Chapter Two Meeting Doctor B

Inside of the veterinarian’s office all of the technicians and clerical staff are ogling over Tova. I am as proud as a peacock. Customers with other pets are straining to see her, trying hard not to upset their own animals.

We were placed in one of the examining rooms to wait for the doctor. Doctor Bloomfield is a great vet. He is also a hunter who owns two Chesapeake Bay Retrievers. So he’s cool with hunting dogs.

As I stroke her back and her head, “Easy girl, this is okay, nothing to be afraid of.”

You take me to so many different places. Why don’t we stay put sometime?

As the six-foot doctor with a large build enters the room he looks at Tova appearing amazed at what he sees. Then he places her on the table.

Why did this man put me on this cold table? It’s slippery and hard to stand up. Ouch, watch where you grab, dummy. I don’t really like this!

While checking her for any possible imperfections or aliments he says, “You’re going to show her, right. She is show quality.”

“No, I never planned to show her. I just want a good bird dog and a good companion.”

“Well, you should, she’d win a number of awards.”

“Doc, I’m not into that. It’s not my style.”

“You’ve got yourself a good dog here. Where the hell did you steal her?”

So I proceed to tell him how I found the breeder and he just snickers and says, “You paid a lot less than she’s worth. Damn, she’ll be good, I can tell looking at her. She’ll be at least seventy pounds you know. That’s bordering on the size of a small male.”

“Hey, one of the reasons, I decided to get a female was because the stats say they range from 48-60 pounds. She’s going to live in the house. My wife’s never experienced a large dog before and she already knows this is a high energy breed. I told her if she could live through the first two years we won’t get divorced.”

“What can I tell you. I don’t care what the books say. I’m just talking from my experience. She’ll be at least seventy pounds. One more thing, I recommend you get a chip for her.” (A chip being a micro chip implanted under her skin.) I had the chip implanted before we left.

Thanks for taking me off that table, dad. I guess I can call you dad, mine seems to have disappeared. Let’s get out of here now.

We moved to the reception area so I could book her for scheduled shots.

I left not really believing him. C’mon all of the books I read on the breed say otherwise. They should be right. Wrong, full grown Tova became a lean seventy-five pounds and solid muscle. So much for the books.

Chapter One

Hey, you can put me down, I can walk. Why are you opening up those big doors? You’re not going to put me into that are you? What the heck is this thing? I’m leaving, why?

“Easy there girl, don’t be afraid. Nothing is going to hurt you.”

Easy for you to say big guy, I’m just a little puppy.

Tova yipped for awhile then fell asleep listening to music from the radio; and the rhythm of the ride, she slept most of the way home. She had comfortable blankets to curl up on and she was probably tired from playing with her brothers and sister. Waking up in this strange cage was not something she enjoyed. She began yipping again as puppies usually do and whining when yipping didn’t get her results. Fortunately, we were close to the house when she decided to take a dump. It was open the windows time; this little girl began to stink up the Suburban.

Where am I? What is the humming noise I’m hearing? Where is everyone else? This is scary! Let me out of here.

As I pull into the driveway, my wife, Linda walks out of the house. She couldn’t wait to see this puppy. I’m sure she realized I was not coming home empty handed. Gently I lifted Tova out of the cage and placed her down on the lawn. She walked around sniffing new odors and looked at us.

Why did you take me away? I was happy where I lived. Bring me back there.

Linda reached down and picks her up. You could see the pleasure in her eyes as she held another dog again. “I’ll bring her around back while you clean out the truck. Tova needs to scent the back yard.” The two of them head behind the house while I removed the cage and cleaned up the back end of my vehicle and hosed down the cage before I returned it to the owner.

Starting my vehicle, I could imagine her saying, Wait for me, don’t leave without me. Take me back home...

(Photo by Linda H. Feinberg)

Prologue---From Both Sides

I’ve been dealing with losing our dog by dreaming of getting the hunting dog some day. I subscribed to Gun Dog magazine shortly after Copper died to study how to choose a pup and a breeder. Gun Dog magazine is full of wonderful articles on all types of tips and stories of hunting dogs and their owners.

Since I already had a file on breeders I would contact, it was only a matter of finding if one of them had a female that I could check out. I wanted a female because she would be boarded in the house and I didn’t want my walls marked up as territory.

One breeder in Brunswick, Maine, had an eight week old litter ready to sell. There were nine pups in the litter, five were pre-sold before they were born, and now there are two males and two female available. My wife borrowed a cage from a friend just in case I wound up bringing one home.

Brunswick, Maine is two and a half hour drive from our home. As I pulled into the breeder’s yard I was greeted by three adult shorthairs barking to let the owner know someone was there.

The lady of the house came out; she told me she is the breeder.

We spoke for awhile about things we had already discussed on the phone. I guess I was just being sure I was making a good choice. What I learned from Gun Dog magazine is you can purchase a pup from a breeder but you need to be sure the dog is from good hunting stock. There are many breeders who breed their dogs more for show. The genetics in their lines tends to effect how they respond in the field. In other words if they don’t have the nose, it doesn’t matter how much you paid for the dog. It just won’t work.

To show me the quality of the litter, she took me out to the backyard where the puppies were. She showed me the parents and the grandparents. Taking a fishing pole with a pheasant feather attached to its line; she dragged the feather along the grass. It was amazing to watch four little puppies, tails wagging running to the feather and all four point. I had never seen such a sight before. But there was no question; they had the genes for hunting pheasants.

Next, I had to decide which female I would take. Putting each one through some of the exercises I learned about selecting a puppy, I found both dogs were about the same. However, one seemed to be more attentive to me then the other. I chose her.

After giving the breeder a check, she asked me if I had a name for her.

“I told her that she would be named Tova. Tova is an abbreviated form of the female noun spelled Tovah. It means good in Hebrew.” Since I am Jewish, I wanted her to have a Hebrew name.

She laughed telling me her son always picks names for each puppy after they are born, he had named her Zion. She thought Tova would be very appropriate for her.

Before I left the breeder gave me all of the registration papers I needed to register her with the American Kennel Club and records of her puppy shots.

Tova and I needed to head for home.

“Come on girl, we’re going home.”

But,I am home, what are you talking about?

The Book About Tova

A Very Special Dog


Tova is the story of an extraordinary bird dog and her owner Joe Smiga. It is about their journey together, and it is written as a tribute to Tova’s life.
In Hebrew, Tova is a girl’s name that means “beautiful” or “good.” The name perfectly fits the German shorthaired pointer that Joe Smiga and his wife, Linda, came to know and love.

Through the years of her life, Tova brought love, devotion, fun, and joy into Joe and Linda’s life, and then her life was cut short by a hidden disease. It was a disease that puzzled veterinarians and internal medicine veterinarians; a disease that destroyed her immune system, and yet no one seemed to even know it existed. The disease was called Cryptococcosis, and it robbed Tova of her life at the age of nine.

Author, Joe Smiga is on a mission to educate veterinarians and dog owners about Cryptococcosis. If caught early, it can be treated, but it comes on gradually, and the symptoms are not yet widely recognized by most veterinarians. This is something that Joe Smiga wants to change.

Author Smiga hopes that his book will serve as a wake-up call to all pet owners and veterinarians.

Uniquely original and told from not only Joe’s perspective, but from Tova’s as well, Tova is the life story of a remarkable bird dog, written as a labor of love. It is a must read for all pet owners.

Book Reading and Signings

There are two up-coming book signings for the Tova book.

On Saturday, June 12th, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm, Joe will be doing a reading and a signing of his book Tova. It will be held at Barnes & Noble on South Willow Street, Manchester NH.

He will also sign any of his Behind The Lies novels you may purchase from their shelves.

On Saturday, June 19th, Joe will be doing a book signing on his book “Tova.” The signing will be held from 3:00 to 5:00 pm at The Toadstool Bookshop in the Lorden Plaza at Milford NH.

My second book-TOVA A Very Special Dog

Tova is the story of an extraordinary bird dog and her owner Joe Smiga. It is about their journey together, and it is written as a tribute to Tova’s life.
In Hebrew, Tova is a girl’s name that means “beautiful” or “good.” The name perfectly fits the German shorthaired pointer that Joe Smiga and his wife, Linda, came to know and love.

Through the years of her life, Tova brought love, devotion, fun, and joy into Joe and Linda’s life, and then her life was cut short by a hidden disease. It was a disease that puzzled veterinarians and internal medicine veterinarians; a disease that destroyed her immune system, and yet no one seemed to even know it existed. The disease was called Cryptococcosis, and it robbed Tova of her life at the age of nine.

Author, Joe Smiga is on a mission to educate veterinarians and dog owners about Cryptococcosis. If caught early, it can be treated, but it comes on gradually, and the symptoms are not yet widely recognized by most veterinarians. This is something that Joe Smiga wants to change.

Author Smiga hopes that his book will serve as a wake-up call to all pet owners and veterinarians.

Uniquely original and told from not only Joe’s perspective, but from Tova’s as well, Tova is the life story of a remarkable bird dog, written as a labor of love. It is a must read for all pet owners.

TOVA can be purchased through www.tovabook.com, www.bn.com, www.amazon.com, or your local bookstore.

Joe is available to speak on this subject. Contact him at: jpsmiga@myfairpoint.net.

Spring Vacation

Last week we had the beautiful experience of spending time with family in California and seeing the preserve in Lancaster, California, which is full of their state flower, the orange poppy. On our way back home we visited Red Rock Canyon in Nevada. It is a gorgeous national park with a wonderful scenic view.