Murphy comes from North Olmstead Ohio, which is just outside Cleveland. Why does Murph come from so far away from Vancouver you ask? Here's the whole story:

Originally, I wasn't looking for a purebred. Keep this in mind as I tell you the ridiculous lengths I went to to get Murph.

We lost Snuggles (that's her on your left) on May 13, 2000, at the age of 17 1/2 years. The whole family was devastated, even though we knew that her time with us was ending. I had no intention of getting another dog, especially not in the near future. Then, in June, I went to Toronto for a 3 week visit with Adam.

Adam and I often go to Chapters or Indigo. We browse the shelves, and most times I just come across something and then end up reading a whole whack of books on that random subject. One day at the beginning of our visit I came across a book called "Why We Love the Dogs We Do" by Dr. Stanley Coren. He is a psychology professor at UBC. I had read a book called "Sleep Thieves" by him a few years previously and found it to be a fascinating book. And I liked Coren's style: entertaining, informative and very easy to read; I think I read "Sleep Thieves" in one or two sittings. So when I found "Why We Love the Dogs We Do" I put some weight behind what it had to say, even before I opened it.

"Why We Love..." deals with the match between dog and owner. Coren's thesis is that the best match results from similarities between dog and human. So smart people should get smart dogs, friendly people should get friendly dogs and so on. He goes on to support this with stories of famous people and their dogs. He details how good matches result in great, rewarding relationships between dog and human, and bad matches result in disaster.

Anyway, the first few chapters contain quizzes to figure out what kind of personality you have, and what kind of dog breed you should be matched with. He takes dog breeds out of their traditional Kennel Club groupings (herding, working, sporting etc.) and divides them up into groupings like smart, friendly, independent, steady and so on. After I took the quiz (and subjected Adam to taking it as well, much to his displeasure) I found out that friendly dogs were the best match for me (and Adam, for that matter). Which surprised me greatly, since if I'd had to pick one personality grouping to put myself in, it wouldn't have been "friendly". But after looking through Coren's reasoning I could understand my placement there.

And I liked many of the "friendly" dogs. Dogs in this group include Labs, Golden Retrievers, several of the spaniels and more. That's where I first read about English Cocker Spaniels. I'd never heard of them before.

So I left with this in mind, but not thinking that I'd act on any of the info.

Adam, obviously, was working. So I was alone for several hours each day. Normally, when I'm in Toronto I spend the weekdays shopping, or checking out art galleries etc.. But with 3 weeks on my hands I had to find more activities to occupy my time. Adam has a nice computer, with a cable modem, conveniently located in his living room. And as we all know, the internet is the greatest time waster ever invented. So naturally, I gravitated towards it. I started looking up info on various dog breeds, and playing around with breed finders that several of the pet centred web sites feature. I started looking more seriously at the various breeds.

Then a few days later I went to meet Adam for lunch. We met at an Indigo near his office. While I was waiting I puttered around, and ended up back in the Dog section. There I found a book called "Paws to Consider" by Brian Kilcommons, some very well known dog guy. He takes dogs out of their Kennel Club groupings and divides them up into groups like "City Dogs", "Good Dogs that are Hard to Find" and "Family Dogs". I came across English Cockers again. He quite glowingly reviews the breed and goes on to say that they are also good with kids, not aggressive, very cute, sweet and smart. Sounded good to me. I made a note of the breed along with several others in a notebook that was to go on to be filled with dog info.

But still, I had always told myself that after Snuggie died I'd get an adult dog from a shelter. So I started looking at shelters on the internet, and collecting phone numbers. I also e-mailed rescue organizations for English Cockers, Petit Basset Griffon Vendeens and Tibetan Terriers (the last two breeds were also on my short list). PBGV's and TT's are actually even rarer than English Cockers, so I didn't have much luck there.

By the time I headed home I had 3 weeks worth of research and a determination to get a new dog. I had made a list of what I wanted in a dog: 15-40 pounds, friendly, affectionate, smart, likes walks and hikes, likes to be included with its family's activities and can live in an apartment.

I started calling and visiting shelters, but medium sized dogs are really rare - shelters are filled with labs, shepherds and rottweilers. A couple of shelter workers actually laughed at me when I said I was looking for a dog "bigger than a beagle, but smaller than a lab". Plus I had to try to convince my family that getting a new dog was a good idea. My mother was the last hold out, and definitely didn't want a big dog. So, after almost getting a small lab cross, I was out of luck at the shelters. (By the way, that dog did go on to find an owner, she was featured on the SPCA's website).

Ambleside dog park
And this is just the beach portion of it!

Allie and I started frequenting Ambleside (above), a dog park in West Vancouver. There you can see every kind of dog, it's absolutely packed with them. There were even a couple of English Cockers! This really reinforced my desire to get a dog.

So I went back to my list of purebreds. I checked out the Canadian Kennel Club's website, and played with their breed finder. Again the English Cocker came out as a good match for me. Allie and I went to dog shows (conformation and agility) where we met Cockers and I started reading "Dogs in Canada" magazine. I became positive that English Cockers were the dog for me. So I got a hold of the Secretary of the English Cocker Spaniel Club of Canada, thinking that she might be able to put me in touch with a breeder.

Well, English Cockers are quite hard to find in Canada as only about 100 puppies are born here each year. In BC there was one litter that was to be conceived that week. I spoke to the breeder, answered her questions about myself and my lifestyle and was put on their waiting list. I eventually found out that the dog was pregnant, and then that she successfully gave birth. Then I found out that they had 3 times as many people on their waiting list as they had puppies. Having to get on a list for an ECS puppy is quite normal here, and even though I was 1st on the list, that didn't necessarily mean that I'd get a puppy. Show homes got first pick, then they were going to interview everyone else. Since I didn't have a fenced yard, that would be a strike against me.

So I figured, that's it, there's no way that I'll get one of those puppies. I had to start looking further and further away. Canada didn't seem to have any litters when I was looking, so I got a hold of the head of the English Cocker Spaniel Club of America. Kate gave me the names of several breeders with litters. The easiest one to get to, strangely enough, was in Cleveland. I phoned that breeder, Dawn, and she told me all about the litter. There was one male puppy left, blue roan and tan. I love the Cockers with tan highlights so I was thrilled. I asked to have him put on hold.

I worked out all the details of shipping a dog. I had already planned a trip to see Adam (by this time it was October), but we were going to head up to a resort north of Toronto. Adam scrapped that plan (thanks Ad) and agreed to drive me the 5 1/2 hours down to Cleveland from Toronto. And the plans were made!

Adam and I made a weekend out of it. We rented a car, drove down and stayed overnight in a hotel. (Aside: never go to Cleveland if you are a vegetarian. We spent over an hour driving around trying to find something for me to eat.) The next morning we headed over to the breeder's, got Murphy, who promptly covered my face in the first of MANY kisses, and hopped back in the car. Adam then drove us all the way back to Canada while I sat in the backseat with Murphy. Murphy was so calm that Adam wondered if there was something wrong with him. He just sat on my lap, or curled up in his crate. We got him out for a stretch when we stopped for lunch, and Adam played with him for a bit. We saw the beginnings of a more lively Murphy.

We crossed the border, I paid $60 duty, and we headed to Adam's mom's house (she lives just across the border in Niagara on the Lake). Mrs. Branscombe declared "Oh Meg, he's so handsome!" when we got out of the car. Murphy then spotted Maddie, Adam's black Lab in the photo to your left, and dove under the car. We fished him out and the two dogs got to meet each other (Murphy's first friend!). We played with the two dogs, had a quick dinner, let Murphy meet Adam's sister Katy and then we headed for Toronto.

We kept Murphy in Adam's apartment for 2 days before Murphy and I flew home to Vancouver. Adam's roommate Sean, who puts up with me constantly traipsing through their apartment, was very gracious in letting Murphy stay there. Murphy also got to meet my friend Lisa. I never left Murphy for those 2 days, so we got plenty of time to bond and to start on grooming and training.

On the Tuesday Adam dropped us off at the airport (he had a business thingy - to Adam's credit he does usually hangs out with me 'til I go through to the gate). Murphy and I spent a while playing on one of those grassy dividers that they have between the parking lot and the terminal, then I checked him through. Murphy made it through the flight like a pro, and we were home!