Ringside Thoughts – Death, Dogs And Archives

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156 – June, 2023

By Kerrin Winter-Churchill

In the middle of the night, my telephone rings and instantly my racing heart brings me from slumber to full-attention. Fumbling, I find the phone and learn that a dear, elderly, dog friend is dying and I must come at once to collect the dogs.

Those that have regular jobs might not be able to react as quickly as me, but in the next few minutes coffee is being made and I am searching for my glasses so I can make a list of what needs to be remembered to take with me on my thousand mile journey, and what must be remembered to bring back home for it is not just the dogs that must be preserved, it is my friend’s archives.

This is a short, cautionary tale of what to do and what not do when collecting the memories of a fellow breeder’s lifetime. It is also a reminder to us all that life is fleeting. None of us get out alive.

It might be my age but I’ve seen an awful lot of death in the dog world in the last ten years and, unfortunately, five of those deaths hit close to my own heart.

As an all breed historian and archivist with a deep-appreciation for the individual histories of the breeders that have gathered with me at ringside, it has been my greatest honor (and also a terrible curse) to have been on the receiving end when death came knocking and a dying, dear one was not quite as prepared as they thought.

GIVING AWAY STUFF

Click here to read the complete article
156 – June, 2023

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Posted by AnthonyA on Jun 14 2023. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.