After we had had Shooter for a few years and he had successfully gotten us completely wrapped up in Vizslas, dog shows, field trials, hunt tests and – briefly – obedience and agility – we decided it was time to add another dog to our household. Buffy was that pup.

When a friend of ours indicated she was breeding her girl Penny to a stud named Ike, we knew we had found the litter we wanted a pup out of. We were heavily into the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series at the time, so the name came naturally – she would be Lagniappe’s Chosen One. 🙂

She was sassy and full of attitude and as bold as you can be. She came home to us in November of 2004, and the next week attended her very first field trial. She had a great time! Little 9 week old puppy running around like she owned the place. We took her out with the big dogs after the trial and she didn’t hesitate in moving out and running through the brush right next to them. Her boldness was a sign of things to come – both good and bad.

She was an absolute hellion to crate-train. SIX FULL FREAKING WEEKS of her screaming in the crate at night for HOURS before she finally gave in and accepted that this was how it was gonna be. The issue wasn’t really that the crate was a terrible place for her – she just had other opinions on where she should sleep, and she let them be heard. Oh MY did she let them be heard!

Then before we knew it, it became one of her favorite places to relax. Anyway – whenever anyone tells you that a crate is cruel – they’re wrong. Yes, it takes training and it’s an adjustment, but it really is one of the safest places for a dog, and they grow to be perfectly comfortable with it. By comparison, Shooter was crate-trained in 3 days and never had an issue with one for his entire 14+ years.

It wasn’t an issue with the crate – Buffy was just a stubborn pain in the ass. That trait would rear its ugly head several times throughout her life; sometimes it was frustrating … REALLY FRUSTRATING … but some were funny, and quite honestly, nearly all of my best stories about the Buffster are about times where she was being an ornery little bitch.

She blossomed into a gorgeous girl. Great style, great bird drive, great at just about everything. She’s the only dog I had to break twice; once the only way I knew, and we had a nice season out of it – and then again, with an e-collar, once she figured out that I couldn’t do anything to her once she was off the check-cord. Oooooh, she was a smart one.

She was the foundation behind every dog you’ll be hearing about from here on out. Mother to Patriot, TomBoy, Emma Jane, and JackJack. Grandmother to Ricky Bobby and Eleanor.

We loved the sassy, stubborn attitude contained within a sweetheart of a dog. She’s very missed.