Most people would find it hard to pick a name for a dog
from the “U” litter. For us, it was easy. Being a fan of bears all my
life, the name “Ursus,” which means “bear” in Latin, was the
perfect name for our new puppy. We knew that we had a really special dog
in Ursus with an incredible pedigree since he was the grandson of the 1997
Sieger, Lasso.
It seemed like he always felt that he never met a stranger that wasn‘t a
friend of his. In complete confidence he would approach everyone with the
expectation that he was their friend too. Even in the obedience ring, he
would go up the judge and greet him or her as if to say, “My name is
Ursus, what’s your name?” He had the kind of personality that would
just make everyone he came in contact with, smile.
Whether in training or any other opportunity, he would work the crowd
hoping to elicit treats from anyone he could. And he usually succeeded. He
was a big dog but with a puppy heart. In his last few years he had regular
visits to the chiropractor vet. The first thing he would do after greeting
her was to go to her treat jar and stand guard until he was rewarded for
his efforts.
He loved tracking and had a great nose for it. He achieved his TD on his
first attempt, step-tracking the entire track. He was incredible to watch
as he used his God-given talent so well. We tried to get a TDX but
didn’t have any luck getting into either specialty or non-specialty
tests.
After much persistence, he earned his UD title in 2010. He was not real
enthusiastic about obedience work. Still, he persevered and finally earned
that coveted UDT title in Indianapolis a few months short of his 10th
birthday. He did it all for our benefit, and a few handfuls of treats. He
achieved everything that we asked him to do and now his picture hangs from
the wall in our club‘s Hall of Fame.
We are grateful that we had Ursus with us for so long, just a few weeks
short of 14 years. It’s hard to remember what life was like before we
brought Ursus home as a 2-month-old puppy in July, 2000. The years go by
quickly but the memories, even from his puppy days, remain strong in our
thoughts.
URSUS VOM DRACHENBERG, UDT
May 2, 2000--April 9, 2014
Sue & Pete Czuchra
