Owner : TENFIELD
Breed : Golden Retriever
Location : BARNARD CASTLE, COUNTY DURHAM
Birthdate : 27th July 2015
Colour : Golden
Health Tested ⓘ
Cilla was the long awaited daughter of my special Kiwi and was one of a litter of five girls and one boy, being a first litter for their young dad Blu.
Cilla is a big girl and took a long time to fill her frame. She started her show career amazingly with Best Puppy on her first ever Open Show outing age 6 months. Being very gangly she then struggled to compete against other girls of her age who were far more together and therefore largely stayed at home. However, she has been placed as high as second in numerically strong Championship Show breed classes and has qualified for Crufts 2017. A highlight was when my good friend Kim Clunie took her into a very large and competitive Petplan Junior Stakes class at Bath Championship Show and was placed fifth after two shortlists age only 11 months.
Cilla is a long striding accurate mover and doesn't take long to cover any ground! She is a genuine girl, but doesn't always realise how big she is compared to some of the others and knocked more than one of mine down the steps! She is another who never strays far when out for a walk and keeps returning to check on me, her recall is instant.
Cilla is now mature is a lustrous shade of gold. Everyone who visits likes Cilla as she is a typical Golden and very calm and gentle with people. This is obviously a family trait, as her litter sister Emma with her 8 year old best friend Milli were finalists in the Crufts 2019 'Friends for Life' competition, in the 'Hero Assistance Dog' category representing Dogs for Good. We were extremely proud of the way Emma coped with the big ring, remaining calm and focused.
Cilla had her first litter born on Christmas Eve 2017 and in spite of her gangly legs was a careful and devoted mum to her ten puppies, a complete natural. What a super bunch they turned into and Cilla herself has now produced an assistance dog 'Ollie', who is qualified with Veterans with Dogs. One of her daughters 'Ripple' has been a consistent winner in the show ring and is also showing promise in the shooting field.
Being such an easy going girl, Cilla moved in with my mum who lives nearby, to give her companionship after the loss of Crisp the Beagle. Unfortunately my mum managed to slam her back door on the end of Cilla's tail, severing the vertebrae, which meant Cilla had to have her beautiful ever wagging tail amputated at the start of the Covid pandemic. It hasn't stopped her wagging her 6 inch stump wildly, but did mean her show career was instantly over, just as she was starting to look magnificent.
Cilla, had a final litter in November 2021, sadly there were only three puppies born by ceasarean and her daughter, the naughty Otter stayed. Otter is going to be a slow burner like her mum, but qualified for Crufts first time out and has been Best Puppy in Show at the Golden Retriever Club of Scotland Open Show on one of her rare outings.
In the meantime Cilla is a dog of two worlds, spending one to one time with my mum and is always delighted to rejoin the pack for walks and most weekends when she comes to stay.