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Greeter...where to start? Greeter was born on September 18,
2002, bred by Vicki Harris, of Imagemaker Dobermans. We
originally wanted a black dog for conformation. However, while
we waited for the litter, every time Sandi talked about Greeter
(he was named before he was even born), she saw in her mind’s
eye a red dog. Go figure – the pick red boy was the one we
got. What a ride it’s been.
The theme of
Vicki’s litter was “A litter sure to please.” We knew we wanted
his call name to be “Greeter,” as Sandi is adamant that dogs
grow into their names. Therefore, Greeter’s registered name
became “Imagemaker’s Plezed Ta Meecha.”
Greeter took
his first Reserve, Winner’s Dog and Best of Opposite Sex in
shows at six months of age. Respected Westminster judge Burton
Yamada gave Greeter his first Best of Breed award at the age of
18 months from the classes over Specials. Lesson Two: Winning
is much more fun than losing. (See Cricket’s story for Lesson
One.) We were doomed, and dog events became our lives. Greeter
was shown by Vicki Harris for 8 of his nine single points.
Cindi Huckfeldt put an additional three points on him (1 point
and 2 points). We then placed Greeter in the hands of Annette
Williams, an experienced Doberman breeder/owner-handler who was
beginning as a professional handler. The first cluster out
Annette put a 4-point major on Greeter in St. Louis. The next
month we traveled to Scottsdale, where Annette finished
Greeter’s championship with a 5-point major, going Best of
Winners over 70+ Dobermans. What a thrill!
When Greeter
first came to us, Sandi printed and taped a piece of paper to
our refrigerator, setting out our “dream.” That piece of paper
read: AKC/UDC/UKC Ch. Imagemaker’s Plezed Ta Meecha, CD, ROM.
CGC, ATT. (Note: We didn’t realize at that point that the
“ATT” disappears once you achieve a UDC championship. Did we
mention we were “newbies”?) I can honestly say Greeter has
exceeded our dreams. He is now AKC/UDC-BISS/UKC-Gr.Ch. Multi-BIS/Int’l
Ch. Imagemaker’s Plezed Ta Meecha, CD, ROM, RN, CGC, VCX. He
has never failed us in anything we have asked of him.
Greeter is
being specialed in AKC conformation by Annette, with 7 more Best
of Breeds, two of which were over a Top 20 Special. Neil has
shown Greeter in the other venues to his championships and just
completed his UKC Grand Championship in July 2006, the first
Colorado Doberman ever to achieve a UKC Grand Championship.
Greeter was also a UKC Top 10 Doberman in 2005, at No. 4, the
first Colorado Doberman to achieve UKC Top 10 status.
At the age of
18 months, Greeter passed the WAE with flair. Because of lack
of confidence on our part, our good friend Joannah Davis
achieved Greeter’s CD in three shows. In addition, Julie Holmes
– webmaster extraordinaire – took Greeter out for three Rally
Novice legs in three shows. We love these two fine friends.
Greeter is
still continuing his career. Sandi has put two legs of his
Rally Advanced title on in two shows, and two of three legs of
his U-CD title in two shows. Sandi and Greeter are also trying
to fit in enough time to work on agility.
Greeter loves
everyone. He was attracted to children from the very beginning,
in spite of the fact he’s not been raised around children, as
our children are grown. He has a wonderful temperament and,
unlike many intact male Dobermans, is not dog aggressive.
However, he has proven that he won’t back down if someone else
wants to start something. He’s quite a guy. |
