Labyrinth Kennels - Absent Friends | Golden Retriever Breeder

Spirit was the foundation for our family of Goldens. She lived to be over 16 years of age, was a great great grandmother and the matriarch of our clan. She retired from our breeding program after she produced four terrific litters of puppies. In her younger days, Spirit earned her CDX (Companion Dog Excellent) in obedience and demonstrated her natural retrieving ability by getting a WC (Working Certificate) in field competition. After retiring from competition she was awarded her Canine Good Citizen diploma, and became a certified St. John's Ambulance Therapy Dog. And just to show that she wasn't too old to strut her stuff, at the 1999 Golden Retriever Specialty show Spirit took top score twice in the Veterans obedience class. The hardest part of sharing your life with a dog like Spirit is having to say goodbye, but she gave us so much that she will be in our hearts always. Her puppies and seven generations of descendants have brought joy to our home and many friends to share our lives.

Demi was one of Spirit's daughters, sired by the outstanding Obedience Trial Champion, Ben (Wynwood's Note Bene). She was a wonderful combination of her mother's gentle and willing personality, with her father's drive and high energy level. Demi earned her Companion Dog obedience title, Canine Good Citizen award and Therapy Dog certification. Along with Spirit, she was a regular and welcome visitor to the Port Perry Nursing Home. Unfortunately Demi only had two litters. Medical complications in her second pregnancy resulted in having her spayed and prematurely retired. Her job for many years was to teach some manners to new puppies and visiting dogs at the Labyrinth Vacation Spa. But her biggest accomplishment was to produce, among her other outstanding puppies, her daughter Tazz.

On December 18, 2004, Tazz gave birth to her last of four litters, this one by Caesarian Section. Tragically, she suffered complications from the surgery and about 10 hours after the pups were born she died, leaving seven little orphans behind. The pups prospered with the help of a foster mother and the one and only girl from this litter is another of our great Labyrinth dogs, "Legacy". Tazz was only with us for 7 years, but she was a big part of our life, a dog we could take with us anywhere, confident, outgoing and in love with the entire world. She gave us 4 wonderful litters and even though she died giving birth to her last litter, her spirit is with us in her many wonderful pups. We see a part of her every day in Indy and Legacy, but wish she was still here with us.

Nova was the the first dog in many years that did not come from our Spirit lines. Born in February 2000, she came from our good friends at Winterfair Kennel with a solid pedigree of Championship dogs. As an addition to our kennel, the fact that she is not related to our current breeding lines meant we were able to breed her back to Gordy, Tazz's brother. Her pups from her two litters have been very impressive. Nova certainly danced her way into our lives and our home in true Golden fashion. Although she gleefully assumed the role of "bad girl puppy" with her clever mind and carefree attitude, she matured into a wonderful and well mannered adult. Nova also had the true Golden temperament full of affection and willingness to please and produced some outstanding pups. She was also the ultimate grandmother, looking out for all the puppies that are born here. She became a wet nurse for Tazz's orphaned litter and also watched over and cared for every litter that came along. Her talent and spirit live on in her daughter Scotia and granddaughter Zephyr.

Indy was a dog who was always there, seldom at the front of the pack, rarely a leader, but always a happy confident presence. She was the epitome of what a Golden should be, friendly with everyone, self-assured, gentle and in love with life. She ran with the wind, swam with abandon, and chased a tennis ball with precision and determination. She was a fabulous stand-in at the puppy party agility course, willing to work with any handler (especially the kids) and happy to perform. She appeared in the local paper as well as modeling for the Sears Catalogue, always a beautiful Golden girl.

Indy gave us two great litters in 2002 and 2004, which provided wonderful loving pets to many families. Her offspring also included a few outstanding dogs such as Sampson the wonder dog with his retrieving, agility and obedience titles, Riley the stage star, and our girl Quint who carries on in Indy's footsteps with that lovely gentle Golden temperament. Unfortunately with her third pregnancy, Indy developed a serious uterine infection that required her to be spayed, but she retired from her breeding career to be a welcome and deserving family member. Although we had several offers to adopt Indy, in the end we always decided to keep her with us.

We said our last goodbye to our beloved Indy on June 20th, 2010. She is gone, but the indelible mark she made in our lives and our hearts still remains. She will always be our "elegant lady".

Quint was our 5th generation of Golden Retrievers. Descended directly from Spirit through Demi, Tazz and Indy, she carried on the true Golden personality of gentleness and true love for people. It is not many breeders who are lucky enough to be blessed with 5 living generations of their dogs at one time, but with Quint we were. She had a beautiful soft face with bright happy eyes that could melt your heart but she never demanded more than you wanted to give. Quint at her best was the fabulous and careful mother to 18 Labyrinth puppies over three litters, including our girl Torrent. She was always a good mother with very young pups and dedicated to their care. Better than all the love and affection she has brought to our family, the best of her was to pass on to her many pups that same generous heart she gave of so freely.

Heidi was a dog that challenged us and taught us so much, but she was also a dog that willingly gave us her all. Heidi gave us our very first Labyrinth puppies. She was a gentle companion to her puppies and to our young children. She overcame her nervousness and fear of strangers to become a great companion and an eager working dog.

Willow was a dog with boundless energy and unbridled enthusiasm for life. She loved to retrieve and to swim and filled our home with affection and willingness to please. She gave us wonderful puppies and new friends to cherish.

Genny was a pup from Heidi's last litter. At eighteen months of age she died unexpectedly. In winter, spring or fall she was a happy yellow bundle of Labrador summer sunshine, a welcome and wonderful part of our lives.

Scotia was a daughter of our Nova, (Winterfair Labyrinth Bossanova) the first new dog to join our lines since our foundation girl Spirit. Nova was bred back to a boy from our lines, Gordon (Labyrinth Spirit of Winterfair) giving us a direct connection back to our Demi and her mother Spirit. She arrived in our home and into our hearts when our daughter Jessey was just 11 years old, and the two of them grew up as best friends and almost constant companions. Scotia would wait patiently all day until she heard the school bus bringing Jessey home and then run to greet her at the door. She was a willing and happy visitor to many of Jessey’s classrooms, showing other students what a wonderful friend a Golden can be. Scotia was a good mother and gave us two litters, including our marvelous Zephyr. Through Zephyr, Scotia was the grandmother to two of our current Labyrinth studs, McDuff and Newton and has passed her loyalty and affection on to many of our current puppies.

Legacy came into the world on December 18th, 2004 in very difficult circumstances, with the death of her mother on the day the litter was born. She and the six boys she was born with were saved by the generous loan of a nursing mom and by lots of hard work on our part. Legacy not only grew up to be a wonderful pet, but she was an outstanding mother as well. She had four litters over 4 years from 2007 to 2011, with seven pups in the first, 4 in the second, 6 in the third and 8 in her last litter, for a total of 25 kids. She gave us our Dance, Salsa and Kelly who have since made her a grandmother with litters of their own, and her Grandson Gordon is a Canadian Champion and the first official Support Dog for the Ontario Court system.

Kelly was a beautiful Labyrinth Golden from our Legacy and the outstanding boy Liam (RBIS Can. Ch. Amberview's Brave Heart SDHF) from Meliagold Goldens. She has given us our girls Quila and Ella, and the boys Gordon and Vincent. Kelly lived in the Beach area in Toronto and soon became an ambassador, not just for Goldens in general, but for our Labyrinth dogs as well. She became a regular visitor to the streets, parks and neighbourhoods of the Beach, and made friends wherever she went. She was also a regular visitor to Victims Services at the Ontario Courts and showed her compassion and loving nature to many people in distress. Her calm and supportive presence helped break the ice for her son Gordon to become an official Court Dog.

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