soulmate.
I had waited about six months for this litter to be born and asked Drew
to pick me out a puppy. Apparently it was the best pick possible, 'cause
now, after having Brem by my side over 5 years, I can say that she's
definitely the once-in-a-lifetime dog. If you asked me if she has any
faults (I exclude the conformational faults), I couldn't figure out any.
No weird habits, nothing. It seems that she's capable of reading my mind
and always acts out of the wish to please me. I don't remember her ever
chewing anything unwanted like books, shoes or furniture, like many pups
do.
I remember how she arrived - I opened her crate door after a 8-hour
plane flight from the States to Finland and a 1,5 hour boat ride from
Finland to Estonia - and she was a mean little bugger, growling every
time I touched the crate or slide my hand in there. It took her about 30
minutes and then she decided she will be my friend, forever.
It has been so easy to train her - as I mentioned she's the most willing
to please dog I've ever had. When I took her out for the first time on
the leash, I was amazed by her behaviour - I would have said she was
born with a leash on. It wasn't quite as easy for her to accept my
boyfriend though - took her almost two years until she totally approved
him and started to think of him as her "own" LOL
I recall how I once returned from our evening walk with Gueisha, my
older female who was over a year old then, and Brem, who was about 4
months. It was a dark winter night and we came through the forest,
taking the path which only leads to my house, so I always let the dogs
offleash there. That night someone else was there - some men with
chainsaws who were stealing fir-trees to sell at Christmas time. When
one of them started to walk towards me with a saw in his hands, I felt
awkward and scared. I knew that Gueisha with her fearful nature wouldn't
be able to protect me if needed and I was right, when she saw the men
she fleed, hoping to make it quick to the safe place - home. My puppy
Brem who was running alongside with her also decided to trot along at
first, but after about 15 meters she suddenly stopped just like "Wait a
minute, I can't leave my mommy out there by herself" and she came right
back to me. Seeing this little puppy with no fear at all and acting with
such self confidence, I was so touched. I took her on the leash and we
walked calmly home without noone bothering us, finding Gueisha waiting
for us at the gate...It was the first time I realised that Brem had a
special spirit.
Everything hasn't been as rosy always, though. At 7 months old Brem was
hit by a car which could have ended very badly. She ended up with a
broken heel-bone in her rear leg and the vet warned me she could be
limping for the rest of her life. Metal plates were put inside her leg
and a fixator which supported her leg for a month. I had to seriously
cut back her active movement and I suppose everyone understands how
difficult it is to restrain a teenage dog to stay calm for months, not
to run an play hard. But somehow we managed. We also had a great vet, a
brilliant orthoped who did the best he could and for years we
participated at the dog shows afterwards, without judges noticing the
slightest problem with her movement. Now at 5 years old, the leg
probably gets stiff sometimes and she is occasionally limping. I was
wondering if this accident would in any way affect the later hip x-rays
but when x-rayed at 2 years of age, the results were fabulous - A/A for
hips and 0/0 for elbows which means she's totally free of HD and ED!
Additionally, we checked her heart in February 2006 and it was confirmed
clear, too!
The car accident wans't the only time Brem has been in danger. She is a
natural hunter and loves to follow animal trail. Once when taking a walk
in the forest, then with a 1,5 year old Brem, we bumped into a wild boar
and Brem took off after him. It ended with 5 stitches for her, but it
could have been worse 'cause the boar's fang had barely missed her
heart. The wild boar in Estonia are quite huge, the males usually weigh
around 320-430 pounds and I was later told by the hunters that it must
take a brave dog to confront wild boar as many dogs back off even when
smelling the special odor of this animal. I consider myself and Brem
lucky as I was also told that in many cases the encounter with a wild
boar ends with a dead dog...
I never wanted to make a showdog out of Brem, especially since the
judges who truly know the breed are so hard to find, but as she did well
on her first show I decided to show her off some more. As of today,
she's a champion of three FCI-countries (Estonia, Latvia and Finland).
We have been lucky to have shown under such knowledgeable judges as Mr
Christofer Habig and Mr Rafael Malo Alcrudo and earn great critiques.
But most important accomplishment came in spring 2006, when Brem was
approved by CAFIB by Mr Americo Cardoso dos Santos Junior in Czech
Republic. Her type was evaluated with "good" and temperament test with
"very good".
Brem has exceeded all my hopes I've ever had in a dog and I feel blessed
for having her in my life.
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