Fin Ch/Belg Ch Lumiturpa Pigga at Elbereth 29/8/1998 to 11/9/2014

I had always hoped Pigga would last forever, in fact often joked that as she was such a calm bitch who lived life at "Pigga pace", she was conserving her energy to live to a record age, but sadly she left as at the very ripe old age of sixteen years.  

first day

Pigga joined us on 30th January 2003, I had seen her in Finland as a youngster and wanted to buy her - but she was not for sale, so I was very fortunate when on a trip in 2002 I managed to persuade Matti & Riitta to let me "borrow" her for a litter, to help increase the gene pool here in UK.  So it was planned and we mated her with Fin Ch Staalon Lapinjoiku and her flight was booked.  I can remember that evening like it was yesterday - as I left home to drive to meet her at Heathrow it started to snow, just a little covering of a couple of inches, but when I arrived at the cargo centre I was informed that the snow and more importantly the ice on the runways/standings meant her plane had not even landed yet - even though it had been expected some 1.5 hours before.  I waited and waited - as three hours passed it was suggested I went home, but I dare not because of the snow, not wanting to drive more than I had to.  Then it was announced that as the plane had been circling the Heathrow airspace for so long it was going to have to go to Gatwick to be refuelled, but it would not be unloaded there.  So I waited and waited, drinking a number of those vending machine hot chocolates to keep me warm in the drafty cargo office!  I was really stressing how Pigga would be coping in the confines of her flight crate in the hold of the plane for over 10 hours, and of course she was (we hoped)in early stages of pregnancy.  When midnight came and she was finally landed and was released from the box, I truly expected her to be very stressed and messy, from such a long flight.  But this was Pigga we were talking about, she was fine!  She jumped into my car - we drove home carefully, and then I let her into the house, she walked straight into living room, laid down and said  "yes this will do nicely"  not a peep was heard from her, and from the next day it was like she had always lived with us.

Her litter was born, six puppies, 5 boys and the one girl, and we realised that we could not bear to send her home, so negotiations started - and we were very lucky that Matti & Riitta agreed she could stay in UK.  She had a limited show career - adding her Belgian Title and Brussels 03 winner title to her Finnish crown, but she was notoriously lazy and really did not get the point of showing off she was much more suited to being a lady of leisure at home, taking advantage of all creature comforts.

Pigga was a very gentle girl, I can honestly say I never heard her growl, she was very friendly and loved humans, and was happy to get on with any dog she met.  Once you met her you just had to love her, and she was so happy to share her affection about, she would go and stay with anyone - and was adopted by a number of lonely campers over the years on holidays, from young Josh & Phillip to not so young Steve and Andy, the latter even had T-Shirts printed with the slogan "I've slept with the Pigga-la- la". She was well known for pawing at you as she sat by your side - thriving on human attention.

 A great brood bitch, she had three special litters here in UK, to add to the two she had in Finland, and from her kids in Finland she has had significant impact - and she is behind a number of our more recent UK imports - albeit a few generations back and those in other countries!  Her second UK litter in 2004 was 6 girls and 1 boy (redressing the balance a little, sired by Elbereth Runo in Bernavia, and her last litter was born in August 2005 - to the very handsome Hapmi, again six puppies.

If you met her you loved her - fact!

Run free - Pigga