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by Adrienne Ayles Our first Flat Coat was "Boggie" CH Omega’s Fame and Fortune JH WCX (by Am Can Ch. Bertshire’s Doc Holiday CD WCX out of Ch. Omega’s Bedazzlin’ Sunset). Boggie was born in December of 1982 and to say the very least, Boggie was a special creature. There are so many Boggie stories and most of them make your sides split with laughter. To this day, every now and again, I will hear someone falling down in laughter telling a story about a Flat-Coat in the obedience ring who broke his 3 minute down stay and the events that followed and realize they are talking about Boggie. You see, Boggie broke his down stay at his trial because he was entranced with a really cute dog laying next to him. The judge, in order to minimize the distraction walked over to get Boggie and escort him to the other side of the ring. Since the judge distracted Boggie from the original object of his affect, the judge became a suitable alternative and shall we say Boggie grabbed the judge’s leg and hugged tightly. Somehow, the judge made it to the other side of the ring, walking with one regular leg and one Boggie leg and soon after received help in removing the attached Flat-Coat. Once down stays were completed in that ring, it took several minutes for the laugher to subside at ring side. Oh yes, Boggie was special dog and many ways trained me much more than I every trained him. Our first Flat-Coat bitch and our foundation bitch was "Rose" Ch. Omega’s Honeysuckle Rose CDX JH WCX Can CD (by Am Can Ch. Athercroft’s Blac Jack out of Ch. Omega’s Elusive Dream). Rose was born in May of 1984 and was the beginning of Casablanca Retrievers. Rose was a fun dog and an exemplary ambassador of the Breed. Rose was always a pleasure to train and together we learned about field training, the conformation ring, and obedience ring. Rose had two litters out of which she produced several very special dogs including Ch. Casablanca’s Black Ruffles UD, Ch Casablanca’s Bold Quest CDX JH WCX AAD AX, and Ch Omega’s Limited Edition. Our Foundation Stud Dog was "Presto" Ch. Quillquest Express CDX SH WCX Can CD Can WC (Am Can Ch. Quillquest Eros Am Can CD CDX WCX Can WC out of Ch Am Can Ch. Quillquest Artemis Am Can WC). Presto was born in October 1984 and came to live in California with us when he was seven months old. Presto was a fantastic non-stop retriever and a wonderful showman. With help from Neal, Presto became a rather titled dog, took a number of group placements in the conformation ring, and became a FCRSA Hall of Fame dog 1995. Presto was an excellent example of our Sterling Omega motto "Function and Form....Form and Function" and a true happy, tail wagging dog till the very end.
Updated 09/27/98 |
FLATCOAT.COM
My adventure in dogs started in January
1983. Neal Goodwin and I decided it was the right time in our lives to get couple of dogs.
We went to the book store and bought some of books on dogs and started researching
different breeds. After spending hours perusing the different books, we both narrowed it
down to two or three breeds of interest. Our next stop was Beverly Hills Kennel Club Show
to take a look at all the different breeds of dogs and meet breeders. At Beverly Hills
Show, we met Roger and Peachie Orton, as the saying goes, the rest is history. 
In 1992, I changed my kennel name to Sterling Retrievers. In 1995 Sterling
and Omega official combine our efforts. Over the years, the Orton’s and I have been
co-owning a number dogs together, including Rose, Presto, Hope (a bitch we bought from
Joan Mason in England) and many more. The joining of Sterling and Omega was a natural
progression to long time friendship, complimentary interest and common opinions, breeding
practices and ethics. My years in Flat-Coats have been a great source of pleasure for me
and I feel honored to be associated with such a fine breed. Not only have my Flat-Coats
brought me pleasure, but have given me the opportunity become friends with some of the
finest people one would ever hope to met in the both United States and England. 