We have enjoyed the pleasure of rekindling old, and making new, friendships in our recent visit to Alice Springs. Regretably, while there we lost one of our bulldogs when she passed away in her sleep.

As any one who owns a dog will know this is not an easy time. However, what happened to Russ and I while we were at the Alice Springs Kennel Club was nothing short of amazing and assisted us as we tried to cope with our sense of loss and associated grief.

We had decided to support the Alice Springs Kennel Club with a new award - now known as the "Ruby Kellanz Celebration Award". The award was designed to support fair play, good sportsmanship and all round camaraderie in the world of dog showing. We could not have had a better example of this as the Alice Springs Kennel Club and participants in their Shows came together to support us and help celebrate Ruby's life. She will be remembered by the shade tree planted in her memory and the plaque that show participants contributed to on the last Sunday of the Show weekend.

We would like to take the opportunity to offer a heartfelt thanks to all those at the Dog Shows in Alice over the weekend of 6th - 8th July. Our loss has been transformed into a treasured memory, something both of us will be eternally grateful for; something that further confirmed that the Award created in conjunction with the Alice Springs Kennel Club was both the right idea and completely in the right place.

Thank you to one and all

Russell and David