My dream of having a dog of my own came true in May 2000. At that time I didn’t know too much about dogs, my enthusiasm was greater than my skills. But it didn’t matter, as I had the best menthor to the world of dogs – that menthor was Romi. When I bought Romi, I had no intention of showing or doing any other activities either. I wanted to have purely a pet. Anyway, we took part in a few unofficial match shows and finally made our show debute at Springer Club Specialty Show in Karkku when Romi was 15 months. During the next few years I showed him a lot and in 2002 Romi finished his Ch title. At the shows I got to know other Springer people and made a lot of friends. I was introduced to other dog activities too, such as hunting abilitytest, blood tracking etc. Romi has gained his greatest success in blood tracking. He made his way up to the winner’s class as soon as possible with two 1st prizes in his first two tests.His debute in winner’s class was more than impressive – he got 1st prize with 49 points out of the 50 possible! Next year he finished his Tracking Champion title. Romi has used his skills in “real life” too. He has tracked deers wounded in car accidents with the local hunting society in partnership with police. Romi is a gentleman with a true Springer character. Even though he lived his first three years as our only dog, he has adapted perfectly living in a pack. He is absolutely reliable with puppies and children, so he has been the babysitter for all the other dogs when they were pups. Above anything else, Romi’s most important duty has been to guide me to this lovely hobby. He has taught me so much about the world of dogs, much more than I have ever taught him. No one could have asked for a better first dog. | 
