CH Satin From Silk: April 2006 – May 2021

CH Satin From Silk (I’m Houston’s Image x Blue Silk, 2006)

CH Satin From Silk was knock-out pretty. Her perfectly conformed body was mostly white with a spot or two of orange around her dark eyes and on her ears and tail. Beneath that beautiful exterior, though, beat the heart of a champion—fierce in her focus, determination and application.

Satin From Silk was owned by Greg and Diane Gress of Minnesota. Her registered name honored her dam, Blue Silk (out of our 4X CH / 4X RU-CH Blue Streak), by I’m Houston’s Image, handsome male straight out of Paul Hauge’s favorite setter, Houston. Greg and Diane called her Peggy.

Betsy and I have many fond memories of Peggy.

Peggy and her seven littermates were born on Easter Sunday in 2006 in our rental home. It was, in general, a fine place to live, kennel our dogs and raise puppies. But one day as Jerry and I worked in the kennel, a big “boom” blew the wooden well cover off the floor, ignited some dog hair and dust and shot a ball of flames down the hallway of the kennel until it ran out of fuel.

With the exception of singed eyebrows on Silk, no dogs or puppies were harmed and nothing was damaged. (We did honor the occasion by naming one of the male puppies Boomer.)

CH Satin From Silk, on right, is backed by her dam, Blue Silk (CH First Rate x CH Blue Streak, 1999), on a training run in Oklahoma.

Greg and Diane entrusted us for Peggy’s early training. Highlights include late summer weeks at our prairie camp in North Dakota and a memorable winter in Oklahoma. We watched her develop from an energetic puppy into a national-caliber, field trial competitor. Like her dam, Peggy had the mental toughness and independence to be great but, at times, it could also be her downfall.

Peggy won the 2009 Wisconsin Cover Dog Championship. Still today, her performance ranks as an amazing display of the highest bird dog ability. And I had a front row seat; I was braced with Greg and Peggy, handling her litter sister, CH I’m Blue Gert, owned by Dave and Rochel Moore.

Greg and I broke away on the infamous “crash” course at the Chippewa Valley Grouse Dog Association’s grounds near Augusta, Wis. Peggy’s nose dragged her around the course—and she dragged Greg. Peggy went from grouse to grouse to grouse to grouse. Greg caught up in time to flush each bird and shoot, and then Peggy was quickly off to her next bird before he could even holster his pistol.

Peggy was never an easy handling, close-working dog and this hour she pushed—and beyond at times—the limits of the bell. When Greg finally put the lead on Peggy at the end of the hour, all who had witnessed her performance knew we were running for second place.

RIP, dear Peggy. We will always remember.