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The Zoiboyz Ranch |
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A Borzoi Center of Excellence |
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May 22, 1999 – February 9, 2008 |
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It's unbelievable still, but our dearest loving little hound Bonne Chance chose today to leave us for new adventures across the rainbow bridge. Tom found him in the back paddock at feeding time yesterday. He had collapsed there, unable to walk. Tom with Melissa's help got him to the emergency clinic where the vets worked hard to save his life. The vet is 95% certain that it was either a brain aneurism or brain tumor. His heart, lungs, other organs, blood pressure, and temperature were normal. X-rays of his entire body showed no fractures or other problems. No mater what the vet tried there was no help or any new hope - by the wee hours of the morning, it was clear that there was nothing left to do but let him go. He died peacefully, gently in Tom's arms and is no doubt, at this very moment, looking for rabbits to chase on the other side of the bridge. He loved loving and being loved more that anything and was always searching for a lap to lay across. We miss him dreadfully already. He was waiting for a chance to become a daddy again this spring. Instead, his legacy will be carried by the pups he had with Nubia Hegerova in Germany, and his grandchildren sired by his son, Kazan. Bonne Chance earned wonderful titles during his early years in Germany. He wouldn't run on a track with other hounds, but did set a solo track record at Darmstadt in Germany. Unfortunately, after winning 5 international coursing competitions within a single year, we left Germany before he could achieve at least one win one year and one day after the first win, thus never achieved the title of FCI International Coursing Champion. Always one of the fastest hounds of the pack, Bonne Chance was also one of the most clever with respect to catching the lure and catch it he would. Even the most clever lure operator could not keep him from grabbing the plastic mid-field. Bonne Chance would listen for the whir of the line over a pulley, race to that point, and crouch with his jaws poised to snap as the plastic crossed over the pulley. A true alligator, much like a few of his Silkenswift ancestors. Although he made many a judge laugh with his antics (and lure operators curse), we finally stopped coursing him--lots of points but he never earned the last placement he needed for ASFA field champion. I didn't mean to write so much about the boy, but it's been a comfort to share our grief with you. Here's a picture of Bonne Chance--the light of the next life surrounds him already. Love, Tom and KC |
