PD had quite a journey. He finished
2001 as the #1 Borzoi in the Country!
Our National Specialty in Denver in 1999 was to be a VERY memorable one for us. We had high hopes for the nationals with PD, in 20 years of breeding, I felt I was going with one of the best I had ever bred. Upon taking PD out to exercise via the stairs and out to the loading dock, there was a huge banging noise from the loading dock area. PD pulled away and when I pulled him back, I only had the leash….the collar had broken! He trotted down the loading dock heading to the outdoor bathing area. I was not terribly concerned, as he was not running. As he went toward the exercise area I began to get much more concerned as he was NOT responding to my calling him and the interstate was right there with no fence. After he went past the exercise area, he hesitated, and then went up onto Interstate 25…..My nightmare had begun. I screamed "NO"!!!!! Car horns blared, tires squealed and my heart stopped. He turned then, and darted under the viaduct and across six lanes of traffic with me running after him with my lungs burning from the high altitude. Little did I know, I would be running for 4 more days.
The overwhelming part began…looking for him. The Borzoi folks were great, everyone helped look for him and put up posters. We had several sightings, none panned out. We hired a helicopter to look for him …nothing. We then had a sighting at Happy Canyon…20 miles away. He had been spotted by the police, and to get him off the road so he wouldn't be hit, they honked to scare him to the side…they scared him all right, it would be another full day before we had another sighting. The next day there were thunderstorms and hail, I was frantic at this point wondering where he might be. That night, I was taking to Rhanda Glenn, who was handling ARUBA and she showed me a Dream Catcher she had gotten for luck at the shows. She gave it to me and said PD certainly needed it more than Aruba. Before going to sleep, I hung it on my tact box, and true to superstitious dog show folks…touched it one last time and said "Please Work!" Sunday morning, I was awakened by a phone a call at 6:15 by a man who said he was following my dog on a dirt road in one of the canyons. He gave me directions, and I was off…trying not to get my hopes up because they had been slammed so many times in the past. When I got to the road, I saw the man's pick up and PD trotting along the side of the road. I was overwhelmed! I got out, called him….he hesitated, then came toward the van! I finally had hands on him for the first time in 4 days. I cannot begin to tell you the emotions I was feeling, I truly did not think I would ever see him again. PD's pads were gone, and he was to the point of collapse from exhaustion, but he would be fine! He finished his championship quickly, getting his majors under breeder/judges. Now, as he travels with Rhanda starting his Specials Career….that Dream Catcher is STILL hanging on his crate!
