Dawn lived to the ripe age of 14 years, 6 months and 6 days. For a dog her size, this corresponds to approximately 104 human years. As a pup she was a cutie with white toes on all four feet (puppy pics). She was an avid courser as a young dog and was the first (and so far only) Camelot house dog to earn her AKC senior courser title. She did get in trouble once for being overly enthusuastic when she nipped another dog in the butt to get to the bag at the end of the course. This earned her a DQ and we never bothered to get it removed, so that was the end of her coursing career.
In 2001, when she was a young adult and the alpha bitch of the Camelot household, we took Marley back from her original family who had raised her from a pup but had another dog and a new baby and needed to downsize the household. Marley and Dawn were about the same age and there were "issues" about just who would run things. They undertook guerrilla warfare that sent both to the vet for expensive repairs on two occasions. Clearly one had to go to a new home. Since Marley was excelling in the show ring, and had in fact, just won Best of Opposite in the RRCUS National Specialty and an all-breed Best in Show, it was decided to place Dawn out. So in October 2001 whe went to live with our good friend Andy Streitwieser, Clayton's colleague in the Berkeley Chemistry Department. For the next seven years Dawn lived at the Streitwieser house in the Berkeley hills. We saw her often and she returned to our house for boarding when the Streitwieser's travelled.
However, as Dawn aged, it became harder and harder for her to negotiate the steep Berkeley hills in Andy's neighborhood and the full set of stairs that she had to use to go outside to do her business, so she came back to live at Camelot in 2008, where she has lived out her long life as the senior member of our canine family.
Like many aged dogs, Dawn gradually weakened in her rear and a few days ago it became virtually impossible for her to rise from her dog bed and walk. She had to be carried to the backyard to do her business and she stopped eating or drinking water. It was clearly her time. So on Wednesday night, July 13, we drove her to our veterinary clinic in San Ramon and sat with her while she was euthanized. It was a very peaceful process--hopefully she is coursing over the Rainbow Bridge, biting the butts of all the dogs who get to the bag before her.
Clayton Heathcock, July 14, 2011
| AKC #: | HM68820801 |
| Gender: | Bitch |
| Call name: | Dawn |
| Sire: | Ch Crescent's The Power Of Gold ROM |
| Dam: | Ch Centennial Mt's Sun Princess ROM |
| Whelped: | January 8, 1997 |
| Breeders: | Clayton Heathcock, Cheri Hadley, Catherine & Kevin Harvey |
| Owners: | Clayton Heathcock & Cheri Hadley |
| OFA: | RR-5553G25F; RR-EL670; RR-TH87/25F-T |
| CERF: | RR-639/2002-70 |
| CHIC: | Canine Health Information Center |
| AKC DNA: | V156915 (DE DJ AC DE CD FG CD BC HH AA) |
Check out Dawn's pedigree.
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