Intro

[Linda Shipman <Linda.Shipman@chezor.alaska.com>]

Hi gang:

We're Linda and Perry Shipman in Juneau, Alaska.  Gina's already
made a short introduction for us and our furr girls and asked us to
flesh it our a bit more.  Here's a family bio:

Iris, aka Ms. Talks-a-lot :-)  Her formal title is:

U-CDX, UCI-Intl & CAN CH Goodtimes Flower Power, Am-Can CDX,
	Am-Can TD, CGC

Iris also used to be known as "Princess of Perfection", but now that we
have Angel puppy, she has requested that she be referred to as Queen :-)
Having a puppy to lord it over has given her a whole new sense of herself.

If Iris were a person, she would fit the overachiever/cheerleader stereotype.
You know...the one with drop dead gorgeous blond hair, wouldn't soil her
well-manicured nails, charms everyone with her pert personality....plus
runs an A+ GPA in her spare time.

If any of you have seen the movie "Election", Iris reminds us of the Reese
Witherspoon character ;-)  A lot of admirable qualities, but a bit over the top
at the same time <s>  We also call her our drama queen/opera diva :-)
She's very vocal and effusive in her reaction to the world...whether it be
greeting someone at the front door or doing an exercise well in the obedience
ring.

Iris will be four this month; Angel our baby will be 16 months.  She is
from a different kennel and a *whole* different golden :-)

Her formal name is:  Mariner Aces High at Chezor, CGC

Imagine Angel as a teenage tomboy.  Athletic, lean body, the stamina
and drive to physically out distance her competitors.   Very birdy.
Untidy manners...burps in her face, rolls in dead fish, eats goose poop.

Appears to be totally disinterested in what you'd like her to learn and then
you give her a test and she aces it.  With minimal training, she was
able to score a 190 our to 200 in our local March obedience trial at
just a little over one year old, something we ever despaired of even
thinking until she was eight months old.  She was the kind of pup,
that when you said come as a puppy, looked you in the eye and ran as
fast as she could the other way, even when you had a treat in your
hand and she knew it.  So those of you with feisty little ones ....take
heart! :-)

Despite Angel's activeness, she is a very calm girl.  We rarely hear
her bark.  She will crawl up and lay next to you on the couch or bed
and sleep as long as you do.  I had a client here a few months ago
with severe multiple sclerosis.  Her hands, legs and eyes were
all shaking. She was in a wheelchair with two attendants.  Iris took
one look and ran under the table and growled.  Angel walked right
up, put her head in the woman's lap and looked soulfully at her while
the woman erratically patted her head.  And as she was wheeled
down the hallway, Angel walked quietly right next to her in the approx-
mately eight inches of space left beyond the wheelchair.  None of
this was taught, it's just the essential Angel :-)

We refer to Angel as John Travolta's character in the movie "Michael".
This Angel Michael preferred smoking, drinking, and the other sex :-)
But beneath all of that is an essential goodness and innocence that
charms you completely.

Now the human half of the family...

Perry and I are both from San Diego originally.  We moved to Juneau
in 1976, and have been married for 28 years.  Both of us are self-
employed.  I've had a private therapeutic massage practice for 11 years;
Perry has been a computer consultant for 14.  I also teach piano,
after being a classical student for 14 years myself.  Perry is a pilot
with commercial and instrument ratings.  You'll see from photos
at our website that we use the plane in Alaska, like folks use a car
down south.  There are no roads in and out of Juneau, so we have
to rely on aircraft and ferries to go beyond our 40 miles of road.

We both enjoy the outdoors, which is why we live in Alaska and enjoy
living with goldens.  As you can tell from our intro, we enjoy movies too,
reading, and music in any form, including dancing.

Gina asked me to talk a little bit about Iris' titles, but I will do that in
a separate post.

I look forward to hearing about how each of your babies are growing up
and what their personalities are like.  Having known some of Iris' and
Angel's siblings, it's amazing to me how many traits are the same
among a litter, but also how each one develops a unique personality.

Wags,

Linda
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Linda Shipman
Juneau, Alaska
Linda.Shipman@chezor.alaska.com
http://www.chezor.alaska.com
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