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Multiple Best Puppy in Show, Best Puppy in Specialty Show,
Rarities American and Canadian Champion , IABCA JHA Int Ch
Talisman's Light of Helios

Helios the Talisman Silken Windhound, is named after the Greek god of the sun
who races his chariot across the heavens every day, without fail , through the millenia.
Helios has a VERY happy, bright, and cheerful outlook on life, and, even
without coffee, is most assuredly a "morning person" and given to waking us up by
standing by the bed, with a toy in his mouth, and wagging till the bed shakes,
I thought naming him after a sun diety was entirely appropriate...

Helios is always ready to play with someone, be they canine or human ( or bee)
and his very favorite non-solo house hobbies , aside from power wrestling with the
two leggers, are playing fetch , tug of war, and hide and seek with half sister Sazi,
and wrestling and chasing half brother Ronan, Gideon, and his Grand-uncle Caliban .

His current favorite solo games are running pell mell somewhere with a toy in his mouth,
playing "that dasterdly tail" game by spinning, and chasing and grabbing his tail,
wanton and creative destruction of anything like a recently abandoned human shoe,
and thoughtfull re landscaping of the garden ( his design sense there runs to trenches ).

Helios has surprised us in the show ring so far.
He had a very big start to his show career at Rarities NAKC in Dixon Ca in Dec 06 ,
where the little fella, who I had really just taken along to socialize ,
went on to win three Best Puppy in Show awards! He really charmed the
judges, including Ed Gilbert, author if K9 Anatomy and Structure,
over with his big movement, and natural charisma,
but not his willingness to stack. <G>

As you can see above in the pic taken at Lucasfilm in San Francisco
( notice the statue of Yoda in the background) Helios was still opposed to stack practice
at the age of four months.

However, we were finally able to convince him that there were
good things for pups who could stand still even if they would rather be cudding, and
at his very next Rarities show weekend of five shows in two days , at the
very young age of just shy of eight months old , Helios trotted and (mostly) stacked
his way to multiple Best Jr Puppy in Breed, Winners Dog, and Best Puppy in Show awards,
earning him the title of MBPIS Rarities Int Ch Talisman's Light of Helios,
the youngest Rarities International Champion ever in the breed!

In January of 08, Helios also got his IABCA JHA puppy Championship, going Best Puppy in Breed, and even getting a Group 3 medal!

In April of 08, at an ISWS Specialty held by Rarities/NAKC, Helios got Reserve Winners Dog!

His sister , Rarities , IABCA JU.A Int Ch Talisman's Phoenix Fire SRC ptd, also easily finished her Rarities Championship at just over a year and also has a Reserve Winners Bitch in Specialty Show, and his brother , Rarities Int Ch Talisman's Ursa Major SRC , Teddy , got his Rarities Int Ch at eleven months old, going multiple Best of Winners at his next two shows ! He also is the youngest SIlken EVER to get a racing Championship, running his way to an undefeated number 1 in 2 months, and into the top five racing Silkens of 2007 !

So, with several very lovely and speedy siblings
coming into the ring and race track soon, it seems we have alot to look forward to with this litter !

Helios would still rather be running free along the trails with his dog playmates than showing ....

One of Helios's Best Puppy in Show ribbons, ( and still not stacking for me)
Rarities 07 photo John Seibel

Right from the beginning, this cheerful guy has been a funny, goofy,
happy, toy-crazy addition to the pack here. Like his father, Connor
Helios loves peeking into the fridge at every opportunity, and impressing other dogs
with his big boomy play-play-play bark, He also has some of his mothers traits, her
her adoration of all things food being the most notible one. However, Helios is so busy
playing that he burns off the calories faster than he can put them on. This means that , at
least at this stage of his life, he's very much the skinny teen.

We started taking him out to Fort Funston in San Francisco as soon as he
was able to be out and about, and he took to off leash romps straight away out there with
piles of his Silken Windhound pals, and got in alot of very positive socialization
time with a HUGE variety of dog breeds, from Labradoodles to Puggles,
Tibetian Mastiffs, to Lundehunds, to Labs, and Poms .

Photo Dave Mills

Helios started his race career in April 2008, and really had a very strong start
working his way from a first time entry to the high point race , and his first
six points ( halfway to his racing championship!) over just two days at BRNC !

Photo Dave Mills

We were really pleased to see him keep pace with so many great racers,
and despite not being very sure about the box, he had a whole lot
of fun running in his very first races !

Photo Dave Mills

His current best pal, outside the pack of Silkens and Whippet here at home
has been a year old wirehaired Lurcher ( Whippet X Terrier ) named Sophie.

As soon as they met, Helios and Sophie
took to each other straight away, so now he has a weekend playmate that
shares the same puppy philosophy on play that he does.

For these two, anytime
is a good time to play , and as much as possible is the best. Silken Windhound and Wire Haired
Whatsits happily and senselessly race around and play even when it's 90 degrees,
and all the adult dogs ( and people ) are flattened out on the furniture inside. They also enjoy romps on the beach and bluffs on California's coastline.

We've really worked on getting Helios out and about.
Here is he is hamming it up at the Crissy Field in San Francisco
near the Golden Gate Bridge with Kent Jones of Kumbaya Silkens
And below, he's showing off his trot at Fort Funston beach to Kaisa the wonder Whippet
He's also been for stays in hotel rooms, and gone to other peoples houses.
He's eaten out at cafe's and restaurants, socialized with other sighthounds at the races,
made appearences at dog shows, come along on taxi rides, and paraded his
blonde self near museums and through parks and on the streets of San Francisco.

We'll see how he adjusts to a new social life outside the big city, now that the Talisman pack
of Silken Windhounds and Whippet has moved to the 'burbs. So far he seems to be enjoying
the additional room to romp!

We’re really looking forward to seeing Helios mature to fufill the promise he's shown so far !

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