RETRIEVING AUSTRALIA FORUM

very very sad news blackie passed away last night at about 2 oclock with jane and joe at his side he was 16 years old
the sport has lost one of its greats but fortunately Blackies legacy lives on through his progeny
here is a link to blackies thread when he retired
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1397&p=6360&hilit=blackie#p6360
im sure none of us who ever witnessed a blackie blind will ever forget the astonishingly high standard that joe and blackie were able to achieve particularly on water blinds
Blackie was simply the best line runner i ever saw and his amazing record bears testimony to his greatness.Joe and jane are close friends of mine and i feel for them it is never easy to lose a champion who was also a wonderful pet with a great personality

We received an email early today from Joe & Jane informing us BLACKIE had passed away during the night.
Sad though this news is, what a wonderful life BLACKIE had. His amazing record over the 10 years he ran in Trials showed him to be an outstanding representative of the Labrador breed, excelling in all aspects of trialing, as the complete retriever, and as a constant companion to Joe and Jane.
BLACKIE was a son of the incredible MONTY and he was a great representative of the MONTY family and their rebirthing of the working Labrador in Australia. We are very proud of these unique dogs and their consistent achievements.
Our condolences to Joe and Jane, and let us be appreciative we had BLACKIE in our lives.

Jill & Wayne Poholke
Kadnook Kennels

Joe & Jane
How sad to read of Blackie's passing. He was such a truly great dog I really feel for you both. What a terrific age he has lived to. Without Blackie I wouldn't have my boy Josh.
R. I. P. Blackie
Judy & Josh & Punch

wouldnt blackie and joe haved loved this blind
this is from the gsp january trial just a couple of days ago
it was set by bill hepburn and was tremendous fun to run on It had everything a top class blind should have
a challenging angle entry a narrow corridor for thoses who wont to really challenge the blind yet for the more average dogs that could be kept left the possibility of picking it up was there
i can just imagine blackie lining this one
btw Gareth Tawton also set a superb water blind on the Sunday which Blackie would have equally enjoyed

Such a great dog, and another,sadly, gone to heaven. Ian and I send our sympathy to Joe and Jane.

Kerry

Hi Joe and Jane
Our thoughts are with you at this sad time.
We always enjoyed watching or judging this great team of Joe and Blackie.

Blackie had a marvellous career and will be remembered for his trialling performances over many years.

Amand and Georgina