Learning the Names

My sense of time has been altered. I can’t say whether it’s sharpened or dimmed, but I am keenly aware of it in terms of how much I learn from day to day so that on Tuesday I will look back on Monday and marvel at what I didn’t know. I plug along. Dogged. Emblazoned on the white board of my mind is the history of the English Cocker spaniel. I am starting to recognize lines and notice when a path forks.

Because the numbers are relatively low-- I believe they are # 74 in AKC registration-- the pool is small enough to get a handle on. At least the conformation pool. I am always on the lookout for the letters AFTER the name as well. And I have Front & Finish that lists the rankings of obedience competitors by breed.

So the knowledge is piling up in my head. First I learned about Field spaniels, and if I didn’t have breakable toy dogs, I’d be on that list. I’d have my heart in my hand for a Henry puppy. But I do worry about accidents. I may have already talked about that. The sheer weight and exuberance.

I like the English Cockers. They’d be fun to name. Beekeeper’s Apprentice. They come in great colors, are a great size and look like tons of fun. But I’d need a really smart one, and a confident one who wasn’t always leaning on me. One who loves the world and people; I want him to be like a flash of red light leading my heart out alongside him. One who is gentle and respectful of the smaller people in the household. I need a magical one.
A healer.

I started out liking blue roans. Then I added the orange roan to the list. Then the orange and white. The deep reds are gorgeous. I like a lot of color in the coat…but not too dark. The complexity of the pattern…those maps of the sky and of lost oceans. Islands and wind currents. The fractals in an EC coat….not just the spiral of a fern, but entire continents half hidden by clouds, seen from outer space.