Ted:

We wanted to thank you for all that you've done for us and our dogs.

When we first approached you eighteen months ago about getting a German Shepherd puppy for us, we sent you to Slovakia with a laundry list of qualities that we were looking for in a new puppy (i.e. strong temperament, good with people and other animals, confident, loyal, protective but not aggressive. In short- a puppy that was perfect and would not only be able to participate in American Street Ring, but to excel at it).

Not only did you manage to find a puppy with all of the things that we were looking for, we think that you outdid yourself and far exceeded our greatest expectations. Dax has great bloodlines (Policia Kennel), a sound temperament, OFA "Good" hips, a sweet disposition (Dax adores our cat and gets along great with every dog he meets), is a vigilant watchdog, is under control, and will protect us without a doubt should the need ever arise. Dax has also developed into an excellent ASR dog as is evidenced by his recent success in the Fall 2002 American Street Ring Trial.

Your ability to evaluate puppy candidates and to read a dog's abilities and limitations is truly amazing. One of the greatest joys we get out of our involvement in ASR and the many training sessions is to watch the way that you can evaluate a dog, predict its strengths, and help it overcome its weaknesses.

We feel honored that you allowed us to raise Dax in the ASR field. We are pleased that you had enough confidence in us as handlers to sell us a dog who is as "serious" as Dax is. We hope that as we continue to train and compete in ASR, you will continue to have confidence that Dax is developing and maturing into a dog that we can all be proud of.

We are particularly appreciative of your ability and patience in overcoming some of the faulty training that it appears Dax was subjected to in his early development in Slovakia. Through much time and effort you were able to diagnose the triggers that seemed to cause Dax to "out early" and, equally important, to prescribe a training regimen in which Dax overcame the early Slovakia training. Additionally, Dax is able to perform extremely well with not only Dave, but also with other less experienced and less knowledgeable decoys as well. You have helped Dax to develop into the wonderful dog that you always said Dax would become.

Thanks to your training and the wonderful decoy work that both you and Dave have provided, we're the very proud recipients of the "High in Trial" trophy. We look forward to the day when Dax will do his part to pass along his genes so that in the future, many more quality German Shepherds will be available to compete in ASR.

 Thank you so much- Michael and Carrie Bootcheck