A year ago at a rural location in Virginia, a litter of English Cocker Spaniels was born.   With the blood and personalities of champions, these puppies were destined for greatness.

The world of dog shows is a demanding one, where only the most perfect examples of breed standards succeed.

In this litter of darling puppies were a boy and a girl who each had a teeny, tiny imperfection in the alignment of their teeth.  That alone meant that their destinies would follow a different direction.   The wonderful woman who'd bred them and raised them for their first 7 months was determined to find them a home with a person who would love them for all of their lives.

Last August, a woman in the Florida Keys held her beloved, elderly, failing, Brittany Spaniel in her arms, whispered to him of her love and cried when he slipped away and breathed his last.

The woman was very, very sad without her dog.  He'd been her boy from the time he was 7 weeks old and she greatly missed him.  

Luckily, the breeder in Virginia was a friend of the woman in the Keys.  So, the woman who needed a home for two pups, talked to the woman who needed new dogs to love.  In November, the brother and sister met their new mother in the Keys.

Joy and laughter replaced the tears and they've lived happily ever after.  Greatness indeed!

Happy first birthday, Nat and Pyxi!