Page 141 - K9 News - Issue 15 - March2021

commercial for Pedigree Chum. They wanted to
feature a pack of dogs running towards Patsy,
but the dogs had to come from behind a hill. I
had to hold onto the dogs until I was given the
word to let the dogs go, I then had to disappear
back behind the hill, I developed acrobatic skills
I didn’t know I had, as several takes had to be
done before it was completed. In between the
takes I kept seeing makeup and hair tending
to Patsy to make sure she looked perfect,
meanwhile I looked like something the cat had
dragged in! but nonetheless it was a fabulous
experience and one I will never forget, we still
laugh about it to this day.
Our current bitch Sh Ch Gunalt Mint Velvet
(Sophie) was picked along with her dam,
owned by Stephen and Patsy Hollings, to
be used in an advert for VW Cars, they both
behaved impeccably and both Patsy and I were
overwhelmed at their performance. Sophie in
particular surprised us immensely, as she was
somewhat a mischievous young lady and had a
particular nickname (Unfortunately unprintable!)
The latest dog we owned, Sh Ch Gunalt
Unstoppable from Mianja (Elliot) was top stud
dog in the gundog group 2013/2014 and in 2014
was runner up top stud dog over all breeds.
Elliot sired 12 show champions and is the sire of
the current breed record holder Sh Ch Gunalt
De-Ice at Stridview (Ice)
I have had the pleasure of campaigning Ice
to win 51 Challenge Certificates, 13 Gundog
Groups and several other placings, Best in
Show and Reserve Best in Show at all breed
Championship shows. I also campaigned the
previous record holder Sh Ch Gunalt Harris
Tweed, both dogs were owned by Karen
Whitehead of the Stridview affix, that must be a
record in itself.
A natural progression from showing was to start
judging, and I judged my first Championship
Show for Weimaraner’s in 1992. I now award
Challenge Certificates in 24 Gundog Breeds
and 1 Terrier Breed, I have judged different
breeds at Crufts and have also travelled to judge
K9 NEWS DIGITAL / MARCH 2021
Sh Ch Gunalt Unstoppable from Mianja
in several other countries. I have also been a
travel companion to my friend Patsy when she
has judged in America, and Barbados, and
ended up judging some special classes, but
there lies another tale! I was invited to Judge
The Weimaraner Speciality in Sydney, Australia
in June 2020, but unfortunately because of
Covid 19 this did not happen, maybe another
year who knows.
All our dogs have lived in the house and have
given us everything possible, whether it has
been gundog work, showing, photographic work
for catalogues or film work, they have displayed
absolute loyalty and a willing to please. What
more could we have asked for, they have given
us a life filled with pleasure, fun, adventure and
sometimes tears. But we would not change a
thing!!
The journey has been incredible and we have
met some absolutely amazing people along
the way from all over the world, many of which
have become very close friends. We have been
very fortunate to have Stephen and Patsy as
our very good friends who have bred and let us
have some amazing dogs and helped us along
the way. I love the dog world as we are all like-
minded people who have a love and passion for
our dogs and if you are willing to listen, learn,
persevere, and be prepared to put in a lot of
hard work into your hobby, believe you me you
will definitely reap the benefits.
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