On September 13th, 2022. Cinders turned a year old. She's had her ups and downs since she came into our program as a breeder surrender- due to her spine defect. We had no idea what the future would hold for this precious puppy, but the idea of running her in field competitions was not anything I could have dreamed of. She has shown in the past few months- that in spite of her birth defect, she has a desire to hunt and she also has a great nose for upland birds. Last December, she was dragging her back legs due to her neck being out of alignment- but chiropractic care every 5-6 weeks had helped her become stronger and has also helped her grow properly. I had actually bought wheels for her because I thought she might not be able to walk or run. As she was also infected with Rocky Mountain spotted fever from her mama, she's also fought hard to get that disease under control.
We did not get papers for her when she came into Illinois Birddog Rescue's program, but when she started sight pointing birds in the Spring, I had a wild idea to see if I could get her breeder to give them to me so I could enter her in field events in the fall. Thankfully he agreed, and after I got her registered with the Field Dog Stud Book, I pursued getting her dual registered with the American Kennel Club. That proved to be difficult as her FDSB papers were delayed several weeks and the AKC stopped taking those papers in July 2022, and her papers arrived the middle of July. I was contacted in late July that her papers arrived too late, but I pleaded with the AKC, especially due to the FDSB/UKC 5 week backlog and my persistence paid off and she was granted her papers. Most of the trialing I wanted to do was AKC, so I was thrilled with the opportunity we were given.
We have done some work in the field and she has had some training off leash at the local dog parks, and given the opportunity she will hunt independently, but she also has a really nice recall off leash. I was not worried about letting her go at an event. Next step was to get her on birds and we were able to get some pheasant in July. It didn't take her long for her natural instincts to come out and the picture above was taken after she scent pointing her 6th bird in a row. She was ready!! We entered an AKC field trial the middle of September and while she didn't place, she did learn about judges on horses and she sight pointed her first quail. The following weekend she was entered into an AKC Hunt test and she scent pointed many quail in the bird field and passed 3 out of 4 attempts in Junior Hunter.
I haven't campaigned a rescue dog in over 10 years. I never thought I would be gifted with such a special pup, that would help promote English Setter rescue, but Cinders' recovery is a miracle . With that in mind, Cinders and I need some special sponsors to help us in the next few weeks. She is entered in another AKC hunt test and with 1 more qualifier- she could finish her Junior Hunter title. After that we will be field trialing and the last 2 will be in Virginia and these will be especially fun because she will be competing against other Setters, and only English Setters at the English Setter Association of America's trial on October 24th. There will be a lot of costs associated with helping us on our quest and I have created 3 wine labels with the help of Windsor Vineyards. The varietals include a Brut Sparking wine which will be perfect for upcoming celebrations and gift giving. There are 6 other wines available including 3 reds and 3 whites. Additionally, I have come up with a shopping list of travel and entry expenses if you would like to help with that too. As we have so many Setters in the program that have complicated health problems-- much of this fundraiser will help with the care of those special dogs too. Here is Cinder's original GOFUNDME to help with her sponsorship and continued care. She is due for new blood work soon.
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Please meet 10 week old orange and white American Field bred English Setter- Cinders. She is an Indiana breeder/ field trialer owner surrender because has a strange lump in her back. In foster care, we had xrays done that showed an issue with one of her vertebrae. It was also suggested by the breeder that if my rescue didn't have the resources to help her, he would explore other options for her so we acted quickly. We have gotten 3 puppies from this breeder the past few years, the last 2 both had Lyme disease and one had hip dysplasia that needed surgery. Cinders is on doxycycline in case she is also infected from her mother. I sent the xray to an orthopedic friend in the area and he felt it was a congenital birth defect and was surprised to read she can walk and run but the concern is what happens when she grows and when the soft bones harden when she becomes an adult.
His suggestion was to take her to a neurologist and we were also told that chiropractic care and perhaps water tread mill therapy would be a good idea. This is all new territory for us since so much about her care but will do the best we can to keep her from having any nerve damage or paralysis. She is a brilliant puppy in spite of her birth defect. She already comes when called and is stalking the dogs in her foster home. We are hopeful for her future and we hope we can get some funding for her care.