Re: [pyrnet] why you chose/ love your Pyr

["Tracy Bassett" <espinay@dynamite.com.au>]

Catching up on my back mail tonight after an intensive weekend showing. 4
days in a row and the dogs and I are exhausted! (someone tell me why we do
these things??)

Ok, why I chose/love my Pyr.......

After a few dogless years doing the yuppie career thing I 'needed' to have a
dog again (I had always been surrounded by animals except for those few
years).  I set about trying to decide what kind of dog to get.  I knew I
wanted to get a purebred, but I had no real idea of what - I considered
Springer Spaniels, GSP's, Gordon Setters, Bearded Collie's, nothing seemed
quite right....and then I picked up a copy of the Dogs USA 1994 Annual -
Puppy Buyers Guide and Owners Manual (I still have it :-) ).  Inside I saw
photo's of this dog - this big white dog - called a "Great Pyrenees".  I was
in love.  That was it.

I bought a book on the breed and read up a little bit (although I do cringe
a little about how much I didn't know about the breed at the time).  I was
still in love. I called the Canine Association for info on breeders, finding
out along the way that they were actually called "Pyrenean Mountain Dogs"
here.  They gave me the details for the Pyr club in Victoria.  I called the
club and they talked to me and referred me to a breeder who happened to have
pups (now I know how amazing that was.  Most people have to wait quite a
long time for pups here).  A few phone calls later and my pup was turning
into a reality!!

I will never forget the first time I saw a Pyr - It was my little 9 week old
Halley in her crate at the airport.  We rode home together on the rear seat
of a friends car and she fell asleep in my lap.  Little Halley stole my
heart and changed my life.  And while she was digging craters in my yard,
she was also digging me out of a very deep hole :-).  From then on I could
not imagine life without a Pyr (or two or three...... ;-) )

Tracy Bassett
Canberra, Australia
espinay@dynamite.com.au
visit my webpage at http://members.dynamite.com.au/espinay/index.htm