When Iris died last spring she left a Dalmatian sized hole in my heart. Jon and Calvin loved her, too, of course, there is something about the breed that has drawn me all of my life. That feeling was superficial when I was young and drawn in by Disney movies and Dog Fancy issues, but after having two Dals it become something more real and deep-seated.
When we lost Iris prematurely last spring my heart was beyond broken. A few months later I pulled myself out of mourning and started researching breeders. Anyone who knows me, and who has made the mistake of asking, has certainly gotten an earful about the breed and its special considerations, but here, suffice to say that choosing a Dalmatian breeder is complex if you want to really do it right (it's really more like them choosing you in the end), and can result in a loooooong wait period even after you've made a connection.
We were fortunate. I found a group of interconnected breeders who, in my mind, are the pinnacle of Dalmatian breeding—with a focus on health, temperatment, and puppy raising. I sent letters of introduction to all of them, received interviews with two, and ultimately was chosen by a wonderful breeder in Pennsylvania who had been my top choice. That may sound exciting, but with the number of people on her waitlist, that upcoming litter could have been a year or more out for us. Insteadn, when puppies were born on April 3, we were lucky enough to be near enough the top of her list.
So meet our Pandemic Puppy, who was planned not as a pandemic puppy, but as the answer to a life-long dream of mine, and an end to a year of Dalmatian shaped heartache.
Her call name is April, her AKC name is Soulryde's Come She Will, so named (following her kennel name) for my favorite Simon and Garfunkel song, and because come she would in April in spite of a pandemic, and because she begins for me a new journey of love like those I have had before. She is a beautiful and smart eight week old AKC LUA liver spot Dalmatian.
Saturday, May 30, 2020
