I had not planned to keep a puppy from my C litter but, when the pups were a week old, there was something about the little red collar girl that just really stood out.  That little bit of something became more apparent as she became the first to climb out of the whelping box, the first to find and explore Irma’s food bowl, the first to want up on the bed and one of the first to begin using eye contact.  I told myself over and over that I was not keeping that little red puppy, that she would make someone a fantastic working or sport prospect, but as she attached herself more and more to me, it became less and less likely that she would be going to a new family.  In the beginning, she was bold and adventurous, but not crazy, high energy like some of the other pups.  She would calmly follow me or just sit right in front of people and look at them.  She was an old soul in a puppy body, which eventually led to her name, which is Celtic for ancient one.  As she developed over the first 8 weeks, a mischievous, playful, but very wise personality became more and more apparent.  She wasn’t necessarily the quickest to learn in the litter as she had a mind of her own and an independent streak, but when she was focused and not off on her own agenda, she picked up new skills lickety quick.  She wasn’t the most toy driven of the bunch by any means, but she showed enough interest that I knew it could be developed.  Her food drive was excellent, and she scored as a nice sport, possibly working, and definite active family dog prospect in her temperament testing at 7 weeks of age.  I had several inquiries about her, but each time I thought about placing her, my stomach got sick and I just couldn’t do it.  So, that is how Cian von Cluskey became the fifth member and 4th female of my Von Cluskey German Shepherd pack.  As she has developed and grown into her big puppy ears and paws, the promise that she showed and that little bit of something extra continues to show and I have very high hopes for our future performance career together.  We have earned all 3 levels of the CGC and have finished our rally excellent title with some wonderful scores.  We are currently working on obedience, scent work and agility, but with her absolute love of water (I can’t keep her out of buckets, pools, puddles or any other water containing object), I am thinking maybe someday to try dock diving.  Her excellent hip health (.22, top 95th percentile for the breed), normal elbows through OFA, wonderful, eager to learn  personality and the fact that she is dm and mdr1 clear by parentage will also make her an excellent addition to my breeding program at some point in our future. , in the meantime, I am looking forward to continuing to watch this special girl grow and develop and to finding out where the twists and turns of life take us.