What’s New

2023……………………………………………………………..

Bill here.

It has been awhile since I have been on our site. The passing of Bonnie and all that entailed took a toll but we are still out here. Our two younger boys, Kid and Buddy are starting to train after a cold, wet and dreary spring so we will see how the year goes.

Kid has had two breedings recently, both repeats. Puppies are still available from these breedings and at a reduced price!

Yellowed factored black litter whelped May 2, 2023. Dam: Sunrise Misty aka “Misty” owned by Ed Miller of Arthur, Illinois. See the Puppies page for more info.
Yellow litter due July 2. Dam: Darty’s Lucky Sailor Moon aka “Sailor” owned by Cindy Daugherty of Chrisman, Illinois. See the Puppies page for more info.
Two other Kid litters, blacks and yellows, out of Cindy Daugherty’s females, Ruby and Ziva. See Puppies page for more info.

2021…………………………………………………..

Bonnie, Dear Bonnie…..

Marcia Butikas here.

I haven’t spent much time on FB for some time now– in part because I seem to have shut myself out of my account. Oh well.

But I wanted to say a few words about our girl, Bonnie, who crossed Rainbow Bridge yesterday at the too young age of 5 1/2 years old. Bonnie was a creature of rare enthusiasm and joy. She loved to run and run she did, like the wind. She was swift and she had amazing stamina. I don’t think I ever saw her tire out. And she loved her work. She was wild to retrieve.

She was also sweet natured and eager to please. She was a good mother, an excellent mother. Nothing was ever more clear than a few weeks ago when she delivered her third and final litter by c-section and it was discovered that Bonnie had cancer and it was terminal. We had known for the last week and a half of her pregnancy that something was wrong. She was barely eating and could hardly be tempted by anything (although almost to the end, she loved Milk Bone Minis). Our vet told us that she might last a few weeks. We took Bonnie and her 8 beautiful pups home, full of dread and not knowing what to expect.

Bonnie did everything she could to take care of her pups. Although she had little milk, she nursed and nurtured them with great care. She cleaned and stimulated them, taking the worst part of the job out of our hands. We began to bottle feed immediately, six times per day at first, then five, doing feedings every 3-4 hours and catching sleep as we could. Bonnie continued to do everything she could and we will be forever grateful for her help and guidance. I don’t use the word “gallant” very often. Sadly, maybe there isn’t much application for it anymore. But her effort on behalf of her pups to the end was nothing short of gallant. All heart. All spirit.

We struggled with how long to let this go on and finally decided it was time. We have always wrestled with when to call an end to the life of a beloved dog who is ill and struggling. We always worry if we have made the call too soon– or if we have waited too long. This was never more true than with Bonnie.

Rest in peace, sweet girl.

Bonnie has been bred to Ten! Yellow puppies (Due 3/26/2021) with an outstanding pedigree and great clearances, ( See the Puppies page)

Kid...Plans are for Kid to spend the first few months of 2021 training with Dakota Mealer in Alabama preparing to run field Trials this year.

2020………………………………………

Kid….Master pass #5, Title! ( See Achievements page)

Kid….Master passes #3 and #4 ( See Achievements page)

Kid….Master pass #2 ( See Achievements page)

Kid…Master pass #1 ( See Achievements page)

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Kid is down in Alabama for another winter’s training with Dakota Mealer of Goldhill Retrievers. We already can hardly wait for him to return and resume his journey with Marcia and me here at Blindfaith!

2019………………………………………

Blindfaith’s Goldhill Desperado SH, aka Kid! ( See Achievements page)

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Kid….more info on Kid’s status ( See The Guys page)

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Kid’s genetic testing results are in from AG and he is negative on all the relevant markers! ( See The Guys page)

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Kid is OFA Excellent on Hips and Normal on Elbows! ( See The Guys page)

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Shelby has been bred to “Creasy” aka Indian Ridge Man On Fire QAA. ( See the Puppies page)

2018 ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Bustin’ has been bred to a well bred chocolate female named Gabby and she is pregnant! ( See the Puppies page)

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T has been sold is at her new home in Macon, Georgia!

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Bonnie has been bred to Ten and pups were whelped on Tuesday, April 10, 2018. See Puppies page.

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Dude, HRCH Blindfaith’s One Ruff Dude, earned his HRCH title and now joins Tru, Blind Faith’s True Spirit MH, QAA and Nash, Blindfaith’s Burt Becker Magnum MH, as one of The Blindfaith Brothers!…All three are out of Morgan and Ruff.

Blindfaith scores big at Tacoma!

This weekend at the Tacoma Retriever Club fall field trial two of our dogs took first and second place in the Derby.

First place was won by 21 month old Kate ( Check Out This Chic owned by Don Varchol) who is a granddaughter out of our yellow male Pic and our yellow female Ruff. Kate’s dam is Mercy ( Blind Faith Over Trouble Water SH) who was owned by Truman and Kate Ellis of Seattle before her untimely death. Her sire is Money Talks. This gives Kate 22 derby points!

Second place was won by Tru’s son, Ten ( Blind Faith’s Ten Commandments owned by Paul Shoemaker of Arlington, Wa.). Ten is only 13 months old and word has it that the judges agonized long and hard in deciding who was first and who was second! We are looking forward to great things from Ten. Paul feels that he is one of the finest young dogs he has ever had and that’s saying a lot from a long time pro like Paul who has won two nationals.

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MORGAN HONORED…….Twice!

Our outstanding yellow male, Morgan, has been selected by Julie Cramond of the Australian Kennel Club to be one of three American bred Labs to be collected for importation as a way of introducing American genetics into the ” Down Under”. The other two dogs selected were NFC-AFC Hunter’s Run Boo Boo and FC-CFC LKY’s Controlled Burn…Morgan is in good company. The collection has taken place and the semen will be on it’s way to Australia shortly.

On January 21 Morgan was inducted into the Backwater Retriever Club Hall of Fame along with his talented son, Nash ( owned by Chris Sausman). He marks the fifth dog that Blindfaith has in the BRC Hall!.

It’s Tru!! BFR has a new addition and he is doing very well. Blind Faith’s True Spirit, originally bred by us and owned by Paul Shoemaker of Arlington, Washington has been reacquired by BFR and is right at home. Tru passed his first two masters in wonderful style then went out on the very last bird ( a relatively easy blind) after being one of the only dogs to pin the final triple. Tru has ran two quals. In the first he was one of only two dogs out of 10 plus the test dog to complete the test before it was scrapped by the judges. We then had to scratch because we had to be home that evening. In the second he went out on the last bird of the event when he ( along with ALL the other dogs) did not see the bird and I messed up ( yep Handler Error…got mad and lost control)…he had a great chance to place and a chance to win so he’s off to a great start.

Deer Processing

Marcia and I thought that we would let you know that we always have our deer ( and some other wildlife as well) processed by our good friend Bill Hamilton who lives just outside of Danville, Il. Bill is a retired butcher who processes deer in order to have some extra cash for golf and traveling the country with his lovely and understanding( blood trails down the driveway!) wife, Nancy. Bill is swamped with work each Fall so I’m not including his phone number. If you need processing call me and I’ll contact Bill or his partner Carl to see if they can help you out. Bill and Nancy are both graduates of my alma mater, Westville High School.