[Dailydrool] My little gurl Pw Angel graces the calendar tomorrow on her third birfday and what a three years its been (PART 1)

[Norma]

Hi everyone, first let me say drool and prayers to each and everyone who 
has a four or two legger that is sick.

Well I just wanted to say a piece about my little gurl Pw Angel who is 3 
tomorrow and graces the DD Calendar. This is a birfday that I was sure I 
might not see her get to if it  hadn't been for my very good friends 
Susan Green and Georgie Fraser who  made it possible to meet Sandy 
Gaston, who I know for sure saved my little gurls life without a shadow 
of a doubt. And to my sister Anne who is a drooler with hounds Kelpy and 
Pudding and nearly 5 week old Minnie Mouse and latest additions 5 month 
old Troy and Fanny.  My sister is the one who gave me this precious 
little gurl  nearly three yrs ago .

Nearly three yrs ago my phone rang and on the other end was my sister 
Anne asking me if I would like to have a Basset bubby, well after a nano 
second a trip around the room screaming I was getting a Basset bubby it 
was arranged when the time was ready for her to leave her Mama she would 
make the 600 mile trip one way to me.  I joined the drool, got her a new 
crate, toys, hot water bottles, teething rings, special food and waited 
along with hubby and my Rottie Bruno and Greyhound Lucky, both boys. 
Well the day arrived and they decided to travel down through the night, 
of course I didn't sleep and kept phoning them. my sister Kathleen 
shared the driving.Well Saturday morning I kept going out and looking 
down the street and eventually the car arrived and out came the most 
beautiful ball of fluff. I was instantly in love, her name (Charlie's 
Angel) came about because she had a blue eye and a halo, the blue eye 
was identical to my Dads who had recently passed away, hence she got the 
name Charlie, and Angel because of her halo on top of her head. When she 
got to 4 months I decided to take her to the same obedience class as her 
Rottie brother, he had advanced to the higher class so she could go to 
the novice class from 7pm to 8pm and her brother 8pm to 9pm. It was 
perfect, the first week she was there they were having a test which they 
did every three months through out the year awarding rosettes. The 
trainer had told us the week before on the night he said what do you 
want to do with Angel. I said enter her of course, we had been training 
furiously all week. The trainer started to laugh, telling me in 40 yrs 
she was only the second Basset he had in his class, and the other one 
had them in fits of laughter doing flat Basset. Well my Angel did her 
Mama proud, right up until the last test which was a two minute lie and 
stay. Unfortunately two minutes was just a tad too long but I was proud 
of her. When it was all over the trainer came up to me and said Angel 
had been lying in third place, if she hadn't moved the third prize 
rosette would have been hers, she finished in fifth place at 4 months old.
The next year when the new year started in the obedience class in March 
they did the first test she took  third prize, this obedience class had 
at least 16 different breeds of all kinds, oh I was so very proud .In  
June she took the test again and got second rosette, and in  September 
she took second place,  she was still just a bubby at 13 months old. 
This obedience class was working trials,  for those that do classes they 
will know that is heel ,stays, leaves, fetches, recalls, even when 
recalling making them go down or sit on the spot. Then December came and 
it was the last test, the week before the Xmas fancy dress party. My 
little gurl went into that test and she showed them all and picked up 
her rosette, first prize, I was in tears. The week after they had the 
party, two teams were picked, a red and blue team. We were in the blue 
team which won, that was the start of an amazing night. Next came a fun 
competition where they put the advanced and novices together and had a 
game of who could sit the fastest on command. The last one sitting was 
eliminated,  finally there were two left, a border collie and my gurl. 
Well the trainer shouted sit but they couldn't say who was last to sit 
so they did it again, it was no contest Angel won hands down. Then came 
the fancy dress contest, Karen Sommerfield had made Pw Angel the most 
amazing Scottish outfit and a wonderful outfit for Bruno my Rottie of a 
top hat and tuxedo and bow tie. The judges couldn't seperate them, it 
was joint first prize between Angel and Bruno. Then came the next part,  
the one that everyone was waiting for, who was going to come top of the 
class over the whole year in the novice class and advanced class. This 
is awarded to the one with the least points deducted. They announced the 
winners starting in  reverse order at number 5, they started with the 
advanced class first and I was overwhelmed when my Bruno took first 
prize  and top of the class winner. Then came the novice class and as 
they were read out and it was getting down to the number 2 I was 
downhearted.  Then they announced the winner, it was my gurl, she was 
top of the class and the winner.  I had two star pupils,  what a night. 
The next year her brother Bruno picked up an injury the week of their 
first test in March.  They missed it, he was injured for 13 weeks so 
they missed the one in June as well, but they both did well in tests in 
September and December, both coming in first. But when they had the 
party at Xmas time again I did not expect to get any rosettes after 
having done just two of the four tests. Imagine the surprise I got when 
first they said that Bruno had come second in the class and even more so 
when Angel came second as well. What a proud moment in a Mama's life. 
Then circumstances changed and that took us to another chapter in her 
life which I will share in part 2. Norma