Dear Dr. Shepard,
On Monday, August 2, I had to make the difficult decision to have Cider, my beloved chessie, euthanized. Unfortunately I do not possess the eloquence necessary to describe what she meant to me or my wife or what a vital role she played in our life. I can only hope that the pain that I am feeling now will be replaced with nothing but the great memories. On the way home from the Vet's office it occurred to me that I have never thanked you for introducing me to the greatest dog I could ever hope to have. I am sincerely grateful.
I thought you might like to hear a few of Cider's attributes. Above all else Cider was loyal, I haven't had the bathroom to myself since she arrived, she didn't make a nuisance of herself she was just always there. She was protective of children, when at Camp if a child was on the dock, which was frequently the case, she would position herself between the child and the water at all times. She possessed a fierce desire to retrieve and in my biased opinion had the greatest marking ability, certainly more advanced than any lab that ever graced a duck marsh. Cider could retrieve under the water just as well as an object floating on top, once, just to prove this to a doubter, I marked a small stone with a piece of chalk and threw it in about 4 to 5 feet of water, with just the tip of her tail showing she made the retrieve. She was a great companion in the blind or in the boat however when food was introduced she had this look that just could not be refused. Cider was pretty effective hunting upland always hunting within range and giving me this discussed look whenever I missed. She even retrieved woodcock although I don't think she derived any pleasure from it. Cider always had my back, while working as a Game Warden Sgt. I made her stay in the truck while I dealt with a mouthy loud law breaker when the gentleman became threatening Cider was sitting at my side looking up at this guy with a classic chessie smile, needless to say the guy decided to cooperate. I could go on and on for hours with Cider stories but I don't want to become that, my dog is better than your dog person, even though she was. I just thought you should know what a profound impact you and your breeding program have had. For some reason thank you doesn't seem adequate.
Sincerely,
Patrick Devlin
Carmel, Maine
