Dixie was the reddest dog in the litter and the runt. She was cuddled and spoiled by Katie from her birth. As she grew, what a spitfire she became. She quickly grew into her role as alpha female. She was the boss...over her litter, then over Rusty and finally over her own mother. She got her way in everything. She excelled in puppy class and in retriever classes. She adored her Katie and would go to great lengths to show her how much. We always took Dixie on camping trips. Dixie and Katie would swim together...Katie would throw rocks and watch in amazement as Dixie would play submarine dog to find the exact stone that Katie threw. Dixie was graceful in the canoe, sitting perfectly still so as not to upset Katie who was ever fearful of tipping over. And at night Dixie would jump up to the top bunk from the floor, so that whoever was there would not be lonely. Some nights as we sat around the campfire, we would look over at the trailer to see cute Dixie looking out that bunk window.

Dixie also did other things for her Katie. She learned a myriad of parlor tricks and Katie was always pleased to show them to company. She was always there to play dress up and we always wondered what Dixie would be for Halloween. Dixie was also the watch dog and if anyone ever seemed too threatening Dixie let them know not to mess with her Katie.... Not a night passed that Dixie and Katie weren't curled up together in bed.

Fetching up ducks was quite another matter for Miss Dixie. Hunt test ducks seemed to have a not quite so pleasant a smell to her and she became the "slow" girl when it came to retrieving.... Wild ducks, chukars, pheasant and grouse were a different story....and she excelled as a huntin' dawg. That hunting season obviously made the difference to her and she and Katie earned their Started Hunting Retriever title the next summer. She and Dixie trained with the grownups and tested with the grownups and Dixie made her proud. Katie had trained her own dog.

Dixie was not destined for greatness...no, she was the slower steady girl, but still had the awesome water entry.

She was gonna be the dog who would do anything to please...heck, she had been doing it her whole life... for Katie. When we learned of Dixie's passing, Katie didn't say anything about her "dog". She mourned for her lost "baby". She and I talked this evening about Dixie...she said "Mom, I can't ever go through this again, it hurts too much I assured her that although it would take time, I hoped she would be able to do it.
Dixie may not have had all the illustrious titles that go along with being a great field dog, but she had a title that will never be forgotten to Katie...best friend.

--Sherri Young

On February 9, 2005 we found the cause of death for Dixie.  It was Blastomycosis which is a systemic fungal disease of dogs and humans and other mammals.