Am.Ch. Bandersnatch Tuxedo CGC,ME,CG,Am.Can.CD.

aka - Tux, Tickle, Mr Man, Bo-bo (and yes, he is smarter than the average pup!)

27 April 1992 - 10 September 2007

Remembering Tux - a great dog who gave us many a "Kodak moment"

bred by Margaret Pough and Renee Boisvert
owned by Amanda & Margaret Pough

This specialty was a bittersweet trip for me; on the morning of the Herding Test my mother and I made the painful decision to say goodbye to my old Border Terrier.

Tux was the dog I traveled around the country with after college, and the reason that all my Canaans get goofy and bouncy at shows whenever they spot a Border. Our next door neighbors have horses, and when Peter was a puppy, Tux firmly believed that Peter should be protected from these odd creatures. He would physically herd Peter back from the fence line when the horses were out.

One day after we got home from Ohio I looked out to into the yard to see Peter herding Ida back from the fence and away from the horses. From the tone of his barks to the line beyond which Ida was not allowed to cross, Peter was treating her exactly the way Tux treated him. I think Tux would be proud.

Amanda

Tux has always loved the Rally and a chance to do it all. He competed at the Rally for the first time in 1993, back when it was still at Montpelier. That year he was Reserve Champion in the Terrier Trial & Races.

He earned his Championship with 3 majors, finishing in 1994. The same weekend he became a champion, he also passed the AKC's Canine Good Citizen test. Eight days after that he earned his AWTA Certificate of Gameness, and at the same trial was the Highest Scoring BT in the Certificate Class and named by the judge as the dog she'd best like to take into the field.

His Companion Dog title was earned in the US in 1995 and included a Highest Scoring BT in Trial at a BTCA Supported Entry. He was consistent in the ring - hampered mostly by Amanda's lack of breathing!

When AKC introduced Earthdog, he handily earned his Junior Earthdog title, earning his second and final leg at the 1995 Specialty. Then came the Senior Earthdog drought. It took another three years before he earned his first Senior Leg (at the 1998 Specialty) and then another couple nerve-wracking months to finish the title. Once in Master Earthdog, he got his four qualifying legs in four straight trials - with a LONG break in between the first and the second for winter in New England.

He returned to the obedience ring in the fall of 1998 with a trip to Montreal, Canada. There he was shown in four trials over two days, earning four qualifying scores and three class placements en route to his title. More importantly he beat Shelties and Border Collies and was complimented repeatedly on his upbeat attitude and energy in the ring.

In the spring of 2002 Amanda and he came to an agreement about being show groomed again. Once he got to the shows he decided it was all worthwhile, as everyone gives old gray dogs cookies! Boy did he quickly figure out how to work his Veteran status! He won the Veteran Terrier group in Springfield, Massachusetts at eight days shy of his 11th birthday. In the Best In Show Veteran ring he had a blast - wagging and talking and working the ringside crowd.

Tux has always been perfect - or pretty darn close. He knows how to share a bed and settles in on the lower left hand side whenever possible. He neither clings nor takes up half the bed in the middle. He has more standing invitations to come visit friends than do his owners. He is great with puppies - after all, they usually have the best toys. He was often the demo dog at Amanda's work when educating kids on safety around dogs. He and Amanda traveled throughout New England after she graduated college - going to shows & trials, visiting friends, hanging out and eventually ending up in Northern Vermont. In 2005 he moved back to Ithaca, New York to live with me and have his own harem. On his return to Ithaca he was greeted as he always felt he should be - by a Blue and Tan Border bitch throwing herself down in front of him and washing his face.

Marg

One of my first indelible memories of Tux was when he visited us as a young adolescent. He was about to race across the kitchen with typical youthful exhuberence when he caught a disapproving glance from Pinch, our miniature Dachshund.
Tux hit the deck instantly and proceeded to grovel his way across the floor maintaining the appropriate submissive position.
No easy feat considering that Pinch was barely 4inches at the shoulder.

My last memories come from his "sleep over" in our camper during the Fredericton weekend of shows and earthdog tests in July 2007.
He was the consummate house guest, respecting our schedule and our home. Enjoying whatever meals were prepared for him and containing his impatience when service was delayed.
His instant acceptance by Gunter and Boomer into their limited space spoke volumes. He was a gentleman who lived up to his name and knew how to conduct himself in any company.

Pam

How to sum up Tux? After my first visit to the Dyer’s, Pam looked at Tux and said “You can come back any time.” Then she looked at me and extended the same invitation.

Loved, honored and missed by Amanda & Marg
and his many, many friends.

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