Meet Arrow, the Bowman with a knack for finding what once was lost.
Arrow is a handsome European Standard Dachshund born on August 18th, 2018. Arrow (formerly Erik) was bred by John Willmore and Diane Webb in Seattle, WA. John and Diane own Arrow’s dam Bossa, who was born on the island of Gotland, Sweden before being brought to the United States. Bossa’s sire and dam are both Swedish Champions and she is a highly decorated AKC competitor. You can learn more about Bossa on John and Diane’s website:
http://www.doxifun.com/dogs/bossa/
Arrow’s sire Teo was born in Denmark before being brought to the United States in 2014. He was first owned by Patt Nance of Ohio (http://www.fieldworthy.com/ ) and is now owned by Patty Rothhaar. Patty and Teo also live in Ohio and aren’t too far from us. Teo is a successful tracking dog used to recover wounded deer. You can learn more about Teo on John and Diane’s website:
http://www.doxifun.com/dogs/bossa/Teo.php
We made the decision to buy a tracking dog because of my daughter Eliza. What follows is the story of how a very special girl sparked the welcoming of a very special longhaired dachshund we call “Arrow” into the Handful of Bowmans (http://faithfullyflawless.com/).
Eliza has always had a love and passion for dogs. She turned 6 years old in February and she’s been doing agility classes with our standard poodle Alice for the last several years. Growing up in a family with lots of different pets, she’s always had a special affinity for the K-9 variety.
Eliza accompanied me on a track this November when I wounded a buck and utilized the help of my friend Chris and his tracking dog, a Deutsch-Drahtaar, for the first time. She was so interested in watching the dog work, she stayed out with me and my friends several hours past dark looking for him, never complaining or asking to go back to the house. My little girl has grit! Through trail camera photos, I was able to determine that the deer survived. Although I didn’t find a nice buck at the end of the track that night, I found something of much greater value, a unique outdoors activity that my daughter and I could do together and both really enjoy.
It didn’t hit me right away that I wanted to have a tracking dog of our own, that thought started during a game of “hunting” I was playing with the kids one night. When we play hunting, everyone has a role. My sons Judah and Ezra take turns with me being either the hunter or the deer (or elk, or bear, or moose, or you name the animal). My oldest daughter Cora is always the pack horse or pack goat. As for Eliza, she is always, well, you guessed it, the tracking dog. The divine Seed of Inspiration was planted that night while watching Eliza track Judah’s imaginary blood trail. The roots have been growing deeper ever since.
I’m always looking for opportunities to find things that my children and I can enjoy together and that make them feel special and unique. It became clear after that night of play that this was one of those opportunities. The funny thing is, I was adamant just a few months before that we were not going to get another dog. We lost our Havanese, Gidget, to old age that summer and considering that we owned two horses, a pony, a standard poodle, two rabbits, and two guinea pigs, my answer to the question that hadn’t even been asked yet was “We are not getting another dog, so don’t even ask me.” Yet not my will, but Yours be done.
After a lot of discussion and research, Mary and I decided that a Dachshund may be a great option for us. In the European Standard Dachshunds we found a breed of excellent scenting ability, small stature, family friendly disposition, and very minimal shedding. Providence connected us with Patt Nance who kindly dedicated an entire Saturday to coming up to meet us, answer our questions, educate us, and ultimately connect us with John Willmore and Diane Webb. Drawing from her extensive expertise with the breed and her knowledge of the kind of dog we were looking for, Patt strongly encouraged us to consider Arrow as an option. Wisely, Patt waited until we were thoroughly enamored with the idea to explain that dogs with his caliber of breeding aren’t easy to find. She encouraged us to be opened minded before telling us where Arrow lived, on the opposite side of the country, in Seattle, Washington. In time it became crystal clear, the Good Lord laid a track for me to follow; all the way from Findlay, OH to Seattle, WA.
As I landed in Seattle that Saturday afternoon, the kids thought I was in Dayton, OH on a rabbit hunt with my dad and brother. Little did they know, I was on a hunt for something much more significant. John and Arrow picked me up from the airport and I got to spend a little time walking Arrow on a beautiful beach near their home before meeting the rest of the Viking litter. I was impressed and enamored with Arrow right away and equally impressed by the rest of John and Diane’s K9 family.
Not to be outdone by the dogs, John and Diane demonstrated a quality of character, hospitality, and generosity that left me feeling incredibly grateful to be welcomed into the home of such wonderful people. Undoubtedly, they are deeply passionate and knowledgeable about their dogs and the breed. It was a joy to listen to them share their experiences and patiently answer all of my questions. The effort they put in to raising quality puppies was evident in every detail of how they cared for them. The pups were healthy, social, and started very well on housetraining and obedience. John prepared a delicious meal we shared together which was much appreciated after a long day of travel. My appreciation for them continued to grow at the pups’ mealtime when I saw the effort they put into feeding the dogs a quality diet. I couldn’t imagine better people to buy a puppy from. Thank you John and Diane. Thank you Lord.
The next morning was an early one filled with anticipation. Arrow and I had a long day of travel ahead, and I wasn’t sure how he would handle staying in his crate for that long. He was a star traveler, hardly made a peep. I knew back at home there were four little kids who had no idea what was about to happen when Dad got home tonight, and I had a plan. I came in the door empty handed explaining to the kids that it was a fun hunt, but we didn’t see any rabbits. That is, we didn’t see any until the very end when I saw one run down into a rabbit hole. So what do I do when I see a rabbit go down a hole? Why, I showed them how I reached my arm down that hole all the way to my shoulder until I just barely got a hold of that rabbit, and pulled it out! You can imagine their curiosity mixed with unbelief when I told them I had it out in the car and asked if they wanted to see it. I’ll never forget the momentary look of utter shock on their faces followed by complete joy and excitement when I pulled that rabbit out from under my coat! Welcome home, and welcome to The Handful, Mr. Bowman Arrow.
