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Tuesday morning (17 Jan 2012) I was walking with Rosy thru a clearing between a woods and a smaller grove of trees, when Rosy decided to check out the grove of trees. I expected her to follow after me once she satisfied her curiosity, but she didn’t. She just sat there and looked at me even after I called her. So I had no choice but to go and see what was happening. As I got closer I saw a young deer about two-thirds grown standing behind her. It didn’t flee as I approached, and then I saw why. Its left rear leg was caught in a wire fence and was pointing straight upward. The top wire looped around its hoof so tightly that it took me several minutes to get it free, but at last I succeeded and the poor animal could at last stand on all four feet.
For a while it just stood there and looked at us, not seeming to fear me or Rosy. Either it was in shock, or it figured that if we meant to harm it we would have done so already. Finally it started to walk away, and I saw that the formerly-imprisoned leg was stretched out straight and and totally stiff, apparently from the who-knows-how-many hours it had spent ensnared in the wire loop. So it hobbled away, and I wished it well, feeling happy for having freed it, but fearing that its troubles may have only begin.
Rosy followed it for a while, but seemed only curious. She did not attack or harass it, and eventually she came back to me and we resumed our hike.
–Dwayne Martin
 (Stock photo)
Rosy was standing by the dinner table hoping one of us would throw her a table scrap, when I noticed that her leg was shaking. By the time we got her to the vet, her whole body was shaking and I was in tears. The vet said that the symptoms resembled pyrethrum poisoning and asked if we had bought any new house plants. We had some poinsettias, and wouldn’t put it past Rosy to have taken a bite, but we hadn’t seen her do it. (Poinsettias themselves are only mildly toxic, so the poisoing would have come from insecticides sprayed on the plants.)
The vet anesthetized her and gave her an intravenous antidote. By morning she was OK and we were relieved, but $200.00 poorer! We worried that it might happen again since we weren’t sure what caused the problem in the first place.
We are passing this on to let people know that newly-purchased house plants may come treated with insecticides or other chemicals that may be hazardous to a puppy’s health. Next time you buy a house plant, ask if it has been sprayed or treated. Keep your plants up where pets are less likely to eat them, and have a safe and happy New Year!
–Dwayne and Pat Martin, and Ammerville’s Rosalind Layka
 Dwayne, Rosy, and Hamlet share a moment of reverent thanks for everyone's good health
 Dwayne and rosy at the Fun Match Rosy made a splash at her dog show debut at the Kooikerhondje Fun Match this October. Dwayne Martin, her housemate and handler, had never been to a dog show, let alone been in the ring with a show animal! Rosy was all confidence (even if she didn’t have a clue), and quickly put Dwayne at ease.
It all paid off, and Rosy earned her first ribbon, bringing home the Best Puppy Award.
Of course, there were only three puppies in the field–all excellent kooiker specimens, and the other two Rosewood bred pups–so there was no way to lose.
But in the end, the day was clearly not about the competition. Judge Carol Noe had to do some on-the-spot handling instruction, and her patience and good humor prevailed as human and canine alike bumbled around the ring.
Instead, the day was about sunshine and camaraderie, laughter and beauty, as we got to know each other and meet another wet, wiggly nose.
 Everywhere you turned, there was something spectacular going on. A Border Collie, all its energy focused in one blue eye, snakes its way through a set of weave poles at the adjacent Agility Trial. The clear afternoon sun slants across the tin roof of an old barn. A girl with impossibly long hair leads an old kooikerhondje around the ring for the first time and takes home a ribbon.
The Kooikerhondje Club of the USA (KCUSA) held it’s fourth Fun Match last weekend in Weyers Cave, VA. Participating were 10 dogs from five different states: Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. Next year’s Match will be held in a different geographic location to accommodate the kooiker population not on the East Coast!
AKC judge Carol Noe was the professional eye evaluating the animals on that sun-splashed autumn afternoon. Many of the dogs and owners were in the ring for the first time, and Carol was patient in explaining what was expected of everybody.
 Fall Fun Match Participants We took four Rosewood dogs to the Match: Hamlet, Elsinore, Yorick, and the new puppy, Rosalind. One of the advantages of having a very small number of participants in each category was that every dog placed and got a ribbon!
 Hamlet and my niece Carissa Taga’s Quarto-Hamlet, Prince of Denmark: ……….. First Place, Altered Adult
 Joyce and Elsie Taga’s Weika, Lady Elsinore………………………….First Place, Altered Female
 Rose and Yorick Germanic (Yorick)…………………………………… Second Place, Intact Male
 Pat and Dwayne Martin with AKC judge Carol Noe and Rosy Ammervills Rosalind……………………………………………Best Puppy
Two other Rosewood dogs were there–Duncan and Dragon, litter-mates from Bianca’s and Yorick’s litter this June.
 Dragon takes Nathan for a turn around the ring.  Wayne and Duncan show their confidence in the ring.
Yesterday, we took Rosy to Love on a Leash, a dog training and agility facility, to see how she did with the agility toys and tunnel.
Here she is attacking a favorite chew toy.
 Grrr! Must get that squirrel tail!
 Rosalind at four weeks  Rosalind
Rosewood is proud and excited to announce the arrival of our newest puppy. Rosalind comes from Kennel Ammervills in Ammerzoden, The Netherlands. She was born on July 2, 2011.
My husband Bruce and I were able to visit the breeder, Diny de Witt and her husband during a trip to Europe when the puppies were three weeks old. We had a lovely visit, and were pleasantly surprised to meet both mom and dad to this litter. Here are some pictures from our visit.
 Two Sisters  The de Witts  Trying to decide between two girls. Rosy is the one on the left.
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The great pleasure of a dog is that you make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, he will make a fool of himself too.
– Samuel Butler
Personally, I would not give a fig for any man's religion whose horse, cat and dog do not feel its benefits. Life in any form is our perpetual responsibility.
- S. Parkes Cadman
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.
- Groucho Marx
To his dog, every man is Napoleon; hence the constant popularity of dogs.
- Aldous Huxley
Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring—it was peace.
- Milan Kundera
Heaven goes by favor; if it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.
- Mark Twain
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