Mille was our first flatcoated retriever and my first own dog. My husband describes the day we picked her up as a very special day, because his wife was very quiet and apparently I could only speak short sentences. After having had Mille in our lives for 11 1/2 years we now understand more fully where this state came from. She had a certain calmness and rootedness over her and she had the habit of choosing people who were in difficult times, then sitting down and looking them deeply into their eyes until tears started to flow. She was fantastic in melting frozen pain in human hearts. She also had the gift of making people, who did not like dogs much, open up and start to pet her and like her. She worked many miracles in her life in this way.
Unfortunately she had a lot of health issues, HD, grass allergies and a very poor coat. We are therefore very pleased that we managed to keep her going and having good quality of life for so long. The homeopathic veterinarian practice of Den Hoek in de Bilt was of great service and support in this matter.
Mille was from 6 months old super obedient and had a great will to please. On hunting days she was very nice and steady but with enough drive to work well. For gundog competitions she lacked eagerness and drive and her somewhat slow running was not in favor by judges. It is fantastic that we managed to win some tests here and there. When finally the A diploma was in the pocket I decided to stop taking her to competitions and just enjoy life with a little training and we did some mantrailing for good exercise and her last years were enjoyed with puppy Rumi and joining us on trips and holidays in the campervan. In nov 2018 we had to let her go. Still loving our one and only queen to the moon and back, with great gratitude.
Mille 9.6.2007 + 16.11.2018
Flatastic flatcoated retrievers 