It All Began With Her... Best of Opposite Sex from the Veteran Bitch class at the DFWLRC Specialty under Betty Wrenn Hoggard; Shown here in 1994 as Winner of the 8-10 Veteran Bitch class over an entry of 21 at the LRCGB Specialty under Nancy Martin. Mother and Great-Grandmother to Specialty Winners, we will never forget what she gave us, and haven't yet begun to feel less the pain of her loss.

"Katie Grandmama", as Tricia called her, wasn't our first Lab--but she was certainly the first serious one, and the one that is the foundation for most of what we have and what we plan to continue with. For a long time she was one of the few surviving granddaughters of Ch. Lockerbie Brian Boru, but when we looked into her face and considered her cobby English structure we saw her great-grandfather, Ardmargha Sampson. Her great fault--and they all have at least one--was her tail carriage. It was a gorgeous tail, one which was tremendously thick and full of her abundant coat. The problem was, she was very proud of it and held it up for all the world to see! That and Greg's handling ultimately prevented her from completing her championship. Even so, there were things that still make us as proud of her as if she had finished: a Working Certificate just 3 months after coming to us as a kennel-shy 16-month old that had never had a bird or been in water; 39 reserves to majors; producer of champions, obedience and hunting retriever titlists, and wonderful companions; winning the Veteran's class at age 8 at the Dallas-Fort Worth Specialty and going on to take Best of Opposite Sex to Best of Breed; a tremendous thrill when she won the Veteran's class over a field of 12 other lovely bitches at the Greater Boston Labrador Retriever Club Specialty under Nancy Martin (Ayr); and qualifying in 3 AKC Junior Hunting Retriever Tests at the age of 8 and 9. With her passing at the ripe old age of 14, she turned her house privileges over to her oldest daughter, Misty! Even though she sleeps more deeply now than she used to, her memories continue to bring us joy and laughter, as well as the inevitable sadness because she's not with us. She loved playing the role of grandmother to puppies, thus her nickname. But mostly, she was just our Grand Old Girl! We miss her tremendously.

Her Pedigree: