Phoenix was born on August 23, 1994, in an entire litter of red puppies. His breeders had a red-headed baby of their own just three days earlier! His registered name is Alexford’s Phoenix of Zvezda, and he is out of Ch. Kaila’s Baccarat and Ch. Innisfree’s Kadee of Texas. We named him after a constellation (can it be called a constellation if it has just one star?) in the southern hemisphere. When we chose him at eleven weeks old, we knew there was a chance his second testicle would not descend but he was so nice we decided to take the chance. Unfortunately, it did not descend and therefore he could not be shown in conformation. However, he is a very sweet dog and we love him very much, so he is staying with us.

When he was 4 months old he had major abdominal surgery to remove the crocheted toy he ate – part of it lodged in his stomach and part of it unraveled and went all the way through, telescoping his intestines in on themselves. We were not sure he would live through that one – the vet said there was nothing to resect because the entire length of his intestines was damaged. It was while he was recuperating in the vet’s office that it was discovered that he likes to sing with the radio. They play the radio in the hospital so the animals don’t feel to "alone" and he would sing along. His favorite song was Richie Valens’ "La Bamba". He runs on our team (LOVES to run on the team!) and has been obedience trained. He may eventually be shown in obedience, if Joanne ever finds the time to polish him up. He has shown an aptitude for agility, although there has been no time in the schedule to pursue it. He has passed a Therapy Dog International test and a Canine Good Citizen Test. He is currently one of the dogs we take on backpacking trips, and is working towards his Working Pack Dog title.

Phoenix's pedigree
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