We are beyond excited and grateful to welcome this extraordinary boy into our family and into our breeding program. In 2018, Moses showed a significant decline in his "numbers" and my repro vet warned that we needed to prepare ourselves for the fact that Moses had reached the end of his breeding career. Devastating to us, as the unrealistic part of us wanted to be able to raise Moses puppies forever! 

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     Not only was Moses our very first male, he was also just an extraordinary sire. We had no idea how lucky we were to get an Icthyosis-free male (before the DNA tests were even available!). But more than anything, he produced such even-tempered, affectionate, silly puppies with exquisite conformation - jet black pigment, pale flat coats, dense bone structure. They are some of the most gorgeous Goldens we've ever seen.

     These were giant paws to fill.

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     And then, Rufus. He came from a breeder in Europe with whom we have a long-standing relationship and who has blessed us with several extraordinary Goldens. All of her dogs have very special personalities, as she not only chooses lines with therapy dog temperaments, but then raises them in a way to bring out the calm, loving, gregarious characteristics that are the hallmark of the Golden Retriever.

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     And so it is with Rufus. His sire is described as a "philosopher and thinker", just a very relaxed boy with a gentle demeanor. His mother was described by a judge as having "good proportions, good upper and lower line, good pigmentation and shape of the eyes, perfectly set and well-shaped ears, excellent angulation of the fore and hind legs, nice head with a good expression, very good front, deep cage with good ribbing  A nice temperament." Rufus took the best of both parents, possessing a wonderfully silly and kind personality with absolutely gorgeous conformation.

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     Once he got to us, it was clear we had found the boy we'd been hoping for. Our family is smitten and he has quickly become part of my husband's office dog contingency (Harper isn't happy about that! She thinks she should go to work with him every day...). As for his name? There's a story behind that...

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     When I was in elementary school, I somehow convinced my mom to adopt a super cute rescue dog from a local store (The Wharf in Ventura, for those of you who know it). He was a black and white fluff ball and I named him "Ziggy", after the then-popular cartoon character. When my dad got home that night, he was sitting in his regular chair, reading his newspaper, and suddenly hollered out, "Ziegfried!" It was his way of announcing that he was welcoming this third dog of ours into the family.

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     The next night, as my dad sat in his customary chair reading the paper, he hollered out, "Ziegfried von Doggendorf!" We all belly laughed, as my dad's sense of humor was always unpredictable and thoroughly entertaining. It became a ritual - every night he added on to Ziggy's name and we all looked forward with great anticipation to what the latest addition would be. Ultimately, Ziggy's full name became: "Ziegfried von Doggendorf Steinbach Liederkrantz." All of our friends thought it was hilarious and we loved calling Ziggy by his full name. Forty years later, it still makes me chuckle.

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     As an homage to my dad, we have decided to christen our new Nicholberry boy with a name filled with great expectations of the future and fond memories of the past. 

     Welcome, Rufus von Doggendorf.