My Mom is now 83, I spoke to her and asked her to help me remember our American Water Spaniel. Here are some highlights....
The dog in the book is C. Claire's Corky, his was the father of our AWS, Connie's Corky, Mr. Tler of Ty-Grim Kennels in Rochester, NY was the Breeder.
My dad, Joe Moorhouse, was an avid duck hunter. His best friend and hunting buddy was from Wisconsin: I suspect that was how my dad came to know the breed. This was about 1956 - our Corky was 8 months old when he joined our family in New Jersey.
I remember my dad training him: that dog could carry an egg in his mouth without breaking it! He was a smart dog and constant companion to my mother when our family moved to Pennsylvania. My sister was born in 1959 and my mother says that Corky taught her to walk: the baby would grip his hair, he would pull her up and off they would go. The only bad habit he has was a propensity to gobble up just about anything; in the end, that habit caused his death. roaming the fields aroudn our Pennsylvania farm, he ingested something poisonous. The vet tried to save him but he didn't recover. He was eight years old when he died.
Connie's Corky was the first of many family dogs but he was our favorite, although we never had another AWS. It is fun to see and hear my families reactions to our new AWS, Annie...this little spaniel triggers many memories.
I have no idea what happened to Ty-Grim Kennels and that line of dogs. If anyone has any knowledge of Mr. Tyler, I'd like to know what became of him and his dogs. My mother remembers that he loved his dogs.
Annie is doing very well, she comes when she is called, crates well (after a few full blown howling sessions) and is as house trained as a 10 week old puppy could be (that is, I am house trained). She sleeps all night at the foot of our bed. In the moring, I often open my eyes to see her stretched out, just quietly looking around. My grandson's love her. Tom is wrapped around her little paw. My biggest challenge with Annie is not to spoil her - she is just so cute.
Hope all is well,
Connie
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