No matter how many years a breeder has had dogs, or how many dogs they've owned, we all have that one special dog. Sometimes it's our biggest winner or best producer, but most of the time it's just a dog that comes along and steals our heart. Ligier was that dog for me. She represented a lot of firsts for us - she was from our first litter, and became our first homebred champion, but honestly none of that really mattered. It's impossible to explain what made Ligier so special. She just was. To look into her eyes was to see into her soul, a soul that wanted nothing more than to love and be loved. Physically she was a lovely Beardie but more than that she was beautiful on the inside.

We went through a lot together, not the least of which was her diagnosis with Addison's at age 4. She lived comfortably with the disease for 7 years with daily medication, and no one who met her over those years would have ever suspected she was sick. Ligier whelped two litters before her illness became apparent, though in hindsight the problems she encountered in whelping, and the small number of live pups resulting (3 total, from the two litters), were a sign all was not right. All 3 kids - sons Calvin and Hobbes from her first litter, and daughter Senna from her singleton second litter, stayed here with us and all became champions.

As she got older Ligier showed signs of aging - her coat thinned, her belly got heavier, and her eyes became a bit cloudy, but I still saw her as the most beautiful dog in the world. And she was.

Look very close and you'll see Ligier's singleton puppy - 6 week old Senna - under her mom's belly nursing!

And here's Ligier with that puppy all grown up!

Our first litter, at just a couple of days old. Ligier is the pup in the lower left

At right: Ligier all grown up and ready for the show ring!

Ligier with Sabrina, happy posing but not so sure she wants to play with a PUPPY!

Ligier at 11