Gus was my first lab and what a character he turned out to be while also a crazed retrieving machine, Belle came two years later and as talented but easier to handle. I was very fortunate to have two of the best dogs I could ever have imagined. I joined the Atlanta Retriever Club in the ninties and served as Secretary/Treasurer for 3 terms (6 years) along with helping out at countless hunt tests and field trials and meeting a lot of really nice dog loving people. Gus had earned five Master Hunter passes while a two year old and Belle had Jams in the Field Trial Derby classes as well as becoming a Junior Hunter and passed a couple of Senior Hunt tests before retiring to have puppies.
It was then I realized just how much I enjoyed raising the pups and watching their personalities develope. I spend hours handling and watching them at play, puppy play is anything but frivolous. It is the basis of their social developement and the start of healthy adjustment to people and dogs they will encounter throughout their lifetime.
All through my life I have had dogs, Dad was a small game hunter and always had bird dogs, coon hounds or beagles while I was growing up. I enjoyed going in the woods before hunting season to "run" the dogs with Dad and watching them work. Years later I joined a Fox Hunting Club and had a lot of thrills, some I didn't bargin for, but to me the best part was not galloping over hill and dale but standing still and listening to the hounds work and bringing that fox around to hopefully get a climpse of it.
To this day I am always thankfull to be out in the woods either on foot working a Search and Rescue dog or on my horse trail riding. I am blessed to have the best of both worlds.
I would have to say though my greatest pleasure is hearing from people who have my dogs and thank me for giving them the best dog they ever owned. It's worth more than gold.
My Dad ~ Jack O'Connor and his beagles
Dad in the driveway with his catch of the day
- can you guess who is Jean, someone thought they were hot stuff holding the gun!!!
can't believe Dad got her to hold the bird, she's still a woosie
Jack O'Connor senior and junior
JEAN AND RIPARIAN'S JEZEBEL ~ "BELLE"
Belle
10/25/95 ~ 11/01/07 I will always miss you my jazzy Belle
You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there
long before any of us.
Robert Louis Stevenson Amen....Jean
Hat Creek's Handsome Gus 11/25/93 ~ 5/14/08
He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader.
He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy
of such devotion.
unknown
Jean and Jesse training, "hey goober, your shirts buttoned wrong!"
"Jesse" what a water entry!
Jean and ~ "Nitro" Just over one year old (in this picture) and earning her Junior Hunter title. Unfortunately due to an injury her career as my competition dog was cut short. She went on to become a drug dog. In September 2007 we got to watch her work in an abandoned building and alert on the hidden drugs.
November 2008 "Nitro" with her owner and trainer Hoyt Lumpkin
Nitro is now a Certified Cadaver dog as well as Certified in Narcotic detection,
buildings, auto and area search, she and Hoyt are members of the Mid GA Search And Rescue which Jean, Bella and Sophie also are in training with and doing well.
We look forward to the day we could possibly be the ones to help a family in need.
Sad footnote: On Oct. 23rd, 2010 Hoyt had to put his loyal and devoted friend, Nitro down. Her accomplishments are many and she was a puppy I raised before Hoyt owned her. Anything you taught Nitro she did with great zeal and full throttle, a true joy to watch work. She was a blessing to us both. Well done good friend, you will be missed.
**** JUST LOST YOUR DOG?
If your heart is heavy because you have lost your dog through an accident or old age or an illness, and you are not sure about getting another dog to fill the "void", I, myself, have been there several times before and in every situation. In reality we all know we cannot replace our special pet and I don't think any of us really try to do that but yet maybe we really long to and then we feel a little bit guilty. I am here to tell you, some years ago I went two years without a dog in my life after my precious "Bess" died. Bess was the most loving little beagle that was the last dog my Dad bought before he got sick and passed away. He had asked me to take her home and raise her. Dad was a small game hunter all his life and we were raised with bird dogs, beagles and coon hounds ~ guess that's where I got my love of dogs ~ as a child I brought home every stray and got bit several times. Dad would sternly say to me "when will you ever learn to leave the dogs alone!"? Guess I never did !
At any rate, I thought I would NEVER have another dog as SPECIAL as Bess. She was probably two months old when I brought her home and she lived 13 years. When she passed away my oldest daughter, Kelly, cried, .... " I remember the first time I saw Bess, she fit right in Grandpa's hand".
And this was true
Well the year was 1993 and Kelly has had in her life another precious "best friend"~"Lindsey" a female Rottweiller who was eight years old when she lost her to bone cancer last year. And I still have my "new" best friend ~ Gus~ he is my first lab and is 14 years old.
I never thought I would feel this strongly after Bess about another dog. But Gus has been the dog that healed my heart. Consider letting a puppy open the door of your heart that grief has closed........... I can only tell you this is how I relate to losing a special pet. And most importantly, do not ever feel bad or foolish about grieving for your pet, as they truly are a member of the family.
We can't replace "our friend" but a puppy will and can help heal your heart. This is the lesson I learned after Bess. I will NEVER be without a dog that long again, life is too short to pass up the opportunity to form a bond with another dog that wants to come into our lifes. And what better joy is there in life but to hug a puppy?? ! !
( I love puppy breath!!)
Please think about this, and also realize these are only my personal feelings and you need to do what feels right for you.
Take care and God Bless, Jean O'Connor
Well the year now is 2009 and Gus, Belle, Punch, Lindsey and her companion, Seth,
are all gone now. When I wrote this section about losing a pet I was most sincere
and yet I had not even a clue about my reactions on losing Gus and
Belle. I had not been in every situation. I can only apologize for being so presumptious,
the pain is awful no matter how often we go through it or how it happens. New or old it
never gets easier and is always difficult to bear. But I do remain steadfast in my belief
that a new friend is still out there for us and is also the best remedy for a broken heart.
joc
TESTIMONIALS
My husband, Neal, and I have known Jean O'Connor of Hat Creek Farm since around 1997. She has been actively involved in breeding wonderful Labrador Retrievers since we have known her. We attended church together for several years before she moved to the country to pursue her dream of living on a farm and breeding top quality retrievers. My first contact with Jean was shortly after losing our beloved Herschel, a black Lab. I contacted her because I was aware of her rapidly growing reputation in our area. Our timing was bad because she had no puppies available at the time. In my desperation, our hoped for yellow Lab turned into a wheaten colored Scottie, a wonderful animal, but definitely not a Lab!
Jean is a person of integrity, who truly cares about her animals and the families which adopt them. Any monetary gains (sometimes I wonder how there are any) are secondary. She diligently tries to match the right dog to the right person or family. She spends a lot of time with each littter socialzing them and determining their personalities. I have no problem recommending a retriever from Hat Creek Farm to anyone. When the time is right for our next retriever, it will definitely come from Jean at Hat Creek. If you have never met her beautiful Belle or Handsome Gus, or seen a finely bred retriever puppy, it is definitely worth a trip to the country!
Debbie Brewer
Flowery Branch, GA
*Neal "Bubba" Brewer went to be with the Lord he served so well on 9/28/10 A truly lovely man and devoted husband to Debbie. Rest in peace
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It has been our pleasure to know and work with Jean of HAT CREEK FARM. She has bred to our yellow male Labrador ~ CHASER'S YUKON HUNTER MH ~ ("CABO") that has produced outstanding litters which have maintained the high standard of the breed including outstanding looks, personalities and conformation. Jean has a knack of matching the right male and the right female to produce genetically superior puppies. Also, Jean's ability to match the correct owner to the right puppy is critical in being successful when you bring that new family member home!
My best advice is to listen to Jean, she will not lead you astray !
Doug and Laura Trautman
Duluth, GA
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Jeannie O'Connor was a little girl with a big, feisty mare that behaved very badly on
occasion. She came to me because she had heard that I could retrain her mare, but
more importantly, that I would be kind in doing so. That defines Jeannie ! That was many years ago and the beginning of a lifelong friendship. The mare turned out to
be a real lady - and little Jeannie grew up to be a real lady too.
Ms O'Connor has many years of experience in the breeding and training of dogs.
She is honest, very capable and, above all, she is kind to her "critters". I can
recommend her highly and without reservation.
Sincerely,
Edward J. Leonard
Pompton Plains, NJ
Governor (Ret'd)
Ramapo Kennel Club
Secretary/Treasurer
Garden State Horseshoers Association
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I had just lost my lab in August 08 when I began searching for quality breeders. Hat Creek stood out among many because it was clear that these pups were kept in a clean and loving environment. And it was just a feel good website. So we took a ride to Perry and had a look-see at seventeen adorable, happy, well cared for and socialized cuties. It was immediately obvious that Jean O'Connor LOVED her animals and knew what she was doing in order to make them the best dogs they could be.
We picked up our new bundle of love in September and he is now at almost 6 months
old and just the best dog we ever had with the BEST disposition! Our vet was very impressed with him and amazed at his calm demeanor. He's really filled the hole in my heart left by losing my beautiful agility dog Groucho.
So here's the deal.....My pup is a most beautiful, playful, extremely SMART and a very affectionate shadow who is totally focused on his Mom and Dad. You could not go wrong picking one of Hat Creek's puppies, for even though I don't know Jean well, I DO know first hand that she is a top-flight lab breeder who gives first class care and lots of love in handling her beautiful labs, both adult and young ones. I will always recommend Hat Creek Farms to anyone without reservation.
Sincerely, Margaret and Dick Wilde
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Dear Jean, We can't thank you enough for the blessing and joy you have brought to our family. "Bella" is wonderful! We are constantly complimented on how beautiful she is. She has finished AKC puppy school and is now in intermediate school along with a tracking and agility group. We're hoping to train her as a therapy dog in the future.
Sincerely, Chad and Leah Hadfield
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We picked out our pup from Hat Creek Farm after doing a lot of research. Sam was our first dog ever so we expressed to Jean our desire to have a wonderful pet. Jean really helped us by watching the puppies develope for the first seven weeks of their lives so that when we picked out our puppy we were getting a pet that would be loving and calm and a great inside as well as outside dog. WOW did it turn out that way! Sam loves to retrieve but when we see her and talk to her, that tail wags a mile a minute! Never have we had an experience like this- where from day one, Sam came in and won our hearts. She also prefers an omelet instead of dog food for breakfast so it is possible to spoil them!
Ken Jackson
Chattanooga TN
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Jean.........Just a short note to thank you for producing top-notch pups. There are so many people who just let two labs breed but do not have a clue about improving or eliminating undesirable traits. This would be called breeder knowledge. I looked high and low for a quality pup/partner, I was thinking Miss. and Texas all the way to the north central states. Then as my mind was closing in on Texas, Hat Creek came across my screen and man........I thought Ms Jean has got it all together so I called and then was able to stop in for a brief viewing, 3 1/2 wks later, Feb 28th 2010 went back and picked my new best friend. We named him "Newt" because at 8 wks he was showing signs of being a genius. He was a fluffy ball of love when he came home and has grown into this long tall water jumping machine! He absolutely loves working in the water, at 6 mths old he is completing triple 40's on water drills. We will soon be finalizing obedience drills and start force fetching drills. He is a member of our family with 4 human brothers and sisters as well as 6 dogs and 5 cats. I can't think of life without him. He has become my best pal in the field or at the pond. Thanks Jean for starting the socialization so early, we believe that it helped Newt to be a better citizen. We told numerous people about you and Hat Creek. We will advertise by word of mouth as long as you are in business. One day soon (if my wife will let us) we will be looking for a young lady to introduce in his life. Thanks again Jean. Thanks for making me believe and then producing.
Doug and Merna Vonier
Cordele, GA
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A note from Noah Little 4th grade ( Jan 2011)
Dear Jean,
I'm so happy about the pups. I like there soft fur. I want a pup really bad. Is she going to be little? Well I am going to be excited. I love puppys. love Noah P.S. Thank you so much for all you done.
hatcreekoconnor@windstream.net
