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Airedale Kings |
The Story of me "DySea" (as told by my dad, a dreamer) |
The "DySea" Gallery |
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| To be
their master-friend And gaze into their loyal eyes, To stride beside them through the fray, Transports the soul to paradise. A flash of tan, a splash of black, With power, speed, and grace endued, No vermin, canine, game, or man Can stand before their fortitude. They're whimsical about their lot, And docile with the romping child. Although ferocious when attacked, They are not quickly galled or riled. When Christ our Savior calls us home, And Angel song around us rings, We'll find the golden streets patrolled By Michael and his Airedale kings.
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The
year was 1985. One
night I dreamt I was on our back deck calling to an Airedale. I called
it "Die Zee" (phonetically spelled). I told my wife the next
morning.
The years passed and from time to time we encountered Airedales on our travels and kidded ourselves by saying "Look there's 'Die Zee'". In 1991 I switched careers from architecture to computers. In 1993 I received a request to evaluate some software we were selling to see if it met their company needs. I went to install the equipment at the home of the person doing the evaluation. When I got there I noticed 2 portraits of Airedales on a wall. I told him we were always fascinated by the breed. He asked me if I would like to see them. How could I refuse! Down the basement we went where I was happily greeted by 2 very smart looking males. It was then that I realized. The person I was with was working for a high tech firm called "Dy-4"(Airedales are to die for). The first 3 letters of my last name are S e a. Instantly I now knew it wasn't Die Zee it was DySea. So nervous about the enormity of the revelation I don't remember anything of the software installation that night. I rushed home with Airedale books to tell my wife.
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We started researching Airedale breeders. At the same time my brother was planning to get married in 1994. The location of the wedding coincided with that of a lot of the Airedale breeders we had been looking into. We planned to visit them after the wedding while we were on vacation. After visiting several breeders in the area we ended up feeling comfortable with one breeder. After interviewing back and forth we discovered that this was the same breeder that the fellow from Dy-4 got his dogs from. We put our name on the list for the next available litter with a preference for a female. The day finally arrived and were told that there were 3 females only 1 of which was available to be sold, as the breeders wanted the others. There were also 4 males. When we saw them only one of the 4 that were left came immediately to me, and she was the one. The trip home was a long one. We let DySea out of the car every half hour to stretch her young legs. One time we stopped in a park where she saw some dandelions going to seed. She ran up to them biting the heads off like they were ice-cream cones. After 10 hours we finally arrived home. Several weeks later we got a letter from the Canadian Kennel Club informing us of her registered name, "Dream Dancer". |
Getting used to my new home...
As an adult I am very charitable.
Christmas Spirit.
My debut as a pro.
Waiting for squirrels.
The big back yard.
Winter in my favorite place. |
