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20-08-90 21-5-03
Rob and Pat Latimer’s beloved boy
MICAH
"We first became aware of Micah in 1992, and watched him in the ring whenever
time showing our girls allowed us to. We were wanting to have a litter from
Sophie, our Pharaoh's Gold daughter, and intended line breeding which we
considered at that time the safest option for us as whilst we had had afghans
since 1977 we considered ourselves novices as far as breeding afghans was
concerned! We had tried mating her in early 1992 but this was unsuccessful and
we were unable to re use that dog in 1993.
In mid-1993 we approached Pat and asked if we could use Micah. Fortunately, Pat
said yes, and to my delight we were to be the first to use him. The mating took
place under the most unusual but delightful circumstances - mid-December in Pat
and Rob's lounge, with Christmas tree and fairy lights, and carols playing.
Micah was an absolute gentleman, but also he created great merriment. Remember
he was a maiden dog, Sophie was a maiden bitch. I don't know how long we waited
- Micah would attempt the deed, think better of it and go and get a drink of
water! This went on for some time - each time we thought he'd understood what
was needed of him off he went for water! Eventually he was taken outside to
relieve what must have been, by that time, a very full bladder and when he came
in he mated Sophie with no further ado - great relief all round (especially from
Sophie!!)
The consequence of this was our wonderful "Ice" litter of eight puppies, all
black mask cream or silver and all with the most delightful temperaments -
taking after both their Mum and Dad. It was just a few weeks after the babies
were born that Micah was made up to Champion and we were delighted to tell all
the prospective owners of the puppies to make sure they included this on their
entry forms for shows!
From that time on we followed Micah’s career with interest and were always
delighted at his many successes. Strangely enough, he never seemed to forget us
and always made a fuss of us whenever we saw him at shows. I remember at one AHA
show when Pat was in the Champions Parade with him, he saw me at the side of the
ring and made a beeline for me with Pat unsuccessfully trying to stay in the
ring!!
Some of his first litter have, inevitably, joined Micah at the Rainbow Bridge,
but the rest are now almost 10 and all are still adored by their various owners
for their lovely temperaments and sense of fun, a legacy from Micah and Sophie.
Our own Maya was BPB and BP at the Northern Afghan Open show at her very first
outing as a minor puppy, with her litter brother Luka, being BPD - but Maya
decided at an early age that her forte was to be in racing and lure coursing at
which she excelled becoming the very first Afghan Lure Courser of Merit in
Britain and regularly representing Central, North West and Ellesmere Port Afghan
Racing at Intertrack.
We loved Micah, partly for giving us such a great litter and because he was
truly such a lovely boy. He was, and always will be, one of our all-time
favourite dogs. He treated us as family and that is how we regarded him.
Diana and Keith Searle (Salamkhan Afghans)"
Updated 22/12/2008 09:11
© Rob and Pat Latimer - 2005 - 2006 all rights reserved
