Braccanza - Izzy

Born: 12th August 2006

When Izzy came to the UK it was my intention to breed from her as she has new bloodlines which are much needed here. She came mostly from working lines in Italy.
When she was 1 I had her hips x rayed and sadly the score came back high - 56. I then had her eyes examined and it was found that she has the beginnings of cataracts. So tiny when the test was done that the examiner said that had she been tested a month prior he may well not have picked it up.
These cataracts may or may not develop and the only way to check would be to have her eyes tested again in a year or two. If the eyes do deteriorate she would have replacement lens fitted to restore her sight just as humans do.
I thought long and hard about still breeding with her, talked it over with several people even seeking guidance from the KC. Although they felt that there were more pro's than con's in going ahead I have made the decision to withdraw her from our breeding programme.
So, earlier this year Izzy applied to join as a Pets as Therapy dog. She has now passed all her assessments and is about to begin visiting those who need an animal to share life's problems with.
We don't know where we shall be asked to visit yet but I will keep her page up to date with how she gets on.

23rd July 2009 Izzy and I went on our first Pets as Therapy assignment.

We went to a care home for the elderly a few miles from home. There are 32 residents and I think we covered them all. No one refused to have Izzy either in their room or to say hello in the lounge.
Some folks were more enthusiastic than others, several even chatting about the pets they had when they were younger (all good therapy I was told as it gets the brain ticking over when in day to day life there is little or no change or even family or visitors for some)
The high point of today for me was when we got back to the managers office and heard the staff mention in particular 2 ladies who had smiled for the first time in ages when Izzy gave them the Bracco once over!
To begin with we are going to visit once a fortnight and see how we get on.
Izzy seems quite tired at the moment, not like her usual self. I guess the environment was a totally new experience for her but I am sure she will settle into it well especially as she managed to beg a biscuit from the tea trolley!

In November 2006 Kim, Trish, Jean and I set off for Italy to attend a gundog training
course organised by Marieke in conjunction with the Dutch Bracco Club.
Gianpaolo Poggio, of the del Monte Alago kennel was the instructor.
We stayed in a rural farmhouse, La Vallatta, which is close to the village of Stella in north west Italy and set off each morning to watch the continental dogs that were on the course. Some were total novices and had never hunted a bird before whereas some dogs were partly trained. It was a joy especially to watch a young apprehensive dog blossom within a couple of days to become an ardent hunter, we could all see these dogs starting to grow with their skills when given the right opportunity.
At this point I must add that the local ladies, who I guess were the wives of the huntsmen who joined us, produced fantastic, hearty, rustic 5 course lunches from a tiny tin shed and a calor gas burner. Naturally there was plenty of wine to accompany the meal!

I had been in contact with Paolo by email for some time before we visited Italy and he was aware that I was looking for both a super dog to sire Della’s next litter and also a young bitch to import bringing new bloodlines to the UK gene pool. As the days went by we returned to the hunting fields each day but nothing was said about finding any suitable dogs. Then on the Saturday morning Paolo said we were to go to a different area and see how trained dogs worked on a live shoot – and in the afternoon we could go and see some puppies!

The day was brilliant; Sodini’s dog worked beautifully and several birds were shot. After lunch, this time indoors at a different venue we set off back to Genoa to see the puppies at the Valpolcevera kennel. The pups turned out to be just 10 days old and gorgeous - although to young for what I was seeking. Then as the sun went down and you could hardly see a thing a young, 4 month old, bitch was brought out and stacked on a garden table to be ‘gone over’ by Paolo. Paolo pointed out the best features and assured me she was a lovely youngster. Trouble was we couldn’t really see so off we all trouped to a local motor repair shop around the block from the kennel. There poor Isabella was floodlit between trolley jacks and vehicles for us to see. I was so undecided & relied on Kim to be objective about this possible new addition to our family. Izzy got the thumbs up so was taken back to our room at La Vallatta for the night but we had to say goodbye the next morning as she was going home with Marieke to stay as part of the family until her passport allowed her to come to England.

I can never thank Marieke & Jerone enough for fostering Izzy along with their other adult dogs AND 3 pups from Isotta’s last litter who were only weeks different in age from Izzy - can you imagine 4 pups(plus older dogs) growing up together in a regular house and garden! A medal is well deserved.

Finally Isabella came to the UK in August 2007 just a couple of weeks before she turned 1 year.

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