Here we are...

THE BUCKLEY BOYS
Casey and Wolfgang!

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(1) Here is Baby Casey at about 14 weeks of age. I picked him up from Terry and Lorene Smith in New York. They were there for the Westminster Dog Show. Casey arrived in New England in February, when it was very cold. Needless to say, he had to have a hooded parka to keep warm! Doesn't he look cute?

(2) Here is MY STAR: Wisselwood's Midnight Star, Am/Can C.D., CGC, TDI - Casey had just been on a cable tv show a few days earlier with my local vet and me. He was about ten months old at the time. The show discussed health issues of various breeds. Everyone fell in love with Casey. I had this t-shirt made up because he had been a star on tv...only for 15 minutes...but, still a star. Of course, Casey is truly a STAR to me!

(3) Happy Birthday Casey! What a sweetheart.

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(4) This is Baby Wolfie at about 14 weeks of age. I just loved that black beard and all that black on his ears, head, etc. With time, the dark beard lightened but all the other dark highlighting stayed. How do you like the "Mohawk" hairdo?

(5) Casey is so intelligent that he knows about 20 or more songs played with cat food commercials and anything else related to dogs, cats, horses...any kind of animal! Casey can be in another room and run gangbusters to get to the tv when he hears the music to these various things played. He has been addicted to the tv since he was a baby...now he likes to sit on my lap while I'm at the computer! (I actually think that he probably knows MORE about the computer than I do.) Casey is so smart that by the time he was five months old he knew and could retrieve when told (oftentimes on a different floor in the house) about 10 different toys: his stuffed animals (Doggy, teddy, bunny-guy, etc.), his stick (rawhide), the ball, etc. People would be amazed that he came back with the right toy 100% of the time. He never failed. Casey is the smartest dog I have ever known!

(6) This is a photo of my beautiful boy, Casey, dressed up as Santa Claus when he was about 2 years old. Casey should be the poster-griff for what Christmas is all about: kind, sweet, gentle...and a dream come true!!! Have you ever seen a sweeter Santa Claus?

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(7) This is Wolfie in 1991. He was about 15 months old. He already knew how to pose for the camera and continues to do so to this day!

(8) Casey and Wolfie posing for their Christmas card photo in October 1991. Casey was three years old and Wolfgang was eighteen months old....pretty good sit-stays considering the photo session was about an hour long at a photography studio.

(9) Wolfie and his "tote full of goodies" at the 1994 Eastern Regional Dog Obedience Competition. It was Wolfie's first try at the "big time" and he did very well -- scores in the mid 190's in all three performances! I was approached by one of the judges after the competition who complimented me on having such an excellent working toy dog who was actually having FUN in the ring. I was told that Wolfie was wonderful and had the potential to be a superstar! He WAS and IS a superstar to me...in every sense of the word.

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(10) Wolfgang, in all his glory, performing his most favorite thing in the world: retrieving the dumbbell over the high jump! He could never get enough of this particular obedience exercise. To this day, if he is shown his dumbbell he goes crazy and I must let him retireve it two or three times on the flat. (Can't jump him anymore since his spinal injury in 1996.)

(11) Wolfgang (Wisselwood's Sun Demon, C.D.), smiling for his Mom. This was one of the happiest days of my life! It was the night before Wolfie was allowed to come home with me following his stroke, paralysis and a ten day stay in the Intensive Care Unit at Tufts due to complications from surgery. I had been told when I visited my little Wolfman that night that he would be coming home with me for good the very next day!! This is absolutely my favorite photo of my wild, wonderful, obnoxious, MIRACLE BOY!!!

(12) Here's Casey. It was autumn in New England (1997) and we were in the forest exploring. Casey loves to visit this place because he can go rock clumbing: one of his favorite activities since retiring from competitive obedience.

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(13) Casey (R), Wolfie (L) and Ann Buckley (the human in the photo!!) at a Walk-a-thon for the Massachusetts SPCA. Casey and Wolfgang raised over $100 in contributions for participating in this walk. (Aren't those just the two CUTEST griffons pictured on Ann's sweatshirt?) Note that my wildman, Wolfgang, is wearing his "signature outfit"! This is the fourth set I've bought for him: a "Coach" hooded jogging suit with a royal blue "Pluto" sweater over it. Wolfie gets cold and shivers (since puppyhood ) when it goes below 68 degrees..... so, in New England, he spends about six months a year wearing this. (late Oct.-mid-April). I LOVE this outfit on Wolfgang.....my macho man. It makes him look so tough....... like a jock. I've had more people comment on how cute he looks in this. It captures his personality perfectly: an athlete dressed for the part!

(14) Casey and his proud Mom -- Christmas 1997. I love this photo because Casey looks like such a sweet, gentle boy....and look at those cute rear feet sticking up in the air. Don't think he's TOO comfortable in his Mom's arms, do you?

(15) Look at this BEAUTIFUL face!! My perfect gentleman,Casey, at age nine.......still looking as gorgeous as ever! This is one of my favorite all-time photos of Casey as an older dog. So sweet, so wonderful.....so PERFECT!

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(16) Christmas 1997, Wolfgang cuddled in his Mom's arms. What a life these two boys have... all the creature comforts of life and all the love they could possibly handle!

(17) Casey and Wolfgang with Santa (1997)... now, don't you think that Casey made a MUCH nicer Santa when he was two years old??

(18) Me and the boys in a recent photo.

Here's my wildman, Wolfgang, playing on the beach with his boxer cousin, Bosco Buckley. They love to chase each other along the beach!

And here are my boys today. Casey turned 10 years old (ouch!) on October 22, 1998 and Wolfie was 8 years old on April 13, 1998. I can't believe the time has gone so fast! They are both still babies to me and will always be my baby boys. I have been truly blessed with these two very special boys! With personalities as different as night and day, I have known the best of both worlds.

Casey, my sweet, gentle angel is my "perfect boy". He is the epitome of owning a very special dog. He is a social butterfly. Casey loves everyone and everyone loves Casey. He is emotionally rock solid. He is the sweetest boy in the world! When all is said and done...Casey will, undoubtedly, be my one SUPER-SPECIAL dog of a lifetime!

Wolfgang, on the other hand, was hell on wheels when he arrived. I really wasn't prepared for his unending energy. Thankfully, obedience training solved that problem: it channeled his energies into something positive. It changed his whole world for the better. Wolfie is my clown, my monkey, my little child all wrapped into one. He thinks he is hysterical and loves to do funny things so people will laugh at him. He loves life more than any other animal I have every known!! He lives each moment to its fullest.

I'll close this page with the words I speak so often to my two special boys: "How did I EVER get so lucky to have the two most beautiful boys in the world sent to me?" .....I must've done SOMETHING right!

Ann Buckley
akbgrifs2@aol.com