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Int./Am.
CH High Voltage Blaze'n Chase,
Chase was a littermate to our Gemma, and was Journey's father. Sadly, about two weeks after she was born, he was unexpectedly killed in a tragic accident. Though his life was far too short, he was very special to us, and we're proud that he lives on in our Journey. I think Chase was always meant to be a part of our lives, because while we did not know his owner Julie Johnson of High Voltage Retrievers, we all lived in Minnesota and went to Cedarwood Kennels in Maine to get our dogs. At Gemma's first conformation show, while I was in the ring, Julie walked up ringside and stood beside my husband. The two of them began to talk, and realized quickly that our dogs were from the same litter! When I came out of the ring and met Julie, I was quick to tell her that the gorgeous puppy I had seen when picking up Gemma needed to be in the ring. While Julie had purchased him with his hunting abilities in mind, she agreed, and so the adventure began.
Chase and Gemma were the first dogs I'd tried to show, so we all learned together. Despite his novice handler, Chase did well in Conformation. He earned his first points from the puppy class, and earned his Natl. CH at the age of 9 months. We moved from MN in June of 2002. Prior to our move, Chase had earned his Int. CH and six points towards his AKC CH, including one major. When earning his Int. CH, Chase took a Sporting Group 1 over the then AKC #1 Gordon Setter in the country, shown by a Pro Handler!
I cried that day as I put Chase in his kennel to fly him back home, with no idea that I would never see him again. He lives on in my heart though, and in the spirit his puppies.
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Chase
spent a lot of time at our house when we lived in Minnesota, and
traveled with me to shows throughout the country. At the Labrador
Nationals in 2002, I ran Chase and Gemma in the WC test and later
in the CGC test, and they passed both with flying colors.
Julie
and Chase were busy after our move, and Chase quickly earned his
JH that summer. He went in the ring a few times without accomplishing
anything though, so in late March, Julie loaded him on an airplane
and shipped him my way. He joined us on the road, and we quickly
found our groove again. Rather than "standing" in the
ring as he tended to do with someone else on the end of the lead,
Chase began to "show," and started placing regularly in
his classes. We also began training in obedience. Cooperative as
always, Chase quickly learned what I wanted him to do. He earned
his CD in three straight tries, completing his last two legs at
Potomac. He earned a special award there as well, as the highest
scoring Lab with an AKC hunting or tracking title. As anyone who
attended Potomac that year will tell you, the grounds were a mud
bog, and I was very proud of him for performing so well in the slop.
Focusing
again on conformation, Chase hit gold. He took a four point major
at the end of April, and followed that up quickly with another two
point win. On May 10, in Tupelo, MS, Chase went WD/BOW for a third
major, and finished his CH. It was a very proud day for both of
us, though it was sad a few days later when Chase flew back home
to MN.
