George

Desi

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Am/Can. CH Montage Nuits-Saint-Georges HSAs "The Saint" was a big, exuberant, lovable dog, with tons of pizzaz. I loved showing him but he was too tall to be a special. Instead he became my herding partner. He was the first herding dog I ever trained by myself to advanced levels. He never trialed past Started but he had all the skills and he was my steady helper at the barn before I had to send my sheep away and move to New York City. He spent his last two years with my ex husband because of my new living situation and I visited him when possible. Gary loved him dearly, too, and I know Saint had a great life. He went to the beach every day and he loved to swim. He had this bad habit of digging up and retrieving underwater rocks until he had a big pile of them, something we never could keep him from doing. Somehow, he never broke a tooth! I will think of him herding sheep and digging up rocks and hope to see him again one day at the bridge. My time with him will be treasured.

Am/Can. CH Montage Petite Syrah CGC "Syrah" left us at 11 years old due to kidney failure from melanine tainted food on the recall list. Syrah was Gary Madden's first show dog. He earned his Am. Championship in style with three majors, going on to easily earn a dual CH in Canada. He also had 2 CD legs. Syrah was affectionate, soulful, and naughty. He was well known as one of the Long Island North Fork winery dogs and was often seen hanging out at Lieb Family Cellars where Gary is the General Manager. After his passing, Gary produced 100 cases of "Petite Syrah" wine, with a beautiful etching of Syrah on the label, to remember him in a way that would do some good for the canine community, donating 20% of proceeds to The Animal Medical Center in New York City, for research in kidney failure. Here is a link to Syrah's Tribute on the AMC website.

Am/Can. CH Montage Tokay Pinot Gris "Thor" was incredibly intelligent, quirky, wild, and wonderful. He marched to a different drummer all the way! He was extremely athletic, and an accomplished escape artist. He often took himself over our gates and down to the beach. He loved the water, swam laps up and down along the shore, and body-surfed in the waves. He was a rich, dark gray color. Although valued in other countries gray was severely faulted in the AKC breed standard, thus, in order to win a gray Tervuren had to be exceptional. Thor was the 14th gray Tervuren to finish an AKC championship in 30+ years, breeder/owner handled all the way. I will always be so proud of my beautiful silver wolf! Thor sired the Surfing litter. Unfortunately, he had an abnormally small thyroid gland and his resulting hypothyroidism became evident at age 5 1/2, with associated seizuring. He passed on to the Rainbow Bridge at age 9. Thor was loved by many people besides myself, especially his dear Aunt Maeve who kept him by her side when I had to move to New York City. I am glad to have shared him with her. He spent some of his last summer in the Adirondacks, enjoying the lakes and the woods. It was a very happy time for all and memories that I will always cherish. Swim on, silver wolf, until we meet again.

Am/Can. CH Montage Montrachet PT, AX, AXJ, OJC, NGC, CGC, TDI "Bandit" lived and was loved by with Darcy Ferrentino and co-owned with Montage. Bandit and Darcy had a grand time in the show ring, earning a dual championship and many group placements. She was Darcy's first agility dog, retiring with 3 MX legs, 2 MXJ legs, and 2 double Q's, but her favorite sport was always sheep herding. Although she never went to trials to earn herding titles, she loved to work, with her mother's hard driving working ability, and a "just won't quit" kind of attitude. She was quite the character, affectionately called both "weasel" and "snuggler" depending! After the passing of her brother Syrah, she went to live with Gary Madden in Northville, Long Island NY, where she gave Gary much joy, reminding him so much of her mother Desi. She lived well into her 15th year, enjoying her old age as an only dog, hanging out at the Lieb Family Cellars winery, and loving the beach life. Bandit was the dam of the Montage Shakespeare Litter. We all miss the Queen Bandito very much!

Montage Vin Fou "Cirrus" lived near Vancouver, BC with his beloved persons Anne Friendly and Kevin Klop. After giving them much joy and all of his deep devotion and love, Cirrus passed on at age 13 1/2. Vin Fou means "crazy wine" and is the name of a French pink sparkling champagne. That name certainly fit Cirrus as he had a mischievous sense of humor and sparkling eyes! He was a big, athletic, affectionate dog with a lot of heart. While mainly a family companion, Kevin dabbled with him in preferred agility for fun, and his first time out he earned 1st place Qs in both Standard and Jumpers. When Cirrus ran he floated, effortlessly covering ground, and he was energetic and healthy into his senior years, keeping up with the young dogs at the park where he reigned. Cirrus was a bright, beautiful spirit and we will remember him with great pride.

Montage Valpolicella "Val" as dearly loved by Honor and Wayne Johnson. As a young dog, Val was very ill with distemper which we believe was given to her from a bad batch of vaccine. She made a miraculous recovery after a long convalescence but because of that remained at home as a family companion and did not do conformation or performance activities. Val had a calm, exceptionally loving temperament. She was a lovely, wonderful dog, lived a long happy life to age 14, and she is very much missed.

Montage Brunello Montalcino "Bruno" was greatly loved by his family Kathy, Martin and Aaron Cohn. Bruno had a wonderful lifestyle, dividing his time between the cafes, parks and beaches of San Francisco and a large country home in the Napa valley. He was very lively and outgoing, well known in his city neighborhood as the big, red dog! Bruno was an extremely sweet companion, deeply devoted to his family. He left a big hole behind him.