The two Llewellin’s that captured my heart.

Gretsch and Fender, my very first Llewellin setters. It’s actually a small miracle they are both with me today.

It was December when Joe, my father-in-law passed. There were 27 dogs at his kennel at that time.

Joe was a very active and sharp-minded 83-year-old. He was a Godly man, and he didn’t mind telling anyone about that. We later learned that he had great influence on many people. God had given Joe a means of reaching people across the country through dog breeding and Joe use selling puppies to talk to people about God. Joe understood the calling, and he helped to change the path of many in this way. He was also a very talented man who loved playing music and singing. He was a big man, and he had a deep and beautiful voice which went well with the guitar he played as if it were part of him. Joe always made it clear where he stood, and he always spoke the truth. If you were looking for a sugar-coated reply, you best had not ask Joe! He knew what was right, and he never wavered. I had so much respect for him, and I admired his ability to always be standing on solid ground. Joe also never let you leave or hang up the phone without letting you know he loved you. He took pride in his family, especially his grandson.

Joe’s passing was sudden and unexpected. It was always the plan to continue breeding the line of Llewellin’s he started over 50 years prior. He voiced those wishes on numerous occasions to me and my husband (his oldest son). Perhaps we should have been putting those arrangements into place a little better before this point in time, but we were in the middle of moving to a new home, and also relocating two businesses. Seems that many times life presents challenges at the most inopportune time, but that’s just life, and so we temporarily put our plans on the back burner to handle what the Lord had planned. Reminds me of the saying, “man makes his plans, and God laughs”! God’s plans are always dominant.

It all seemed like a blur, laying Joe to rest, and trying to wrap our heads around the sadness and reality that had happened, and there we were, with 27 dogs, four of them being 3-month-old puppies. Two of these being from Joe’s last two litters, and they were one’s he had picked to keep. At that time, we lived about two hours from Joe’s home so fortunately we had some volunteers step up (good friends of Joe’s) to help care for all the dogs until we could work out a plan to move forward. One evening about ten days in, my husband was having a conversation with a fella who was helping. He asked how the pups were, and I vividly remember the feeling of my stomach doing a flip when I heard the voice from the other end say, “what pups?”. I just knew the worst had happened. How could we have let this happen?! Joe would be so disappointed; how did this get overlooked? My husband told him he had to go, he had to get there quick and see if any of them were still alive. The pups stayed in a whelping house, away from the rest of the kennel. So, for ten days they had not eaten, had not been given fresh water, had been forgotten about. The next 45 minutes seems like an eternity. Then the call came. Would you believe, ALL 4 PUPS WERE ALIVE! The only thing we could imagine was the snow that had been falling was enough to keep them hydrated, and ultimately keep them from a terrible demise. I’m sure they also ate their poop for a few days, until there wasn’t anything left to come out. But it was nutrients and enough to keep them alive! The next morning, we went. We knew we had to start allowing them to eat, but just ever so small portions at first. Their little stomachs and organs would have gone into shock if they ate too much too fast. They were certainly hungry, and wanted to eat, but we rationed them. I regret to say that we did lose one. We believe he ate a little too much to quickly and maybe his internal damage was just a little worse than the others. But three were on the mend, and Gretsch and Fender were two of those three! Most of the dogs were rehomed with friends and family, but we decided Gretsch and Fender would be part of the ones that we would keep, and they soon held a very special place in our hearts.

In a way, these two gave us a feeling that Joe was still close, maybe because they had been held in his hands, maybe because he was the one who cared for them when they first arrived into this world. He had known them, and they him. There was a living connection during a time that only Joe could tell the story of the intimate details. He was there when their lives began. So maybe it’s a form of sentimental value these two dogs carry that we are drawn to like a magnet. I guess there are many things about them that make us love them so. They were the ending of an era and also the beginning of a latter-day. Gretsch and Fender, named after Joe’s two favorite guitar brands. They have been together from the first breath they took, and they will be with us for the entirety of their lives. As they grew, and their individual personalities began to shine, I simply fell in love with them. They are both normally found by my side throughout the day. My little shadows. Special dogs indeed.

So here we are, years later. Through the passing years I have realized raising dogs can be a challenge. I have often wished Joe was here to give me direction, but it seems we always have questions after the encyclopedia has been lost. You’d think we would learn, but I guess we always believe there will be more time.

So, what have I learned from all of this? Well, a lot! Most importantly, this life is temporary, so get right with God because only He knows the number of your days. Secondly, I have learned an incredible amount about puppies, and what it takes to help them grow into healthy dogs. Last, but certainly not least, I will always remember that if a dog hasn’t eaten in a while, for whatever reason (maybe it’s a stray, maybe been abandoned, or maybe just been in unintentional circumstances like Gretsch and Fender) the key is to start slow. When a dog is not able to eat for a long time, its body will first use up fat reserves to stay alive, then muscle tissue, and then vital organs may begin to fail. Their stomach will shrink, and a sudden large meal can cause shock to their system. They will need time for their system to adjust back to eating after a long period of going without food.

We miss Joe terribly. His life and legacy, and the love he so selflessly gave lives on in our hearts, in the precious memories of days gone by, and of course in the line of Llewellin’s he loved and put so much of his life into.

God bless, Lady Llewellin