My first Lakeland was a rescue. I was in the Vet’s office with my then breed of choice, a Mini-Schnauzer. I could hear my vet yelling in the next office when he popped around the corner like Kramer on Seinfeld and said, “Give me a dollar.” I did – and he brought in a dog with a poodle haircut, pom-poms and all, and said, “You just bought yourself a dog. Train him and place him.”
I didn’t even know what breed he was. He looked so strange with his poodle haircut, no color, no wire, and certainly no Lakeland attitude. His owners could not housebreak him in 10 weeks, so had brought him in to be sent over the Rainbow Bridge.
I stripped him out when I was told he was a Lakie, as he got hot spots from the clipper, and he turned into a beautiful rich red boy
I did have difficulty housebreaking him but eventually he got the message. When I started to interview prospective families for him, my then teenage daughter would take him for a walk and stay away until they left.
Oh well, we all loved Dagwood, who was an absolute character. He would answer the phone and bark into it, I would hear friends saying, “Dagwood! Go get Lahni.” Dagwood would just cock his head and bark back at the phone. He would let me know if anything with a buzzer went off and did so many tricks.
Dagwood was the reason Torvers kennels came into being.
— Lahni Thompson
