She may be the most beautiful springer I've ever known in mind, body and spirit.  I know I'll never have another.  She had a great life with me and lots of loving companions.  I adored her and she knew it.  I don't know that she ever had a bad day until the last...They were few.  I owed her that and much more.  I will miss her every single moment until I see her again. 

     She finished magically at a handful of specialties.  Robin and I shared her from the beginning.

Her biggest win was the day after the Sturbridge National when she was WB/BOW and BOS over dozens of specials from the BBE class.

 

 

 

 

     She was bred to Ch. Roselane N' Gentry's Incognito which produced Ch. Tiffany ESSpecial Sharper Image.  Her next venture produced our beloved, Evelyn, Ch. Tiffany's the Whole Shebang, out of Ch. Belvoir Let the Games Begin.  Opal was then bred to Ch. Amilyn Flying High.  The litter was sadly lost, but for one incredibly spirited survivor aptly named Ripley.  (Ch. ESSpecial Believe it or Not).  Opal became a surrogate Mom for several days as I carted her off to care for a litter of 8 accompanied by her singleton.  She did her job beautifully and we returned the following week with two Loaners and Ripley.  She was born to be a Mother.  She loved babies and was caught on more than one occasion trying to kidnap puppies to take into her crate.  Once, Mark mixed her up with Mallory who was nursing a litter.  I came down in the morning to one very ticked off Mallory (in a crate) and Opal blissfully cleaning puppies who had nursed on her all night.  I imagine it was more satisfying for Opal than anyone else, but you could see her beaming.

     Her last litter consisted of two sired by our Adam, Ch. Tiffany's You've Been Warned.  They are Stanley and Oliver now; Tiffany's ESSpecial Imagery and ESSpecial Tiffany's Image Maker, co-owned by us with Ken Goodhue-McWilliams because he loved Opal almost as much as we did.  These two boys capture her essence and we are blessed to have them here along with Evelyn.

     She was a clown like her father.  I called her "cat dog" because she would cock her head coyly and run with one paw waving in the air as she came at you to be hugged.  She always wanted hugs.  I gave her millions, but it was never enough for either of us.  The last few months, we knew the day was coming, but secretly hoped it would be years.  Finally, we had a day at the spa complete with bath, blow-dry and cut...lunch with favorite things and hugs...lots of them.  I sat in the lobby of the clinic for about 20 minutes with clients admiring her beauty thinking she looked ready for the show ring.  I never admitted why we were there and thankfully, no one asked.  And then it was over...for her at least.  Opal is vividly alive in my dreams and memories.  I see glimpses of her every day in her kids.  Opal taight me you do not have to be center stage to be important to others and to be loved unconditionally.  Life is about living, loving and learning to lose...people, dogs, and other things much less significant. 

     Opal leaves us with her children, who are unmistakably her own.  She also leaves us with a void that is filled in our dreams and memories of her beautiful soul.  I trust she is gutting a stuffed toy as we speak, and while I know things are probably getting crowded on the sofa in the sky, I know she is saving us a spot.

     A friend made a donation to the ESSFTA Foundation in Opal's memory with the hopes that others might be so fortunate to breed one as beautiful and healthy as she was.  There could be no greater tribute to Opal.