This is Coral, a purebred Curly Coated Retriever (CCR or "Curly"). We got her at seven weeks, on the day we announced we were expecting our first and only child. Curlies are the original retriever breed; the other five are descended in one way or another from the Curly. The breed was almost lost during WW2, down to under 100 dogs worldwide. We're back up to about 5000 worldwide now which still makes them exceedingly rare.
The breed is described by the AKC as "wickedly smart" and that is a completely accurate description. Coral was the smartest non-human creature I've ever known with the possible exception of Mavis, a captive bottlenose dolphin that I got to scuba with (some amazing stories there too!).
At about six months she had a "play date" with a visiting dog. Two dogs, but only one big beef joint (bone). Coral had it and wanted a drink from a big pickle bucket we'd put out for water, but she could see the other dog just waiting to snatch it up. Her solution: Drop it in the bucket, drink (which meant she was blocking access to the bucket), then dunk her head down to the bottom to retrieve the bone. The standard poodle just stood there dumbfounded.
Coral was described as "almost human" by others. Her native element was water whether liquid or frozen. She would swim for 8-10 hours a day. If no one was around to throw a stick she would nudge one off the dock, wait for it to float far enough away, then jump in to retrieve it. She would swim with anyone, ride in boats, etc. She once jumped off the dock in early winter, not understanding that the ice wasn't thick enough to support her landing, and disappeared under the ice. I thought I was going in after her but she broke through several feet away and used her front legs to icebreak her way to shore. That only happened once.
Normal lifespan for Curlies is 10-13 years. Coral lasted 14.5, until finally it was inappropriate to medicate her past her infirmaties. Losing her was one of the worst days of our family's life but we would not have missed a single day with her. I'll admit to being a bit scared to get another dog, as it's unlikely we'd find another so intelligent.
EDIT: Forgot to explain the name. Her litter name was "Black", thus her formal papered name was "Black Coral". Black coral is rare. This gave her a connection to the water while also acknowledging just how rare and special she was. She certainly lived up to her name and her heritage. We miss her and talk about her every single day.
Home
Help
Search
Login
Register
