I was lucky to find Brodie Cook in the Palmetto State, South Carolina. He has Lacey's sister, Maddy, and he decided to breed her one last time. We had first pick of the females and chose the cutest litlle fox red labrador you've ever seen. In 2009, Nichole and I flew out to Charlotte, NC, toured some NASCAR shops, and then drove down to South Carolina to pick up Ruby. It was quite the adventure smuggling her into a fancy hotel, and then bringing her back on the airplane under the seat in front of me.
Swanson's Prairie Red Gemstone aka "Ruby"
From the beginning I could tell that Ruby was special. I think Lacey hung the moon, but Ruby has more drive, more stamina, better marking capabilities, a better nose, and she is just more “birdy.” Sadly, I did not spend nearly as much time training Ruby as Lacey, so she is a little rough around the edges. She is still a wonderful pet and a great hunter, but Lacey minds a lot better.
It has been awesome to watch the two of them together—Ruby really brought some spunk back into ol’ Lacey. They are great friends and I was so proud to finally get them hunting in the field together where they complimented each other perfectly.
Swanson's Laced With Gold aka "Lacey" and Ruby
Ruby all grown up on her first pheasant hunt.
So back to the original reason for this post…
Brodie has another litter of puppies that will be ready at the beginning of April. He owns both the sire and dam. The dam (SRH Palmetto’s Shelby) is Ruby’s full sister from a previous litter. She is dark yellow and the sire (HRCH American Flyer) is fox red, kind of like Ruby. All the puppies are a dark yellowish, fox red. They don't appear quite as dark as Ruby, but WAY darker than Lacey. If you are in the market for an awesome Labrador who will be a great hunter and even better family dog, check out Brodie’s website: Palmetto Labradors and click on "PUPS". Tell him I sent you or feel free to contact me with any questions. Brodie also has some cool pictures of Ruby on his Reference Dogs page.
