Niamh

I am the first-born puppy of my mom Misty and my dad Garrett.

Our mom and her family took really good care of all of us and socialized us very well. We had lots of toys in our pen and people played with us. We got used to new things so we would grow up to be stable, social Gordon Setters.

When we were seven weeks old, a woman came to evaluate our behavior to help my Aunt Karen place us with the people who wanted us. It was a test but I didn't think it was very hard. I got handled and played with, and she tested us with toys and food. I think I did really well on the test. I thought this person might want to take me home with her because she seemed to like me a lot, but she said she already had two dogs, a Gordon Setter, Selkie, and a very elderly Brittany, Thatcher.

She didn't think it was fair to Thatcher to bring a puppy home to harass him. So one by one, my brothers and sisters left for their new homes but some other person who had reserved me decided not to take me so I stayed with my Aunt Karen and my sister Tori and brother Travis.

Several weeks later, the woman who did the test came back to see me and brought Selkie with her. Her sweet Brittany, Thatcher, who was 16 years and 8 months old, had to be put to sleep and she was very sad. She asked me if I would be her sweet girl and did I want to come to live with her and Selkie? I was a little nervous of Selkie at first since she was so big, but she was gentle with me, and the woman seemed to like me a lot so I thought it would be a good idea.

We drove to my new home in North Carolina. Barbara became my special person and she gave me a real name, Niamh. I like it much better than Red Girl. It is Irish and means "sheen" or "luster" and it is a good name for me since I am so shiny.

I had a lot of things to learn but Barbara is a dog trainer so she helped me a lot. Selkie was a bit jealous of me at first but we became good friends once I realized that she was running the show. She died last year and, of course, I miss her company. Barbara and I are a team now. We do Rally, Freestyle and Tracking together. I also help her in her dog training work. We love each other and I am so glad that I she picked me.

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You can see my parent's pictures at http://www.gordons.stonemist.com/, along with puppy pictures of me (Red Girl) and my four sisters and four brothers.

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http://settertails.blogspot.com/