RDO’s What A Rush II x Captain Ger’s Cassandra

View Betsy’s pedigree and health clearance information HERE

Besty was a major turning point for Rancho Del Oro. When I was approached for a stud service to "Cassie", I was so intrigued by the Who’s Who of field trial dogs in her pedigree I agreed to do the breeding for pick female in lieu of stud fee. That pick female was called "Betsy", because I intended to name her RDO’s Place Your Bets to reflect the somewhat risky nature of combining show dog and field trial pedigrees… at the time I could not find another breeder anywhere who had tried this. Later I decided to continue the "What A ….." theme I had started with her grandsire and named her RDO’s What A Notion, but the call name "Betsy" stuck.

Not exactly a "pretty" girl, Betsy was a nearly perfect hybrid between the stout show dog structure of her sire and the racy athleticism of her dam. Mentally, she had a sereneness about her that said she knew exactly who she was. She became the Alpha Bitch at RDO and ruled the roost with her iron paw in a velvet glove. I never saw her lift a lip or lay a tooth on another dog EVER in her lifetime… she imposed her leadership through posturing and the sheer force of her will.

We lost Betsy at age 10 to complications during surgery to treat mastitis. Massive blood loss led to shock and she could not be recovered from the anesthesia. Her one remaining daughter Gala looks a LOT like her (with significant improvements!) but is nothing like her in terms of personality or attitude. These are what we call "stepping stones" in a breeding program, and I am happy to be able to say they are steps FORWARD! The "What A ….." dogs have consistently improved in each of their five generations so far. Betsy's granddaughter "Remmie" is currently carrying the "What A..." torch, at 2 years old she is AKC pointed and should finish her Canadian Championship soon.