The Matriarch!

FLARE

Penara's Flair for the Dramatic CGC TKN TDI

Flare is a true fearless water dog, and this is something she has passed on to many of her puppies. She loves to be on the lake and will ride peacefully on the paddle board, watch for fish off the boat, and fetch anything off the dock (including beer cans and towels).

Our foundation bitch Flare has retired from our breeding program after raising 3 outstanding litters. She is an extremely special part of our family and is the best "grandma dog" ever. Her good genes will continue on via her 3 daughters Prairie, Murphy, and Queso, as well as her granddaughters and great-granddaughters that we have kept!

I'll never forget the day I went over to Dr. Pam's house to visit a 6 month old puppy that she was willing to let me buy as my first show dog. She brought this beautiful puppy out and handed her leash to me. The puppy sat down close to me with her paw on my foot, looked up at me with her inquisitive eyes, wiggled just the end of her tail, and made this strange snoring sound that I had never heard an awake dog make before (we would later call that her "love noise"). It was love at first sight! Little did I know, this hilariously quirky but incredibly adorable dog would teach me SO much.

Flare had exactly two accidents in the house before she was completely house trained (well, unless you count the time she did her business in the cat litter box.....). I had never met, let alone owned, a dog with this level of intelligence. I quickly learned (after a few chewed-up pairs of shoes) that she needed more mental stimulation. We enrolled in obedience class, where she zoomed through the basics and wound up earning her CGC title in just a couple of weeks.

Flare and I dabbled in the show ring in her early life, but it didn't last long because it was painfully obvious that she thought prancing around a ring was pointless! Flare is a purposeful tail wagger, and will let you know when she's not having a good time. Her face is very expressive and you can always tell how she is feeling. We decided to try out the more advanced obedience classes instead. One week, a trainer mentioned that they were holding a therapy dog certification test, and that Flare had an appropriately gentle/calm temperament for therapy work. So we gave it a try, and of course Flare passed the test with ease. We began making trips to local nursing homes and I realized that this is what Flare was meant to do! Since then, "Therapy Dog" has been Flare's official job title, she does a wonderful job of making people smile.

This dog has brought an incredible amount of joy to my life & many others. Huge thanks to Dr. Pam Doubek (Penara Labs) for allowing me to have this amazing creature who has completely changed my life! I owe everything to this special dog.