Rudy arrived from Minneapolis/St. Paul in February 1988, he was born on my birthday (December 19) and perhaps that contributed to our special bond. Rudy was a gangly, outgoing, precocious puppy, he seemed to need a "cowboy" name but Buckaroo just didn't fit so we gave him the hybrid name Ziparoo 8)
To me Rudy was always very special because of his personality and his uncanny marking accuracy, the most accurate marker I had seen, only equaled to (or perhaps surpassed) by his granddaughter FC-AFC Trumarc's Lean Cuisine (Kweezy).
Rudy was a clown and after completing a test in training he would grab a bumper and run around entertaining himself, a characteristic which later emerged in grandson FC-AFC Trumarc's Chubby Mac.
For his short career as a sire he was very productive having sired 18 titled offspring.
He won back to back Opens in October 1989 to complete both titles and also won the Derby at one of those trials so @ 22 months he was FC-AFC with 36 derby points. Rudy went 9 series at the '89 National Open in Albany Georgia at 23 months old. His career ended prematurely at 5 due to a torn CCL and some water blind issues. He was my companion and hunting dog until the summer of 1994 (6 1/2 years old) when he succumbed to complications of gastric dilitation volvulus. I slept on the floor with him for 10 nights while he was on IVs. I tearfully decided to end his life humanely when the chance for recovery no longer existed.
I was devastated by his loss and for months I visited his grave behind our house and wept openly. Rudy and I loved duck hunting together (I co-owned an airboat with a couple of buddies). To this day I have never been duck hunting again, such was my emotional bond with this wonderful dog. |
