stone

following the sad loss of of my name sake , just a few words to show you why he was so special to me
STONE
as i watched emma , a black and white english springer spaniel, start to give birth, the 3rd pup out, took my eye he was a lot darker in colour which is a trait i liked, though he was liver not black
over the next few weeks this said pup started to grow under my watchfull eye , as he started to grow in stature he became overpowering to the other pups and ate a bit more than his fill earning the name of Q P (quarter pounder)
the gundog trainer/breeder whom the pups belonged to,told me , they were all sold ,so over the remaining weeks i started to say good bye to him before he went , i came in from a training session one day, to find he was gone, from there my heart sank
on reaching home that night, i sat at the backdoor taking my boots of when this little liver and white thing came and muzzled upto me, in my surprise it was he, my little man
over the next few months training ensued and stone was a fast learner , hunting was not upto much but retrieving was all he wanted, with my knowledge of training and a little help off the late Roy Jordan a trialing carear was suggested, not my scene though i did enjoy shooting on them
at 14 months he had his first taste of fowling on the upper ouse washes just outside of Downham market, from there his love of ducks and water ensued
his first year as a beating dog enhanced his hunting skills from there nothing seemed to phase him,
then tradegy struck
stone was diagnosed with a grade 2 back injury which led to cage rest for several months, depending on his recovery ,would depend on wether a pts would hav been the only option
luckily he made an almost full recovery
over the next few years stone prooved his worth in the field and also as a companion in the home with a break up of relationship where i lost everything except a few pictures and stone , he came to work with me and on occassions tagged along while i dated again, at the age of 3+ with a good nose and love of water he was often called for, when our formiddable picking up team lost a good runner on land or water , this stone seemed to relish in and earn't the name super dog , i think the pickers up were taking the mick slightly but still they called for him on many occassions
every winter signalled a wildfowling trip which stone prooved valuable along with sam my uncles springer, much game and wildfowl was gathered and rarely lost
sam and stone
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season after season he worked tireless for me finding runners and dead birds bring each and every one back to hand except snipe, these he liked to chew on, whilst on his retrieve back
can't realy tell you of just one retrieve that stands out as there is quite a list, from a partridge that nearly 15 dogs had searched for as the landlord had shot it and made a big thing about finding it, which stone found no more than 5 feet from where it had fell and got under a xmas tree whilst everyone and thier dog was searching for it like a ring of dogs around this tree , none the less stone had smelt something and would not leave till he was satisfied this was the partridge and again delivered it to hand whilst all looked on
another was bird i shot , a cockbird runner at jim,s up at southport, the bird was hit hard and glided almost 200 yards when it hit the floor, it ran ,
stone had watched it all the way, so i sent him just to see, as i still had to walk upto the area the bird dropped in at
he reached the fall site picked up the trail and went , within minutes he was bounding back bird in mouth , did no one explain he was a springer not a lab
stones favourite look
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over the years the bond got stronger but his senses started to fail at the age of about ten, here was aided by snipe a my up and coming springer just into his 2nd season ,
stone worked upto the end of last season with 3 days of jan wildfowling on the ouse washes, doing what he wanted, as he was not as young as he thought ,
this will be his final resting place, a spot that he loved and new well
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this year in july he was diagnosed with CHF ( congestive heart failure) although responded well to treatment at first , things took a turn for the worse ,another course of medication prooved no better and now starting to go off his food
from there august the 6th the decision was made, there was only one last kind act to do
stone ( whitlocks march)
12yrs 2months
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He lived a full and happy life and you were able to enjoy that with him. The sad loss of a friend is never fully countered by the happy memories of them - but they help.

Know how you're feeling.
Drew
 
Sorry for your loss mate, it is something we all have to experience at sometime. I am sure your young dog will keep you occupied.
Best Tony
 
Hi R.
Very sorry to hear of your loss mate. As you know, I lost Ollie, my first "proper" dog last October. Still miss the old boy, but keeping on top of Sam has given me less time to dwell on what is lost to me.
Glad you made the right decision for Stone, it's the best we can do for an old mate.
Kind regards,
Mark
 
Sorry to hear of your loss Stone,it is devastating every time you lose a dog,but,keep thinking of the good times you both had mate.......ATB.......Martin.
 
That dog had a fulfilling life mate, what more could he nave asked for. well done to you for giving him that life.
Chin up mate ;)

wadas
 
thank you all for all your kind words and thoughts and also to the many pm's i hav recieved wishing me well
many thanks
stone
 
What can l say stone, what a stunning tribute to a close friend and companion and what a fine place to be laid to rest.
 
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