After 7 months I still think of Griff many times every day.  I've been trialing for 33 years and had only one dog who even came close to him.  The reason:  we had a bond like no other.   I have a quote from Alasdair MacRae which says it all:

"Getting a dog to work the way you're asking isn't so remarkable. Getting a dog to WANT to work the way you're asking is."

I could say so much about Griff, but I'll let others do the talking:

I just have to tell you my second favourite comment ever, about Griff, which came from judge Jack Knox, who had just put him in 2nd place in a field of 46 open dogs.  After the trial, as I walked by him he said "Hey, you don't talk (ie whistle) to your dog much!" All I could think of to say was: "I don't have to", knowing that is exactly what Jack meant!

From a handler who had watched a run from the top: "His outrun and lift were perfect. He stopped in exactly the right place, and the sheep lifted perfectly; never rushing and never bending."

From another judge: "You have a beautiful down on your dog; he drops like he's been shot. He looks like he could move a bulldozer." I thanked her out loud, but thought to myself "I doubt I could ever train him to do that. He does it because he wants to work the way he thinks I'm asking."

From some handlers at the first Quesnel Arena Trial: "Your dog drops like he's been shot" and "Does he have a bruised chin?.... he stops so suddenly I wondered if he hurts himself" and "If I had a dog like that I'd put him in the circus."

So, what about my number one favourite comment ever? It came from a handler who had watched a run carefully: "Sometimes you see a great run, but this one had soul. The dog did much of it on his own. As I watched, I couldn't stop smiling." I dwelt on that comment for 9 months, and met the woman again. This was my chance! I reminded her of what she had said, and asked her to explain her comment. She said something like this: "That run I will never forget, he put his heart and soul into his work; the relationship between the two of you was obvious. He was intense, enthusiastic, and passionate about his work. His power was just there, he didn't have to find it, it was just part of him."

And that's what you get when you have a dog who wants to work the way you're asking.  Eventually, you don't have to ask anymore, because he knows what you want, and will give everything he has to do just that.

Thank you to all those, and others not quoted here, who have given me such wonderful comments over the years that will stay with me forever.