I lost my first Giant, IYAM Holly's Easter Shadow, on Thanksgiving Day in 1994 to bone cancer.
I was completely devastated. I was working on my Masters and could not bring myself to even
think about getting another Giant.
After the loss of Shadow life was extremely lonely for me
without my friend by my side. Even my Sheltie began to go down after her friend's death.
Abby followed Shadow across the bridge not too soon afterward. For the first time in my life I
found myself without a dog claiming me as the significant human being in his or her
life.
After completing my Masters I decided that the loneliness needed to come to an end.
I found an ad in my local paper advertising Miniature Schnauzers for sale.
I decided that I would go and just look. The lady was trying to sell her 28 day old babies
because there was a family emergency and she needed to leave. I offered to pay for the puppy
and pick her up at 6 weeks of age as I did not want to remove her prior to the mother weaning her.
I decided to take the puppy with me when she could not guarantee that the puppy would survive her
husband taking care of the litter.
Fortunately I had a friend that offered to help take care of
her while I was at work. We shared the responsibility of feeding the puppy every 2 hours until she could eat on her own.
The puppy's eyes were the biggest feature about her; therefore, she was named Edelweiss shortened to Edel
Edel was just what I needed – cute and cuddly. When Edel met Gretchen for the first time in Amarillo they became close inseparable friends. In fact even now at the dog shows you will find Edel walking on leash under Gretchen’s belly so that she is not stepped on.
Edel began her training and show career when I got Gretchen. At first I began working only with Gretchen and Edel sat and watched. Edel ,having a mind of her own, began getting loose at agility class and would run the course with Gretchen. It was a site to see a Giant and a Mini doing an agility course in unison. Gretchen would take the 24 inch bar and Edel would fly over the 12 inch bar many time in the lead yodeling to Gretchen to catch up. At obedience class Edel would dutifully walk beside Gretchen off leash and duplicate her friend’s actions.
Edel proudly has her CGC, CD, NAJ, NA, and OAJ. She is presently competing in Open Standard and Excellent A Jumps with Weaves. She is training for Open and Utility Obedience.
Edel also has qualified for certification as a therapy dog with both the Delta Society and Therapy Dog International. She too, after supervised visitations will complete her Therapy Dog International certification.
