SpiceRidge Kennels

29/05/2020

For all of us who have lost our beloved dogs ......


In My Good Death – by Dalia Shevin

I will find myself waist deep in high summer grass. The humming
shock of golden light.

And I will hear them before I see them and know right away who is
bounding across the field to meet me.

All my good dogs will come then, their wet noses bumping against
my palms, their hot panting, their rough faithful tongues.

Their eyes young and shiny again.

The wiry scruff of their fur, the unspeakable softness of their bellies,
their velvet ears against my cheeks.

I will bend to them, my face covered with their kisses, my hands full
of them.

In the grass I will let them knock me down.

29/05/2020

Tibbie won handsfull of Blue ribbons in AKC shows, but in the end, we retired her when she indicated that her heart wasn't in it. She had beautiful conformation, but not the heart to show to Champion - She would literally look at us from across the ring with eyes that said, "Can we go home now?" But she proved to be a wonderful dam, taking real delight in her litters of pups. She was attentive and so very patient with demanding puppies. We want to remember all the beautiful puppies that she brought into the world -
Tibbie’s 1st Litter – Bear, Lassie, & BeauChamp
2nd Litter – The B Litter – Bentley, Luigi, Kira, Lily, Mr. Barksdale, Ella, Ruby, Molly, & Chloe
3rd Litter, - the “Last” – Pita Marie, Ariel, Sandy, & Bell
4th Litter – the “Spicey” Litter – Chatham, Gus, Brigus, Penny, Darcy, & Callie
We are so grateful to all the wonderful homes and hearts that took Tibbie's puppies. You share with us in carrying her love.

29/05/2020

How our Tibbie got her name -
The picture is of Dan and I on the day that we chose Tibbie from her litter. She was sweet even then. We named her based on a love poem written by the Scottish poet Robert Burns....

Sweet Tibbie Dunbar
O wilt thou go wi’ me, sweet Tibbie Dunbar?
O wilt thou go wi’ me, sweet Tibbie Dunbar?
Wilt thou ride on a horse, or be drawn in a cart,
Or walk by my side, sweet Tibbie Dunbar?

I care nae thy daddie, his land or his money,
I care nae thy kin, sae high and sae lordly,
But say that thou’ll have me for better or waur,
And come in your coatie, sweet Tibbie Dunbar.

I offer you naethin’ in silver or land.
What man could determine the price o’ your hand?
But gie me your consent we’d be richer by far.
O wilt thou go wi’ me, sweet Tibbie Dunbar?

O wilt thou be known as a poor beggar’s lady,
And sleep in the heather will wrapt in my plaidie?
The sky for a roof and your candle a star,
My love for a fire, sweet Tibbie Dunbar.

Tibbie loved to walk with us through our woods, chasing lizards in all the flower pots. She was the heart of our breeding program, but she was simply .... our heart.

29/05/2020

Dear SpiceRidge family and friends - It's with great sadness that Dan and I relay the news that we lost our beloved Tibbie last night. She had a sudden and unexpected medical event, collapsing on the floor as Dan went to take all the dogs out for their last "busy" of the evening - at 10pm. She was breathing heavily and was barely responsive to our calls, and her gums and tongue were very white. We drove her into the UF emergency clinic in Ocala where she was diagnosed with a hemangiosarcoma, most likely spleenic, that had ruptured. We had adequate time to cuddle beside her on the floor before putting her to rest. These vicious cancers, while sometimes operable in very young dogs, are even then rarely successful. We wound not consider this major surgery when it would, at best, bring her 90 more days with us. So she is gone. We can hardly wrap our heads around it. Of all the adjectives that one could use to appropriately describe Tibbie, the most accurate would be, "sweet." She was a sweet dog, kind to her puppies, her pack, and especially to us.
MISTY RIDGE SWEET TIBBIE DUNBAR. JUly 4, 2009 - May 29, 2020.
REST IN PEACE, SWEETEST OF DOGS.

01/03/2019

A sad day, sad news. Just sad.

01/03/2019

CH GCH BIS BISS GEMINI FALLCHASE THE BUTLER DID IT -- CODY. The patriarch of our SpiceRidge Kennels has passed. It is the end of an age for us - we will always cherish his memory as we celebrate his pups. Feel free to reach out to his owner, Maura Roxby at Goldrox Goldens (via fb - she requests no calls) if you would like to share pics of your Cody puppies with her. Even though we know these days eventually have to come, we are none the less devastated when they arrive.

20/12/2018

TO ALL THE SPICERIDGE FAMILY AND FRIENDS - MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

25/09/2018

Dear SpiceRidge family ....
Have you ever noticed how you might procrastinate doing something when it's something you hate to do? Well, I sure do! I've been wanting to write this letter to all of you for a couple of months now, but I just. couldn't. "find the time."
You know that last year we decided that both Tibbie and Lassie had ended their breeding careers. They were spayed (ohmygosh I hate their post-spay coat!) and they live contentedly as ever with us. We had kept Lassie's daughter "Thistle" as we weighed whether or not to pursue another breeding. While Thistle is a MAGNIFICENT puppy, and we could find no conformation nor personality draw backs to breeding her, my heart wasn't in it. It is an incredible amount of work, if done right, and I couldn't do a good job by my therapy clients and the litter of puppies without bringing in hired folks to help in the kennel. And, I reasoned, if you breed Goldens for the love of the breed - why have someone else doing the work??? So Thistle was spayed as well, and now lives happily in Pinellas Park with a new owner who she ABSOLUTELY ADORES and where she no longer competes with mom and grandmom for attention. So, the work of SpiceRidge Kennels is now behind me. I don't think that any other work I have ever done has given me as much pleasure and reward (not to mention endorphine highs!). I hope to continue hosting reunions - perhaps after the holidays this year, as we have our first grandbaby (human child) due this Thanksgiving. Please give all our puppies a big hug from us, and tell them that they were the light of our lives. Be well!

30/07/2018

HELLO SPICERIDGE FAMILY --- I know it's been a while since I posted here, but I have come to you for advice. We have a puppy owner who contacted us about an allergy problem in his dog. Luigi will soon be 5 - from the "B" Litter (Cody X Tibbie) whelped 10/13. His littermates are: Chloe, Kira, Mr Barksdale, Molly, Ruby, Ella, Lilly and Bentley.

It sounds like Luigi is getting GREAT care, and that no expense has been spared in trying to hunt for a helpful response to Luigi's allergies. I wanted to put this out there to see if anyone else has any suggestions for Luigi's owners. Please message me if you would like the owner's email address.

" ... Unfortunately we have been battling a severe skin allergy for several years now which has been identified, through a blood test, to be from an allergic reaction to dust mites. Since the diagnosis we have been exhausting ourselves with constant vacuuming, bathing and have even invested in an expensive whole home filtration system specifically designed to eliminate dust mites. As I’m sure you are aware, dust mites are a never ending, never winning battle.

In addition to his skin condition, he seems to also have a very sensitive stomach, which causes frequent vomiting from things as simple as a stray ice cube that fell to the floor.

We have experimented with many different foods to control these issues but have yet to find a solution that works. Some of the foods we have tried are Royal Canin, Canidea, Wellness Simple, Taste of the Wild, Blue Buffalo all varying from salmon, bison, duck, lamb, oatmeal, etc.

The last attempt from our vet was a shot of Cytopoint which resulted in 4 days of vomiting several times through the night, although he did stop scratching/chewing on his feet for a few days. Additionally we had an extensive Thyroid Profile2 done to determine if there was an issue with his thyroid which fortunately did come back negative.

I was wondering what kind of feedback you received from the other owners and was hoping you have some advice on how to eliminate the excessive vet costs associated with these issues.

Is there a certain dry food you recommend to help with skin allergies/sensitive stomachs? We have also used many topical medicated shampoos which have not improved his conditions so if you can recommend something you have had success with, it would be greatly appreciated."

I hope this finds you all well - and thank you for your input for Bryan and his Luigi. We are fine here - slowing down a little (me), and looking forward to our first grandbaby in November. I am very sorry if I have been negligent about responding to some of you in the past, if I have. I try to stay on top of things, "really I do!"

30/07/2018

29/03/2018

Happy 11th Birthday, Cody - from the SpiceRidge Girls.

Happy 11th Birthday Cody!