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Dear Amy,
Attached is a recent picture of Sally-Ann. She is absolutely a wonderful animal and truly an amazing canine. It is as if she has the soul of a human... she is greatly loved by our family. Other owners' comments really speak to the highest quality breed of Springers you develop and I only hope that I myself can become a candidate for future ownership of one of your Springers. My father, (pictured along with sally ann) has recommended Avonlea dogs to all that inquire about her. Best of luck to you and your dogs and I hope to meet again one day for a springer of my own.
Best wishes.
-Jeffrey K.
Picture coming...
Greetings Amy!
I trust you are well, and so glad to see you back! First off, AJ is just a wonderful, fun, loving dog! I cannot tell you how much we enjoy him and how everyone that meets him wants to know where he came from!! Just so great to have him be a part of our lives. This past weekend, at a beach in Provincetown, MA, I was on my bike and saw a dog that looked exactly like AJ running on the beach…I panicked, thinking that someone had taken him from our house in Truro…I ran down the beach, and lo and behold met Susan (C.) (I think that is her name), with 15 month old Molly,…she look exactly like AJ! She asked me where I got AJ and told her MD, Amy [Avonlea]-she said “me too”….then we talked about the sire and dam, and it appears that they had the same sire!….such a small world and her dog was just adorable…….I really am glad you are back and wish you well.
Thanks Amy for AJ!
Sincerely,
Andrea B.
Acton, MA/Truro/MA
Amy, Hello, We got Bailey from Avonlea just over a year ago. He is such a wonderful part of the family!!!! He loves to swim and run! Will send a photo of him if that's OK...
Here's the boy Bailey at 5 months. I use this as the background on my computer.
They gave me a puppy shower at work, here is our Bailey snooping around his gifts. I spent all 2010 doing chemo after breast cancer and we lost our 6 year old Cairn Terrier from cancer the day before my 4th chemo. Bailey, with your help, gave us hope and now I'm doing great and so is Bailey. Hope you love CA, my daughter lives in Temecula and I go out several times a year.
Thanks, Chris and Dale W. Stevensville, MD
Hi Amy,
Just wanted to send a quick note of appreciation for a wonderful companion.
We got our fabulous little Marty from you last year on February the 16th.
We were skeptical about your screening and profiling measures, but now fully appreciate the added time and effort involved on your part to ensure a good fit for your puppies and their new home.
Marty is loveable and adorable, healthy and smart as can be.
People stop us on the streets to fawn over him and his sister....and you were right, he's a good influence on his big sister. He tends to calm her down quite a bit. At any rate, just wanted to say thanks.
Sincerely,
Michael, David ,Tuxx and Marty
Amy,
Here are a couple of pictures of Buddy and Molly... I will try to get more pictures of them playing outside, but it seems I never have the camera readily available when they seem to be running around the yard, and playing tug of war with their rope. They spend most of the time in the yard, and since we have Buddy, Molly seems to always be dirty from running and playing a lot.
She use to be the "Ms. Priss", and was always clean, but now she is just like Buddy, always playing outside, especially when it's raining. Never seen her do that before we got Buddy, but then again the last couple of years when Freckles was getting old, he didn't want to play much.
Buddy and Molly are a perfect match, and they absolutely love one another. They will play, sometimes he will aggravate her by not letting up, she will growl, playing of course (she has never snapped at him or anyone else), then she will go up to him and start licking him in the mouth, and he will do the same. They truly love one another, and are perfect together.
We can never thank you enough for getting us the two perfect dogs, you are the best.
Tony & Becky LaRosa
January 2010
Dear Amy,
Thought of you many times this year - hope that 2009 was good for you and for Avonlea Kennel.
We are attaching a picture of Thia's 'Daisy', aka Avonlea Jessie 'Take No Prisoners', who became part of our family last November 2008.
I have to be honest, when I found your website in 2006, I had sincere reservations about someone else 'picking' a puppy for us, but eventually decided to trust your judgment. Wow! 'Daisy' has been a total joy since the first day (and occasionally mischievous). Her personality is just what you said it would be - she loves being part of the pack. Our fourteen year old son, Zach, refers to her as his "Therapy Dog", meaning that regardless of whatever has happened to him during the day, Jessie always brings a smile to his face and makes him laugh. She is sheer happiness.
Our brother-in-law, Kerry, refers to her as "Miss Perfect". People stop me all the time to ask about her. Jessie's health has been excellent, and our vet, Dr. Roger's at Falls Church Animal Hospital, always remarks about what a fine dog she is. Your conscientiousness in breeding is certainly evidenced in Thia's fine puppies.
...Thank you so much for 'Daisy'. We can't imagine our family without her.
Warm Regards,
Tina , and Dennis & Zachary T.
Hi Amy, Just wanted to drop you a note to tell you how Guinness is doing, and tell you how very fortunate we feel to have one of your dogs. He's an absolute joy. His temperament is wonderful. Even the vet has commented on how calm and relaxed he is. I've owned many dogs, mixed and pure breeds, and Guinness has none of the typical dog fears or anxieties. He's not afraid of loud noises, thunder, gun shots, fireworks, vacuums, etc. He's an excellent car/boat rider, and he never barks at people or dogs outside of the car. And he is every dog's BFF (best friend forever) at the dog park. He loves to chew, so I am always restocking the bones, rawhide and hooves for him, but he's never chewed anything he's not supposed to (except a few magazines). He's very smart and easy to train. And I'm so amazed at his emotional intelligence. I'll catch him just studying my face sometimes. It's like he's almost human. We are really happy with Guinness and I think that he feels the same about us. And, oh my gosh, he is so handsome! Thanks for everything!
Deborah Grasonville, MD
We know you haven't heard from us since we picked up ( Chrysanthimum ) in November. I'm not sure you heard the name we picked for her which is Fionnuala ( Irish for White Shoulders) which fits her coloring to a tee we think. Her AKC name is going to be " Avonlea Lady Fionnuala of the North" She is doing fine here in Pittsburgh. She is enjoying the snow we have had a great deal. We have had her spayed and microchipped. She (and Joanna and I) are now in our first of what we expect to be many training classes with a trainer we like very close to our home. She is extremely smart and is learning commands and hand signals very quickly. She loves to meet new people and dogs when the opportunity arrises. She is turning out to be a calm (for the most part) Springer as you predicted. Joanna and I are completely happy as is Nuala ( Pronounced NEW-la ). Attached are some photos from when she came home until today.
Thanks again
Tim and Joanna 2/20/09
Gramma, you didn't say it was gonna be this nice!
Hi Amy,
Here are some updated photos of the babies. Buddy is getting bigger, and is totally potty trained. He and Molly [our Avonlea girl] are having the best of times playing together. Becky and I enjoy watching them play together, and of course we play with them as well. When we leave for work he tells us goodbye, and when either one of us gets home, he cries in excitement. What a wonderful boy.
Thanks again!
Tony 2/27/09
Look Gramma, My Big Sister Molly Likes Me !
Amy,
Nice to see you're doing well. It's been a while. Your place is looking great! Congrats!
Well, I just thought I'd let you know that over the past 10 years (today is their birthday!) our two Avonlea Springer Spaniels have been just the best they could be! There temperament and personalities have been great. Even throughout the birth and the raising of our 7 year old son. He loves them so much and is wonderful with them... and they are wonderful with him, too! They have been such a great addition to our family.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1/7/08 Petey is a joy so far. You were right on the money about his temperament. He is sweet and gentle (minus the toe-biting!), but a bit frisky and definitely happy-go-lucky. I know we could not have picked out a better match for us. We couldn't be happier!
I saw the pupcakes video a few days ago, and I just wanted
to tell you how much I appreciate all the effort you make
to keep us informed about the puppies' progress. I think
that you are an extremely considerate breeder; I feel very
grateful that we found you! I hope you are having a good holiday season.
Mary Pat
___________________________________________________________________________________________________ hi there amy,
thank you for taking your time with me yesterday. i particularly enjoyed the behavior information as related to ess's. we do love the breed. you have an outstanding pack. i fell in love with mimi, dan and toby. thank you for sharing them with me. please let me know when mimi has her little ones...and of course send pictures! let's stay in touch. take care, kay
say hi to robin, i enjoyed meeting her too. she has a calmness and a good way with your dogs.
Almost three years ago my family and I adopted a beautiful liver and white English Springer Spaniel female, Bailey, from you. And we have been meaning to write you for a while now just to express how much this little angel means to us.
We can honestly say that she is a true member of our family. She is so loving, full of life, and just so eager to be with us. (My husband calls her his third daughter!) She is loving, silly, happy, playful, energetic, has so much personality, and has soo many friends- she goes to play dates and birthday parties of both humans and canines! We swear she is way more a little girl than a dog in our eyes. These past two summers we vacationed on a lake in Maine and the highlight of our trip was watching Bailey run through the fields and swim with us in the lake- wearing her little doggie life jacket and all!
Our reason for writing you today is just to thank you graciously for breeding such excellent dogs, and blessing us with our little love Bailey. We want you to know that you've contributed so much to our lives, as well as I'm sure to the lives of others who have adopted English Springer Spaniels from you. We are truly thankful for Bailey every day, and hope that you continue to bring into this world other beautiful little joys.
With many thanks,
Grace & Rick and family
____________________________________________________________________________________________ Hi Amy,I hope you are well. Sorry it took so long for us to check in with you, but it has been very busy! Bodhi is doing just great. He is a wonderful addition to our family, not to mention a big hit with all of our neighbors. He has an outgoing personality and is quite full himself! Bodhi adjusted to our active home immediately. When we took him to our vet for his first check-up, Bodhi was given an excellent bill of health. He is currently enrolled in a puppy kindergarten class and learns his tasks very quickly. We were told by the trainer Bodhi is a very well balanced dog who is relaxed, even in a class with 9 other puppies. Here are some pictures I took yesterday while we were playing Frisbee. Thank you so much for this wonderful pup. We couldn’t be happier! Thanks again,
I thought I better let you know that [after having an Avonlea springer for 13 years] Rodney and I are about ready to bring a puppy home. I checked your site and noticed that your current litter are already reserved... ...If any of those placements fall thru or don't work out, we would love to have a chance to be considered.
Chloe has been gone since July and the house is not the same without her. I know we won't find a Chloe clone, but we do love the breed and their slap-happy nature. It's funny but even though she has been gone for 5 months, we still look for her when we come home. It takes a few seconds before we realize "Oh, that's right, Sadie and Chloe aren't waiting for us". So we love our puppies and are now completely dogless. My vet suggested I get a small dog, but I don't want a small dog I want a dog that is a dog and not a toy. The little breeds are precious, but often yappy and honestly I like the sporting breeds.
I hope everything is going well for you and hope you have a wonderfully enjoyable holiday.
All the best, Janice B.
P.S. I watched the video clip of the 7 puppies in the puppy box. Loved watching the puppy in the back part of the box play growl at his/her puppy mate. And of course the raised tail flag before someone proceeds to relieve theirself. They might be young but they are quintessentially English Springers. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Amy,
Unfortunately, the news was not good today. The cancer is back. We don't have a whole lot of options. They said that IF she had surgery and IF she had intravenous chemotherapy, then the MOST we would get is 6 more months. The best we can do, and the most sensible, is to spoil her rotten and love her to pieces for the time she has left, which they think will be 2 or 3 months. ...The only good news is that April doesn't have the slightest idea that something is wrong with her and is just going to go along at her current pep and energy... Needless to say, we are pretty sad, but at the same time, we have been blessed with Avonlea April Sunshine for 12 1/2 years, and how can we complain about that? When April leaves this world, she will know for sure that she was loved, that's for sure.
Talk to you later [Barry and Jan] _________________________________________________________________________________________
Amy, Here are some pictures of Bentley and Savannah. Wednesday is Savannah's first birthday. She is growing up and has a wonderful time. Joyful and full of energy. She starts in her own agility class next week. You will notice that she is already learning from Bentley. They have so much fun together. Will be fun to see what she will do, since she seems to fly already! Savannah! is just remarkable. She was the star in her obedience classes...she learns quickly and loves to “work.” She prances and is light on her feet (off them much of the time with a near in-the-air- skipping she does when she is chasing squirrels or birds). Extremely fast when she runs. She loves to swim in the pond and seems to be willing to go back for more all the time.
Our instructor wants us to enter Bentley in agility meets and, of course, she believes Savannah will do that as well. She has been doing most of the agility work that we do at home with Bentley. Even the weave poles were easy for her. Savannah is interestingly fearless (which, of course, terrifies me!). Whether swimming, climbing an A frame or see saw, wrestling with Bentley, or meeting new dogs and people, she is filled with pure joy in the doing. I saw the lovely pictures of Sophia. She and Savannah look so much alike. I hope Seamus is thriving as well. He was a beautiful boy!
