We'd like to Thank All the people who have adopted pups from us & for giving our Fur Grandkids Good Homes.  We really appreciate the notes & pictures you send of your new family members!  Thanks for sharing!          Billie K & Tim     

I have lots of updating & am real thankful for all the Puppy photo's & notes about our Fur Grand Kids, I've been soo busy & don't have time to post the new notes, I have saved them & hope to do post them soon!

The below Note to Us just had to be published here, too!  They were Competing in Italy for "Best Dog in the World"

Please Click photo's for larger size viewing

Blue River's Fast Track  "River"

New from Gracie & Duke from Pittsburg

Fast Tracks Sierra Nevada  "Sierra"

Good Morning.. Billie K,

Tate is doing very well…I showed him off at the store where I work…everyone had to hold him…he loved it.. Yesterday on a walk, he scented a pheasant that Libby had pointed…he became pretty revved…I love watching their natural instincts kick in.  Libby has been very gracious, sharing her toys…and playing nicely…  I will keep the Vaccine-Card, to eliminate any inconveniences…  I want to confirm Tate’s proposed register name as Sherwood’s High Expectation, call name Tate.  n close, thank you again for everything…and I’ll give Turkey hunting with a Spaniel some thought…you might be on to something..!                                                                                               Best Regards,  Denny

Hellfire's Cold Play "Ice" by FC AFC CFC Fast Track's Accellorator MH, NA, NAJ  "Ace" & Alott of Hellfire  "Zeeza"  7 months old

(photo's are Copyrighted by Hellfire & used by permission only)

Lou Ann female "Gracie" & her son, Dan's pup "Duke"

From Ken Hansom, owner of Blue Rivers Fast Track  "River"

Fast Track's Classic Bentley  "Bentley"

Fast Track's Burn It Up  "Jasper" 

Billie K,

I just wanted to let you know that everything is working out fine.  I just panicked a bit with the responsibility.  Jasper is doing great.  I attended an agility trial with Libby this past weekend and Jasper got to tag along.  He was great there; nothing scares this pup!  He is pretty good about not nipping people anymore...he loves to lick them instead.  He never has accidents in the house anymore and whines at the door when he needs to go out.  There is a family in my neighborhood that I see pretty often when walking him around and they always want to pet him.  I don't even know their names!  I hope you enjoy the pictures, they were all taken in the last few days. 

Sincerely,
           Kelsey

Lori Mathews of Altoona "Sadie/Indy" pup

Hi,
http://www.essfta.org/Awards/2007%20Awards/2007multi_title.htm

Woodbine High Stepping Callie is INDY X WOODBINE COTTAGE MAGGIE.

Judy

Hellfire's Cold Play  "Ice" by FC AFC CFC Fast Track's Accellorator MH, NA, NAJ & Alott of Hellfire  "Zeeza"

This photo is Copyrighted by Hellfire, use of it is not permitted

The pup on right is Ace's son Hellfire's Cold Play "Ice", his Grandmother (Indy's mom) on the left & his mom "Zeeza" is in middle

Buddy Boy's Fast Track Scout

Hey Billie,
Just a note to tell you about our boy. He's gone through a name change  and we've ended up calling him BJ because Don kept calling him little Buddy. I'm just so in love with him it's really silly.  I'm sending you a couple of pictures. Most of them just come out a white blur because he runs so fast. One is in the back yard where he plays ball a lot. The other is a crash picture, after a long run. We've introduced him to the water and he'll retrieve a junior bumper, but he won't swim after one yet, probably soon.  Hope all is well with you. We keep getting great reports on Bella from Ralph. I'm hoping to see her in the Fall.
 Regards,
Marsha Moore
 

Hi Billie K,
I thought you'd enjoy seeing Pepper's l/w pup, Josie, at 9 months.   We're working on some field commands, although I don't plan on trialing her.  The commands are for distance control and for advanced agility.  She loves working birds though, and the other day she retrieved a young pheasant to me without damaging it.  I was quite surprised.  I swear this dog is part cat.  Her jumping ability is phenomenal and her balance is something I've not seen in a dog.  I'm doing some agility training already, but the real jumping has to wait until the fall when her bones and joints are ready for the impact.  As you can see from the pictures, she takes after her mom in body type.  She's a lean 30 lbs with a very high metabolism.  At the moment I have to maintain her current body weight by feeding her the quantity for a 60 lb dog so that she doesn't lose weight.  She's a charmer, and a kisser like Pepper.
Anne Zavadil

Blake Glantz

Thanks once again for the beautiful puppy!  I wanted to let you know
we've made it home safely without incident.  Blake slept most of the way.
Sue Glantz
 

Fast Track's Classic Bentley

Billie K,

Everything is well here with Jasper.  I think I have settled on a registered name for him.  I just wanted to check with you on the slim chance that someone has already named one of their dogs nearly the same thing...

Fast Track's Burn it Up

If you could let me know if it's already been used or anything along those lines, that would be great.  Thanks!

-Kelsey

PS:  I attached a picture I took today.

Billie K,

Jasper is fitting in well here!  He went to his first vet appointment today and everything checked out fine.  No worms or parasites.  The vet wanted me to ask you the date of his first set of vaccinations.  It says 6.5 weeks on the card you gave me and I suppose I could make a guess as to the date, but I was wondering if you happened to know it exactly.  He also got to go to his first puppy class.  He was amazingly focused for having so many distractions all around him, such as four other puppies.  We played some "Crate Games" and "Your Choice" games.  He already knows sit fairly well!  Thanks again!

-Kelsey

Jasper slept well through the night!  Just a little whining right when I put him in his crate and then a little bit after I took him out for a potty run at around 3:45 am and put him back.  I think he was tired out from his big adventure that day.  He slept in a crate next to my bed.  While I'm home in Richmond, my cocker spaniel Libby gets the special honor of sleeping in bed with me.  She's slept in bed with me since she was a few months old.  When I'm not here, she sleeps in my sister's bed, but whenever I'm back, she wants to sleep with me. The bed is also really high off the ground, so he wouldn't be safe sleeping up there.  Once I move into the apartment he'll be sleeping in my bed if he wants to.  I may only have a twin mattress, so it may be a tight fit!  

I can't believe the Pepper male was that big!  I weighed Jasper in at a little under 8 lbs yesterday.  He's a very brave little puppy.  Certain things do spook him a bit, but nothing he can't overcome in a few seconds.  He's already said hi to all of the kids in the neighborhood and is so friendly to every stranger.  I took out a little piece of agility equipment, just a little contact practice board a couple inches off the ground, and he has no problem walking all over.  He's also eating and drinking well!   I'm still working on his registered name, not sure on it yet.

That guy who wants to do the breeding doesn't sound like he's that dedicated to the breed.  Doesn't want to do an OFA or CERF and hasn't put any titles on the dog...not good.  I hope he doesn't give you too much trouble about it.

-Kelsey
 

Fast Track's George D

Well, we finally selected a name and sent in the AKC registration.  Don said you need this to complete the registration for the eye certificate. 

His name is Buddy Boys' Fast Track Scout.  I just call him Beau as in Bella's Beau.  He follows every step I take except when we go out for a run.  He runs about 15 feet ahead of me then turns around and comes back.  He's just beautiful and sweet but a little fiesty at times.  Give Pepper a hug for making such great puppies.

Thanks,
Marsha

This is "Gracie" owner LouAnn Miller of Brookville,Pa

Lou Ann sent a note saying she is a "Busy Girl"

1st Note from LouAnn

(photo's as young pup by Billie K)

Hi Billie and Tim,
This is just a quick note to let you know how well your little girl,  Fasttracks Daytona is doing.  She is seven months old now and 
progressing nicely with her training.  She will do a long sit stay and  walks nicely at heel on a lea
Last weekend she earned her first Junior Hunter leg at the VFFTA Hunt  test in Maryland.  I was really proud of her flushing and retrieving  in the woods, her delivery of the bird and her water work.  I have her  entered in two more tests this spring and I hope to get her started doing Puppy Stakes in the fall.
She gets along well with the kids in my fifth grade class;  They just  love her.  She is a loving, smart and fast little dog.  I am so lucky 
to have her.
We are looking forward to many long walks, runs and adventures in  fields and streams this spring and beyond.
Thank you for your help with her!
Love,
Susan Reese

2008 Dave Flint & Indy's Roadtrip Raider

Hello Billie,

I just checked out your website after talking w/ Janie Haworth the other night. Thanks for your kind words about Raider. For accuracy's sake though, he got a 3rd place in the Open at the HOTSC trial (not 2nd). Still not bad for a 21 month old puppy w/ a handler/trainer (me) running his 3rd field trial.

We ran 3 trials this yr. (2 Am, 1 Open). He didn't get called back to the 3rd in his first because of handler inexperience. He made it through the 3rd series his 2nd trial in spite of handler inexperience, and he placed in his 3rd trial. Both of us appear to be trainable I guess. :>) To be honest, there were a lot of very nice dogs that put themselves out w/ some tough luck but we'll take it.

I met Tim at the Houston trial in November. I'd just gotten back from grouse hunting in Mich and had planned to run that trial but Raider came down w/ a cough so I had to scratch him. I really wish he could have seen him.

I told Janie, I have never had a dog that brought me this much pleasure in 26 yrs of messing w/ gundogs. I think mostly it's because he wants to please so much and he's just so "likable". I can't help but hurry home from work to get him out for a little training before dark just to be w/ him. He's got loads of style and charisma but when we go inside, he follows me from room to room waiting for me to sit down so he can get his belly rubbed.

His strongest talent is definitely his crisp handling. He does excellent work on blind retrieves and his obedience at the line is impeccable. He also does excellent work both on marked retrieves and on hunting for retrieves he can't see fall. He shows excellent persistence in staying out hunting if he has trouble.

In all three trials we've run, he has been in and out quickly showing a very good nose and bird finding talent. Keeping in mind his young age, (he still might "hup" at the flush of a meadowlark on occasion), he's gaining confidence every week and his pace is excellent. He automatically tightens his range in thick stuff and stretches out nicely when cover opens up. He's 19 1/2" tall and weighs 48lbs. He loves water and is bold in tough cover.

I'm so impressed w/ the results you are seeing w/ Indy's pups. I will definitely be a return customer in a couple years. I've never had any interest in breeding dogs and although I've had some nice Labs and Goldens in the past, I always found something lacking that kept me from wanting to pass along their genes. It's still too early to say buy Raider may be one who needs to be bred someday. I'll keep you updated w/ his progress and hopefully someday you and Tim will see him run.

Thanks again for producing such a fine gundog and companion.

Best Regards,

Dave Flint

From Eric and Margaret  "Ruby & Tula" of Hersey, Pa

Merry Christmas everyone!  Tula and Ruby are doing great!  Ruby is getting BIG!  I hope you have a happy and safe Holiday season!                Eric and Margaret 

 Roxie/Indy 2007 pup "Ruby" is Black/ White & "Tula" is Liver/White Sally/Indy  2005 pup

From Dave Cross & Piper the Versatile Bird Dog

"Piper" x FC AFC CFC Hellfire's Fast Track MH, MX, AXJ, CD, VS "Indy" & FC AFC Baskwood's Dolly Madison "Dolly"

Hi Folks - I got this shot of Piper waiting for the ducks this morning at sunrise. Thought you might like to see it. - Happy New Year - Dave

Piper with Thames River Hoody, a Mallard & a Pheasant

Hi Billie - Piper and I wanted to wish you and Piper's family the best Christmas ever and a successful trialing New Year! Piper and I have had a great season so far and he has successfully hunted all the species available to us in this area. I am going to try and get him out west next year for sharptail, huns and quail. Winter has arrived a little early and we sit by the fire awaiting the passing of the storm. I have taken him waterfowl hunting on some pretty nasty days and the cold water has not seemed to bother him at all. He has a little neoprene wet suit that seems to keep him plenty warm. It always worked with my springers when I lived in northern Idaho and seems to work well here as well. Here are some recent photos of the boy. He loves the camera. Best to you all - Dave and Piper

Hi Folks - I took Piper for a run this morning and while the snow came down we managed to find two nice cock birds. He is really beginning to learn his trade. He made two nice finds and retrieves. The two birds were our CT limit and so we took some pictures for the records which will go into the archives. I hope you will all have a great Thanksgiving - All the best - Dave

From Anne Zavadil of Montana

"Josie & Ben" by FC Sandy Hills Beau Geste "Digby" & Baskwood's Fast Lapper "PepperP

Hi Billie K.
I think I've got an agility dog!  At 12 weeks Josie was climbing her 27" puppy gate.  At 13 weeks she is jumping the gate (see photo 1).  She has mastered many of her obedience commands:

1. solid on "sit" inside and outside, with distractions
2. solid on "come" inside and outside, with distractions (including call back from an initial chase of deer)
3. solid on "down" inside, nearly solid outside, with distractions
4. still learning "stay" inside
5. almost solid on "bring it"
6. almost solid on "leave it"
7. has grasped "check in", and stays within a 25 yard circumference of me while off leash
8. has grasped "over"

We are currently doing leash work outside and the "watch me" command to alleviate pulling while on leash, and she is coming along quite well.  She is a very bright dog, and needs to put up only a couple of different behaviors before presenting the correct one routinely.

In additions to her jumping abilities, she is a climber, walking the length of downed Douglas Fir trunks without fear.  And her speed is breath-taking.  My only concern for her is her dependent personality which perhaps she'll grow out of.  She needs to be on or with me at all times.  It makes training her very easy.  But she doesn't play by herself or with her toys.  She seems to need me to keep her always busy.  So I've increased her training time and walks, and balanced that with more alone time in her crate to nap or play with her chew toys.

Josie had her first pheasant encounter yesterday and I'm sad to say it didn't go well :-)  We flushed one up out of a hedgerow.  We were upwind of it, so to be fair she never caught its scent.  The explosion of the wings freaked Josie out and she yelped and tried to jump into my arms.  I took her over to the brush and once she caught its scent her bird nose wouldn't let her leave until she'd exhausted the odor :-)

The next set of photos are Ben and Josie playing in prairie grasses in the valley where we live.

Anne

From Emily Kampschroeder & family of NC

"Maggie" by  FC AFC CFC Fast Track Accellorator SH, NA, NAJ  "Ace" & Triple Ridges All That Jazz "Jazz"

From Chris Zell of Mo.

"Rocky" x FC AFC CFC Hellfire's Fast Track MH, MX, AXJ, CD, VS "Indy" & Shimmering Surprise Party Girl SH, MX, MXJ "Roxie"

From Jim & Casey in Ill. "Casey" x FC Sandy Hills Beau Geste  "Digby" & Baskwood's Fast Lapper "Pepper"

From Anne Zavaila of MT

"Josie & Ben" x FC Sandy Hills Beau Geste  "Digby" & Baskwood's Fast Lapper "Pepper"

Hi Billie K.,

We got to Memphis safely.  Puppies were well socialized with kids of all ages and my sister's dog.  Got home to Montana late Thursday - my sister flew with me to surprise my parents.   The flight didn't phase the pups at all.  They slept through both legs, peed on a special pad in the bathroom in Salt Lake City, and did their thing on the grass outside the terminal in Kalispell.  No accidents in their crates.

Dad and mom fell in love with "Ben" as he is now called.  Josie and Ben get plenty of playtime together each day, as well as one on one time with their respective people.  My Dad loves that Ben likes to cuddle in his lap.  Josie has taken over the house, or rather she would if I let her.  A bold one she is.  She's going to be a handful to train, but then she has no idea who she's up against :-)  My sister watches her track my voice around the house and outdoors.  She is a sharp little cookie.  And she loves to fetch.  I've got her returning a ball already.

We've got a picture of Ben with my folks, and others as well that I'll email you shortly.

Anne and Josie.
  

Both pups have adapted well to their new homes.  They get to visit each other every other day for play dates, although I expect we will increase that after they have thoroughly bonded, especially Ben and Dad.

Attached are a photo of Ben with my parents - Ben will be Dad's dog as Mom already has a older female springer (whom Ben adores).  The second photo is Josie being too cute.  She is such a photogenic animal.  We've got about 500 photos from the trip to sort through and share with you.

Anne & Josie 

From Jann of VA

"Remy"  x FC Sandy Hills Beau Geste  "Digby" & Baskwood's Fast Lapper "Pepper"
Hi Billie!
we named the puppy Remington, Remy for short!  He is doing great, growing, playing, going puppy crazy now and then and just being an awesome puppy!  He has done pretty good with housebreaking, still some piddle accidents, but he usually lets us know he needs to go out if we are paying attention.  Within the first week or so he was starting to sit at the door  to go out!  Now he does it fairly routinely!  Sometimes he just does that though so he can go out and play though!.  He and I had a rough first week, he wouldn't go more than three hours at night,whew, I was tired.  But by half way through the second week he was going the whole night, well at least till 530 or so.  He pretty much sits on command, does down and is starting to learn stand from a sit.  he walked on a leash from the first time with little problem at all!  he does get very distracted so coming when called is often iffy especially if he has found some deer poop to get into!  I really am impressed with how bright he is and what a quick learner.  the only problem we have is he loves to put his mouth (therefore teeth) on everything, including your hands.  He is a bit bitey, I am hoping this will diminish as he matures.  some days are better than others.  I just have to tell you though, we love him!  He is such a great puppy and has reallly brightened up our day. he is such a sweet dog and loves to just lay on our laps or be cuddled or bring you his chew and have us in the middle of his activity.  he is very outgoing and curious about everything, will climb on anything he can and is very agile and athletic.  I could go on and on about him, but you probably have heard this all before!  Anyway I will try to attach a recent picture from last weekend so you can see how he is doing.  
Hope all is well with you, glad you were able to sell all the pups, I know their new families will love them.  Please keep in touch and we will keep you posted on his progress. 
 
Jann H.

From Robert & Gunner the Ace/Jazz pup bred by Roy & Lynn Hart

"Gunner" x FC AFC CFC Fast Track Accellorator SH, NA, NAJ "Ace" & Triple Ridges All That Jazz  "Jazz"

From Dave Cross & Piper "The Versatile Hunting Dog"

Hi Folks - Piper started his first full season of birds in Vermont for grouse and then New Hampshire for pheasants. I thought you might like to see some shots of him. He is a sweet springer, not too large, right around 40 pounds. He is very fast and is doing a good job of finding and flushing birds. He is relatively steady on most of his birds and getting better. He will be on a goose hunt this weekend and it will be interesting to see how he handles the big birds on retrieve. Hope all is well - Dave

Hi Folks - I thought you would enjoy these shots of Piper and his first geese. We had a quick hunt at the mouth of the Mystic River in salt water this AM. We got our limits of 2 geese apiece and after a lot of encouragement on the first bird ( I have found Piper to be very cautious when encountering something new but once he knows it - look out) he did great on the remaining 3 birds, jumping from the boat with great gusto and fighting the ocean current and waves to bring the birds to hand. He is such a ham - Dave

Hi Billie - I do not know if the last batch of pictures went out or not so these may be duplicates.

Piper got his first CT pheasant this weekend.

From:  Lou and Lee-Ann Perugini, CT

"Jack" x FC AFC CFC Hellfire's Fast Track MH, MX, AXJ, CD, VS  "Indy"  & FC AFC Baskwood's Dolly Madison "Dolly"

Hi Tim and Billie,

We just wanted to check in and let you know how well Jack is doing.  He was one of the last pups you had from an Indy/Dolly cross (your first breeding I think.) He is a little over 2 and on his second hunting season. We call him the bird machine.  He is a great hunter, an even better family pet, and an all around gentleman. I couldn't be happier with him, and I couldn't imagine ever owning a better hunter. He makes game with such style and enthusiasm, and his mouth is like butter. He certainly isn't trained enough for field trials, but he does quite well for field work, and we are working on his training all the time. He has topped out at 44 pounds, and doesn't have any health issues at all. You all make some great dogs!

Attached are a few pics for your enjoyment.  Hopefully the zip file isn't to large for your mail server.

I hope you have a great holiday season.

Lou and Lee-Ann Perugini
Thomaston, CT
 

From:  Dave Flint, Texas

"Raider" x FC AFC CFC Hellfire's Fast Track MH, MX, AXJ, CD, VS  "Indy" & Windrift's Ebony & Ivory Mercedes, MH   "Mercedes"

Hello Tim,
I dropped you a note a few months back to introduce myself as the proud owner of one of Indy x Ebony & Ivory Mercedes pups. I spoke w/ Janie Haworth last night and she asked me to forward some  of my pup,
Indy*s Roadtrip Raider (Raider) to your web site. I told her that I would be an enthusiastic reference for her upcoming litter as I am extremely pleased w/ this dog.  I*ve enjoyed looking at your excellent
web site and I can see that I*m not going to tell you anything you haven*t heard before but since no one else wants to listen to me brag about this dog anymore I*m writing you.
Seriously, you guys are producing exactly the kind of Springer most people dream about.  This pup has all of the drive and style anyone could want in a field trial but he is also very mellow in the house. He is a pleasant canoe companion and he stays pretty much on his *placemat* that I glued to the bottom of the boat.  He walks to the line at heel without any pulling.  At his first hunt test, someone asked me,*how do you get a dog to be so calm until you cast him and then he
just explodes?*  His obedience is excellent and no doubt a reflection of his desire to please.
Raider passed his first two Senior tests at the age of 11 months.  He's now ready to run Master level tests and we'll complete that title this fall. He runs a beautiful flat pattern and naturally adjusts it
accordingly as the wind changes.  He*s got a big nose and an exciting bold flush that almost always leaves the ground.  Training this dog is pure fun, I just show him what I want and you I can almost see him trying to learn.  Once he understands what I want, that becomes what he wants too.  That is the most enjoyable trait of this pup. Everything I*ve tried to teach him has been just that easy.  I was a retriever guy for 20+ yrs before I got into Springers and I like to teach that style of handling.  In my opinion many spaniel trainers settle for a much lower standard for retrieving than their dogs are capable of. Raider has such a tractable nature that he takes to hand signals as easily as any Lab or Golden I*ve had.  The biggest challenge w/ this pup is to not over train him because he's just so much fun to be with.
I suppose that*s enough for now.  Don*t be surprised though if you start to get puppy inquiries from Texas as I keep meeting lot*s of people who ask where he came from.  I*m planning to run in the Puppy
Stakes in Huntsville this fall.  If you get to Texas, let me know. I*d like to meet you because in 3 or 4 years, I*m going to be in the market for another one just like him.
Best Regards,       
Dave Flint       

From: John J. & Shannon Valera, NH
Date: Wednesday, August 22, 2007 8:03 PM

"Sally" x FC AFC CFC Hellfire's Fast Track MH, MX, AXJ, CD, VS "Indy" & Shimmering Surprise Party Girl SH, MX, MXJ  "Roxie"

We heard that you were having Sally withdrawl. I can certainly understand,
if I was not able to kiss her every day I would have serious withdrawl. So
one picture is Sally and her toe cast, a sad moment. The others are
whitewater Sally. Class III rated - she has done the Lower Deerfield in MA
and the Scandaga River in NY. The best pictures of her white watering were
tough to get - she is hanging out over the raft with Dakota watching the
waves going down Class II. I think she'll pass the water test - maybe we
could start a "whitewater test". Thanks for the great girl.
JJ and Shannon