In Memoriam. Across the Rainbow Bridge
Champion Double Ring Kastaspell
November 21, 1998 – February 23, 2011
Morgan On Assignment©
by Kathy Ringering
This photo shows a happy Morgan at “Show and Tell” with a class of 6 year-olds.
My son and his family live three hours away from us. They have not had a dog in a while because the running required with five kids does not leave much time for a dog. However, my daughter-in-law recently found herself with a stalker. My son called one evening concerned about how afraid his wife was to be at home alone. Plus she would not let the kids play outside. He asked to borrow a dog.
Hmmmm, which dog to send?
Not only are there five rowdy kids in this family, but also a lot of people including other children coming and going all the time. I know from experience that the noise level in their house probably approaches the sound barrier! And they have a cat. They needed a super friendly dog that really likes kids, can tolerate a cat that thinks she is queen of the universe, guard the family if called upon to do so, AND appreciate the assignment.
After taking inventory I decided the best candidate to work in their situation was 8 year-old Morgan, Ch Double Ring Kastaspell. My son drove to our house to pick her up, and Morgan went willingly. It took Morgan a few days to realize it is normal for 9 year-old twin boys to fight. It is also normal for six year-old girls to squeal quite loudly. Snooty cats are best ignored! Morgan readily accepted all of the traffic coming through their front door. Various friends of the 5 kids in the house go in and out the doors without waiting for invitations. Sitters come and go.
Morgan finally determined she needed to lay down some rules. Only people she met within the first week were allowed to walk in the front door without knocking. My daughter-in-law’s parents had not visited the first week. They tried to walk in the front door when the rest of the family was at the back of the house. My son said he heard the front door slam and then heard the doorbell. Seems that Morgan had intercepted them and explained the protocol quite clearly. They said she told them to leave, and they obeyed! It always amazes me how well this breed can communicate without ever having uttered a single word! My son let the in-laws in, Morgan snorted at them and lay down to watch them the rest of the day.
Since Morgan has been at their house she not only thwarted the in-laws, but also thwarted a real would be intruder. Morgan said someone was trying to get in a window in the middle of the night. Everyone believed her. The next morning there were footprints found under the window. Morgan also managed to scare the stalker on a shopping trip. Julie went to the store to pick up a gallon of milk and took Morgan with her. The stalker-guy will typically sneak around the car and wait for her to come back to the car. When my daughter-in-law came out of the store she saw the guy skulking about her car and decided just to wait a bit. The guy made the mistake of poking his head up and trying to look in a window. Hehehehe – Morgan was on it! The guy was so startled that he fell backwards into the adjoining parked car and took off – once he had his feet under him again. My daughter-in-law said it took the entire trip home to calm Morgan. Morgan knew that was a real bad guy.
Morgan has always been an excellent judge of character and she is more intelligent than some people I know. She even watches television and understands what she is watching. I remember a time at a motel during a dog show weekend watching the Alamo on TV. There was a scene where the good guy and bad guy faced off. When the bad guy pulled a knife Morgan came off of the bed growling at the bad guy on TV. That was the first time we realized she understands exactly what she sees on TV.
We learned years ago to pay attention on the rare occasions Morgan did not like someone. So when a friend of the six year-old came to visit it did not take long for my son and family to recognize that Morgan did not trust the girl. Morgan decided the girl could be in the family room, but was not allowed in the rest of the house. Morgan lay across various doorways and refused to budge. All the other friends of the children are allowed in all parts of the house. Some things started to fall into place, and they decided to listen to Morgan. That particular little girl is no longer allowed to come into the house.
The only rough spots with Morgan have been her propensity to steal food off of the counter. One day she stole a corn dog right out of the hands of one of the twins. However, the boy wasn’t giving his corn dog up. He went right into Morgan’s mouth after it and later recited some sort of rule that it had been in her mouth less than 30 seconds and he ate it anyway! Morgan has had a greater respect for him since. Morgan wrestles with the 17 year-old, plays chase games with the two 9 year-olds and 6 year-old, sits quietly for petting for the 14 year-old. She watches the kids play outside. But mostly she knows she is there to make my daughter-in-law feel safe.
We went to visit Morgan and family recently. Morgan was thrilled to see us, but after the initial greeting she went to sit by my daughter-in-law and leaned up against her. It was pretty clear that Morgan wanted to stay, and she didn’t try to go with us when we left. In fact, it looked like she was saying thank you to us for giving her a job to do and she really did appreciate the assignment.
I’ve always said that the Kuvasz can be the perfect family dog IF people are willing to invest the time in them in the first place. They can be very socially outgoing and friendly. They can be excellent with children and can appropriately guard when the situation warrants it. Morgan has a whole new social life from walks in the neighborhood to outings with the family.
No, I do not think Morgan is coming back to our house, and we miss her. But it is nice to know that she is close and that people we love are a lot safer with Morgan there.
—Kathy OO (2011)
