Micklemess Spiced Peaches from Whissgig (Daisy)
23 May 2010 – 21 March 2015
Micklemess Spiced Peaches from Whissgig (Daisy) was our foundation bitch and at 4 years 9 months was taken from us far too young. Daisy was a pet first and a show dog second. She never gained great honours in the show ring, but thoroughly enjoyed her time when she was in it! She was a fantastic mother who always took great care of her pups. Over two litters she gave us 13 super pups and we have 5 of those pups with us that we show. One of those pups has now also sired a litter so the Whissgig name live on!
When we heard that Chris and Carol were planning a litter from Micklemess Buzy Lizzie, we were delighted when we were told we were on the puppy list. When we went to see the puppies we selected Daisy as our first choice, but had second pick of the litter. We were thrilled when we were told we had our first choice!
We called her Daisy, because we thought “Daisy May”. She soon settled in with the other Whissgig clumbers and enjoyed her walks and being shown, although the preparation for a show was never appreciated leading to the “Daisy Stare” on more than one occasion. She also had the mannerism of her mouth preparing to chew a treat, even before she had it (a trait that Phoebe, a pup from her first litter, is also now showing!) Daisy also had the “stamp” of the foot and at breakfast I always had a head on my thigh waiting for that last bit of toast.
Daisy at Crufts 2014
With Daisy having good hip and elbow scores and a clear eye test, we reckoned that with the right sire she should produce sound pups and give us the foundation to the Whissgig kennel. Jackie as ever did extensive research and with the insurance money following the untimely death of my clumber, Toby, we went ahead and had her mated. Unfortunately, even with a second mating using a different sire, we were financially poorer, but no puppies richer! We then heard that Chris and Carol were “dog minding” Balder (from the Sugar Loaf kennels in Gothenburg) and he was due a limited number of matings in the UK. Not knowing if it was Daisy or the sire last time, we asked if we (Daisy) could be included. Permission was granted and Daisy went to the south coast to be mated.
After previous matings and phantom pregnancies we were nervous, but no phantom this time! Nine weeks later we had a lovely litter of 7 puppies (the Musical litter) and she turned out to be an excellent mum. Jackie had many days of little sleep and unsocial hours whilst between us we watched the pups 24/7. We have three of the pups with us here (Henry, Phoebe and Ollie) on other is also in the show ring (Frank) and another is working.
From the Musical Litter (L-R, Frank, Phoebe, Ollie & Henry) on their 1st birthday 2014
To cut a long story short, business trips to Gothenburg and meetings with Annika from Sugar Loaf resulted in me bringing Beckis home and it was decided he would make an excellent match for Daisy, they were mated in 2014 and 6 pups were born in August (the Express Litter). Again she was an excellent mother and this time we kept 2 of the litter (Rosie and Colston).
After the first litter Daisy lost her coat, but it eventually grew back, this time, even after a number of weeks it showed no signs of re-growing and a trip to the vets took place. She was diagnosed as hypothyroid and put onto drugs to control the condition, her coat grew back and she took a greater interest in surroundings, even playing with the pups again. We felt after 2 litters she had done her duty and to reduce the risk of pyometra, we would have her spayed. We had blood tests done prior to the operation and all appeared well, apart from taking a while to come out of the anaesthetic. The next day she had a bit of a discharge and trip to the vets resulted in some antibiotics and they were quite happy for us to bring her home. On the next afternoon she was out enjoying the garden, in the evening she was asleep (nothing unusual) but by 10.30 she was much less responsive. We rushed her to the vets and the last conversation we had with the vet was a discussion of whether we were likely to be collecting her on Sunday or Monday. At 0500 on Saturday morning we were told she had gone. The post mortem biopsy results arrived back Friday the following week, our darling Daisy had died from an aggressive lymphoma, the spay was a co-incidence. With no signs of illness we had no idea she was so poorly.
Daisy passed over the bridge at a very young age, she has however left the legacy of 13 lovely pups and one of those has now left his own legacy, so Daisy is living on.
We shall never forget Daisy, Phoebe is developing the pre-treat mouthing and “stare” and Colston is now occupying my thigh at breakfast; Daisy, you may not be here in person, but we are enjoying you through your progeny and their mannerisms.
The Daisy Stare
Say hello to Toby and Baxter and enjoy your new life across the bridge with the other clumbers. No longer Daisy May, but Daisy (certainly) Did!