Dear Dyane,

I can't even begin to describe how wonderful our life has been since Nauset came into it. It is absolutely incredible that two years have already passed. I will never forget the day we picked him up and how he stole my heart the first moment I saw him. I get teary eyed remembering how he tripped over his puppy feet trying to walk towards me to give puppy kisses. From then and there he was our baby and has changed our lives forever. The past two years have been truly wonderful. He instantly became a favorite member of our family. My parents love showing pictures of their "Grand-Dog" to their friends and my brother and sister can't help loving their "nephew". He has such personality it is hard not to love him. I swear he understands everything I say. He looks at me and tilts his head and I know he knows exactly what I am talking about. Everywhere we go people comment on how beautiful he is- and even though I may be biased, he is the most beautiful dog I ever saw! I feel so safe when he is with me too- he is QUITE the watch dog. (Sometimes a little too protective- but I'm not complaining!!). But what I love about him is when he meets someone new, (he barks of course) but once he knows it is OK, he loves them and protects them just like he protects me and his daddy! He is a happy, happy dog and I have no words to describe just how special he is. His personality is one-of-a-kind. He loves so many things and so many people. Of course swimming is his love- especially swimming on Nauset Beach! I will never forget the first time he saw those waves- he LOVED them and was fearless! He dove right in and he was only 6 months old! My husband and I were more scared than he was! Now it is his favorite place to go (besides his "Gammy and Gampy's House"). All we have to say is "Want to go to Cape Cod?" and he is ready by the door! He also loves going to Doggie Daycare twice a week. It was the best thing we ever did- he plays ALL DAY and has doggie friends! I believe that he is a happier dog because of it.

I could go on and on FOREVER about Nauset. So I will stop here and add some pictures below. He is the love of our lives and we couldn't imagine what we would do without him! Thank you so much for this amazingly brilliant dog who is truly our "best friend"!

Warmly,

Sarah Boucher CT & Pond Hollow Nauset Beach (Ch* Pond Hollow Cuttyhunk X Ch Pond Hollow Antietam CDX JH)

Dyane Baldwin:

Season's greetings from north Idaho. How deep is the snow in Newport, PA? According to the weather channel your area is recieving a possible record snowfall for this time of year. A white Christmas for sure! We are getting a break this season with a typical coastal weather pattern - 42 and misty rain. Easy on the wildlife!

Update about Rocky dog:

This guy is a dude! He has converted his 3rd 20# bag of Eukanuba chow into 42 lbs. of Chessie! Permanent teeth are beginning to show on upper and lower front of jaws. Coat is amazing, thick and full rich brown color, nice, nice puppy. Lots of sturdy bone on this guy, esp. legs and feet. Light eye color, appeaars to be turning to amber. Has received all his shots and has had no health problems. temperament is outstanding, can imagine how good parent dogs are. This guy takes guideance really well from me pack leader as well as Lucy dog resident bitch. She will occasionally nip his snout when he gets too frisky and up close with toys or rawhides. Close supervision keeps the pack calm. Warner Bros. cartoons with him and the cats!

I have observed that this pup has an excellent temperament and takes cues for obedience very well. As a result I have begun formal obedience work with him right at his 4 month mark rather than waiting until 6 months. On the lead, heel, sit, stay, come. Also short retrieves for the bumper emphasizing steadiness. I retrieve more than half of the short throws while he maintains eye contact with me. He is an outstanding student. We keep it simple and short so he is successful, no need for serious corrections. I'm thinking this guy could qualify for a WD within a year. I work the dogs seperately for now. Plan to teach them to work side by side later. He watches Lucy do marked retrieves and learns quickly.

Fun, fun puppy here in the house with us. Therapy dog for these long winter nights. Has been swimming twice. Follows Lucy into the shallows and takes off just like a Chessie should, lake water is 38 F. He sees lots of ducks and geese on the water. I get them out after a brief swim and keep them moving.

We are really pleased with this pup. He will be a fine field companion in the coming years. He has a nice even medium energy level that is so easy to work with.

Hope his litter mates are just as nice and are doing well. Am most appreciative of your dedication and effort with breeding these fine field dogs.

Sincerely,

Joe Shedlock & Rocky (Ch Pond Hollow Continental Divide X Ch Pond Hollow Time N Again)

Hi Dyane,

Just want to tell you what Molly and I have be doing. She has to most wonderful personalty that I thought she would be just perfect to visit patients at the Masonic Home here in Wallingford. We go every Thursday and we do 2 wards. Molly knows what rooms that she is to visit. She goes to her friend and puts her head in their laps so that they can pet her. They just love her. We went to the lake this summer and we did a lot of kayaking.. My daughter has a year old Lab and they are the best of friends. Every Sunday we hike with 10 other Dogs and their owners and she gets along with all of them. The temperament of your Dogs is just great. Hope every is fine with you and the Dogs. As you can see I have a computer now. I am still learning, but I am getting there. I am sending a picture of Molly and 2 of her friends. Reg mail.

Ethel Kumnick

Hello Dyane,

Since the pup we bought from you just turned one, I thought that I would let you know how she is doing. I apologize for not updating you on the previous Pond Hollow Chesapeakes that we owned.

This time I left Steve name our new CBR. He chose Reba which seemed like a good name to me too. Anyhow, Reba is a wonderful dog! She has a lovely personality and lots of energy. Did I mention that she is a smart dog, too. She listens pretty well. I did not get her to dog obedience class which I will explain later. Everday we walk around the pond in the morning and evening. She loves to hunt for mice in the tall grass. She also loves to fetch the bumper from the pond. Reba ranges ve ry well when we walk. She constantly checks to see where I am and always comes when I call. I put her in her kennel whenever I run errands and at night. All other times, she is free to run the farm. Of course, she stays right here by the back door. Whenever I go on long trips, I check her in at a wonderful kennel where she plays with her doggy friends. The owner of the kennel absolutely loves her. Since March, she averages about 10 days a month at the kennel. She loves it there.

I think whenever we spoke last, you knew that Steve was ill and not able to make the trip to PA to get Reba. His condition continued to worsen, and he died in January. I remember back in August/September I asked him that perhaps this wasn't a good time to be getting a puppy. He disagreed, and I am so glad that he did. I think that he knew that I would be needing a pooch to keep me company. I am so glad that I have her. Your chesapeakes continue to be t he best.

I am attaching some pictures. I will try to update you each year. Hope that all is well with you.
Sincerely,

Sincerely, Chris Brunner

Hello Dyane,

I just wanted to give you an update on the Chesapeake Bay Retriever that I obtained from you. Her sire was Safe Harbor Treasure Lake and her dam was Pond Hollow Tintagel. Your name for her was Mist Over Meadow.

We received, what we named her as Chessie, (real original) in September of 2008. She has been a tremendous addition to the family. I appreciate your ability to match the dog to the owner.

She was a little destructive in the beginning but has calmed down immensely. This was partly due to her boredom, which has been rectified. She loves to run and take walks to the creek that is close to our house. Her favorite toy is a rubber tire grade tube with a rope attached to the end. She loves to retrieve it and will not let it out of her sight.

She is extremely good with the kids and is getting much better with letting us know when there is a stranger on our property. We receive compliments on her all of the time which makes us very proud of her. She like to jump into the UPS truck upon deliveries but the UPS delivery guy has been patient. The color of her coat looks like she could be a UPS associate.

Having own beagles most of my life was a difficult choice considering another breed but you really made me feel comfortable and, as mentioned earlier, made a perfect match for the dog to owner.

I hope things are going well for you.

Please see attached photo with my wife and kids and Chessie

Hi Dyane,

Hope this finds you well. It's been a long time since we corresponded, but you may remember me. Kathy, my wife, and I are the very proud owners of Royal Bird Cody, Cody for short, born 3/1/1994. We lived in Suffield, CT when we first got Cody, but have subsequently resided in Avon, CT since 1997. Cody will be turning 13 this March 1. Cody has been a tremendous dog, and we love him more than I can articulate in words. Unfortunately, we expect that he will not be with us much longer. A couple weeks ago he was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor above his left eye, and it is growing rapidly. So far it has not impacted any functions, but our vet expects that shortly he will get to the point of not being able to eat. I suppose then we will know its time….We as a family are distraught about this, but we will do the right thing for him when we have to. About a year/year and a half ago he came down with a chronic throat ailment, and we have been treating that consistently with a combination of light painkiller and anti-inflammatory Deramaxx, which has worked well to make him comfortable.

All the ailments being said, he is the finest specimen of a dog I have ever encountered, bar none, and I say that even when I factor out my bias. People to this day compliment us on him and what good shape he looks to be in, not knowing of course the not readily apparent ailments above. When they hear that he is 12, most can't believe it, but then look at his gray hair and start to believe…. I've attached some of our better pictures of Cody over the last 2 or 3 years. He is still as handsome as he was when he was 1, plus a lot more gray hairs. He has been wonderful with my kids, now 11 and 7. Its very difficult for me to ever envision our house without him following us around.

My best to you, your family, and your dogs, and we hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,

Dean Zirolli

Hi Dyane,

I just cant tell and thank you enough on our little girl Cherry!! She is an a amazing dog. We could not picture our life withou her. She goes every where with us and she catches on so quick. we love her so much. Thank you again 100 time over!!!

steve mikac

Hey Dyane,

I did give you an update about Cherry march 8. She is doing really good, she graduated from puppy kindergarden! She is growing like a weed! She defenitly runs on high octane which is great. If she had it her way she would retrieve all day long.I am gonna be taking her to a trainer to help me with the hunting aspect. He is really good!

steve mikac.       (DrumXWicked)

Dear Dyane,

Pond Hollow Wing Supply “Tucker” is a wonderful dog! He absolutely loves the recent snow and is very excited about retrieving. Shortly after we picked him up he has mastered basic commands, come, sit, down, and place. He loves to splash in puddles and we are all very excited to get him swimming in the spring. After the initial checkup with the vet he said that he clearly comes from an outstanding blood line by the wonderful temperament and solid joints. Everyone has commented that by far this is the most well behaved puppy they have ever met. He sits at the vets office without any fusing and loves to meet people when we go into town. He is well on his way to becoming a wonderful hunting dog and companion. Thanks again for all that you have done. I will keep in touch.

Sincerely,

Jeremy Ulrich       (OdieXMocha)

Dyane,

Sorry I haven’t touched base with you before now. Betts is doing great! She is healthy, smart, sweet, beautiful and growing like a weed. She took to the water better than any dog I have ever seen, never hesitated just jumped right in and took off. Things are going very well with her training also, she sits and comes by voice and whistle command, stays at sit until released and is marking and retrieving triples on land and water at thirty yards. Her passion to retrieve on land and water is excellent. I am sending you an old picture now but will send you an updated one soon.

Thanks again for such a wonderful puppy.

David F. Puckett       (DrumXWicked)

Dyane,

Everything is going well with Finn. We were at the vet on Friday for a booster and he weighed 67.5# a day before his 6 month birthday. His bones are huge, and he is going to be a big boy. My vet is super impressed with him, and asked me for y'alls contact info for another of her clients who is a CBR lover and just lost a older dog.

Training is coming along good. He is doing all whistle and hand signals. Stays like a statue when told to. Of course, we have our good days along with those days he just does not want to work that hard........ normal for this age. He loves to retrieve and swim, but his big sister is way too fast for him .......so he usually chases her instead of a ball when we are goofing off in the yard. When we train, it is just he and I and distractions.

My wife has a major crush on him, and he does her.

David Rowsey       (DenverXTime)

Hi Dyane,

I apologize for not writing earlier. The new puppy has been fantastic. We have named him Deke. He has adjusted quite well with our other dog and my son's chessie. He has had no socialization issues with people or other dogs. He has been a charm to work with and has all the basic skills learned as well as starting on multiple retrieves and direction. I have no doubt that he will be ready for this years waterfowl season. We have had him in the water several times over the last few weeks and he is a typical chessie in not wanting to get out. We have some pictures of him, but they are on my other computer in Howard City so as soon as we visit there, I will send some out to you. Everyone that meets Deke comments on how good looking and beautiful a dog he is. I did submit the registration papers to the AKC, but did not recieve anything from them. I called this week and they have him on file with me as the owner and are going to resend all the papers. I will stay in touch and get those pictures to you as soon as possible.

Mike Ursul      (DrumXWicked)

Hi Dyane,

Both Arthur and I are so thrilled with our big 6 yr old Junie- She is the best natured Chessie we've ever had and is a fabulous hunter and retriever. She swims beautifully and it's almost meditative to watch her in the water-smooth and yet joyous. She is super behaved in the blind and/or boat.

What a dog!!!

We will be looking for another pup in the not so distant future-Junie will be a great teacher!!

Thank you again for the best girl in the world. We adore her!!!!

Fondly,

The Sterns