For the last few months I have been working with Mr. Panayotis (Panos) Papachristoforos from Melbourne, Australia on exporting a male pup. He decided on the Bo'Darc Chloe - Bo'Darc Elhew Delivery litter from last year. I sent pictures of the males from this litter to Panos and he then picked a pup which he named "Mojo". Shipping a dog from the U.S.A. to Australia is not a simple task. There is quite a protocol that must be followed to the "T" and it goes something like this:

*The pup had to be continuously living in my control, in the U.S.A. for a minimum of 6 months
*The pup had to be microchipped by my vet- only certain manufacturers are permissible
*Every bit of documentation on the pup must have the microchip number
*A rabies vaccination was given by my vet when Mojo was 3 months of age
*After a period of a month, the blood was drawn and sent to Kansas State for a Rabies neutralizing antibody titre test (RNATT). The Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) will only recognize the test from KSU.
*Those results were faxed to my vet, then sent to a USDA veterinarian for further verification. All this information was then sent by me to Panos. (The USDA vet missed copying the microchip number correctly so it was re-done and resent back to Australia).
*Panos then filed for a permit to import with all the corresponding paperwork he received from me. A permit was granted and then an import packet was sent to me.
*Mojo was taken back to the vet to receive his general vaccinations
*After Mojo's in kennel quarantine had been completed we had more blood test to be taken. These blood tests included brucellosis, ehrlichiosis, leptospirosis and external parasites. This was again sent to Kansas State. After this blood work was drawn the dog must be dipped within 24 hours and every 2 weeks there after prior to export. After the bloodwork is drawn the dog must be exported within 30 days. (I missed the first 30 day window, as this is when I was so sick with tick fever or whatever it was).
*Last week we re-drew Mojo's blood and sent it again to K. State, starting the clock on another 30 day window.
*Flight arrangements were made to ship Mojo to Australia.
*USDA was notified of shipping intentions
*Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service was notified of shipping intentions and a quarantine space was reserved for Mojo in Sydney. Mojo will have to be quarantined in Sydney for 30 days.
*At this point Panos and I needed some help as Mojo had to fly out of Los Angles. I asked my friend Adolfo Barajas if he was up for a little adventure. Al was good with it, so we were ready to roll.
*Mojo was taken to my vet on Monday where he received another check-up, an all encompassing wormer was administered and several pages of paperwork had to be filled out by my vet.(There is a 4 day window prior to shipping at this point of the game.)
*This paperwork was then faxed to USDA from my vet's office. Upon USDA's overview, all was found to be in order. This same paperwork, that being the AQIS permit to import, had to be shipped overnight to the USDA in L.A.
*Mojo was shipped Tuesday morning from Tulsa to L.A. where he was picked up by Adolfo.
*Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m., the USDA met Adolfo at Qantas cargo, where they inspected the dog and kennel for hazardous materials, sealed Mojo's kennel and allowed him to board the airline headed to Sydney where he is to arrive at 7:30 a.m. on the 29th. They are approximately 15 hours ahead of me in time, so basically Mojo should have arrived in Sydney about an hour and a half ago. It's now 6 p.m. Thursday evening in rainy Ponca City , Oklahoma.

Whew...this took me forever to type and believe me this whole experience has been a real "trip" so to speak. I want to thank you Panos for your patience in this process and I also want to thank you Adolfo for helping make it happen for both Panos and me.

Below is a picture taken of Mojo's last evening in Oklahoma....





"Your legacy should be that you made it better than it was when you got it."

a quote from Lee Iacocca

Here is a letter I just received from Panos:

Hi Mike / Adolfo,

I just got word that Mojo is safely inside the Eastern Creek Quarantine Station.
His flight from LAX was delayed for approximately 6 hours. The actual arrival time was 12.30PM.
The poor guy was stuck in his kennel for at least 22 hours in total.
I spoke to the attendee and she told me that he is wagging his tail and is sniffing around his new environment. He weighed in at 21kg.
The attendee is a young girl who loves animals. She played with him briefly and he was very happy to get some hugs and kisses.
Amazingly Mojo did not soil his transport kennel, either.
Unfortunately we cannot visit him until Monday, though I guess he will be taking the time to catch up on some sleep and get settled in for the four weeks.
I will touch base with both you guys early next week.
This weekend we are going to scout for quail and hopefully we will find some. We don’t want Mojo to have come to a new country and be unemployed.
Wish us luck!!

Cheers, Panos



"Your legacy should be that you made it better than it was when you got it."

a quote from Lee Iacocca

This litter will be well traveled- my pup out of this litter and another littermate is going to Canada for training this summer.

Here is an update on our Australian dog, Mojo. This weekend was the first opportunity that Panos was able to see Mojo in the flesh. Along with an e-mail update, Panos called me last night to speak with me as well. I can tell they are very excited about the new prospect. Mojo's intensity and focus is quite a bit different than they are accustom to seeing, something that I just take for granted. I'm looking forward to bigger and better things for our mates down under with Mojo and what he will add to the breeding program of Panos and Andrea. Below is Panos' e-mail along with some pictures:

Hi Mike / Adolfo,
I finally got to see Mojo in the flesh. I was pleasantly surprised. Andrea has had him at home for a week and he has settled in well.

I have never seen an “American” Pointer before and it was very exciting. We used the feather on a fishing pole just to see how he would point. (It doesn’t tell you much, but its a little fun). Well, neither Andrea nor I have seen such intensity from a dog. When he went on point, we got the feeling that he could be picked up and turned upside, all along not loosing his point. We could not believe our eyes. To tell you the truth we were a little shocked!!!!

This coming weekend we are taking him away so we can put him on some wild Australian Stubble quail. I am extremely confident that this dog will chew up the paddock. We can’t wait to see him in full gallop.

I have attached some pictures of my weekend in Sydney.

Picture number 16 is of me and Andrea.

Picture number 05 is of Mojo having fun, sight pointing a quail feather.

Picture number 42 is of me Andrea and a fellow field trailer. He is a top guy and his name is Tony Carter.

Picture number 41 is of me Andrea and our wife’s. My wife (Lisa) is standing behind me and Andrea’s wife (Enza) behind him.

(The girls had to put up with us guys talking dogs and pointers all weekend, they could not wait to get out of the house and go shopping).

I will catch up with you very soon, and I will keep you posted with pics from our upcoming weekend on birds.


Regards,
Panos Papas











"Your legacy should be that you made it better than it was when you got it."

a quote from Lee Iacocca

a letter sent to me on 8-13-07 from our friend Panos:

Hi Mike,
I though you might interested in our progress with Mojo.

Firstly, Mojo was not fazed by the 7 hour drive getting to the hunting spot. The next morning we put him on the ground for a run. He started off nice and slow but as soon as he got familiar with his environment he started to run. It was very clear that this dog has Hunting on his mind and that’s it. More on this later.

Mojo was happy to be out and running free. The birds were extremely hard, and there was very few in the paddock. Mojo did not find a bird, but we did not expect him to.

At one stage he started chasing “Ground larks”. He had a great time and it was the first time we got to see this dog in top gear. Eventually he figured out that he was wasting his time and stoped the exuberant chase.

Mojo ran with a clean backline and there was no hackney horse action. He has great speed and power.

Mojo ran so hard that we had to get into the Land cruiser and chase him down; otherwise he would have been in the next district. Andrea has a lot of work to do with his response to the whistle.
That night Mojo pulled up very sore. He could hardly get out of the box.

Nonetheless, the next day he was ready for action. We braced him with my young dog, though this time we had him on a check cord. He was all business, and honoured his brace mates point. He was also witness to some birds being dispatched over my dog.

In summary, it was clear that Mojo has bird hunting 100% on his mind. He is a very strong and tough individual.

These are exciting times, and we are very happy with Mojo, as an upcoming prospect.

Talk to you soon. (I will send you some pics soon)

Regards,
Panos Papas



"Your legacy should be that you made it better than it was when you got it."

a quote from Lee Iacocca

I just received an update from Panos regarding Mojo. They have had a very tough go of it because of a drought, it is also winter in Australia.

Hi Mike,

I have just returned from a weekend away with the dogs. As I might have mentioned earlier, I caught up with Andrea and Mojo just over the border. This weekend was the first real opportunity to road test Mojo. The conditions were reasonable but the birds were tough. Just the way we like it.

If Mojo is any indication, I am very pleased to report that you are responsible for breading a fine bird dog and that your dogs can handle the toughest birds anywhere. Our quail is considered by those who have experience in these matters, to be the supreme game bird.

Mojo has been off to a rocky start due to hot and drought type conditions. Nonetheless, with the conditions improving he has now getting the idea. These are exciting times.

Mojo quartered the wind with mathematical like precision. It almost looked like he was on rails. His range and quartering was excellent. His pace, though acceptable was a little flat, though I strongly believe that this will pick up once he gets braced with another dog. Currently he is running on his own. Be this as it may, I believe strongly that Mojo is smart enough to know that any more speed would yield bumped birds and create mistakes. Therefore being pragmatic, I believe that Mojo was running a fast as the scenting conditions allowed. I know the dog can run hard, because he proved it on an unsuspecting hare. Mojo nailed all his birds and established point with crazy intensity. He had a few unproductive finds early in the day, but he began to realise that the birds were running ahead. He then started to road the birds keeping contact until he decisively nailed them and produced them for the gun. Compared to all our other dogs in the same conditions, Mojo was most accurate and made less mistakes.

Even though he is worked on his own, Mojo is a natural backing dog.

In summary, we are extremely please with Mojo and we are convinced that Bo’Darc is the future. Recently, I have been thinking about the future in regards to our short and long term strategies.

In the short term we will be mating Mojo with a good honest bitch that he have earmarked right from the beginning. This mating should be happening soon. We expect pups on the ground by December/January. I will be taking a male and a bitch will be going to a trustworthy field trial colleague.

Our long term goal is to import a bitch in whelp. Hopefully we can further this idea when I see you in person in January. Pl’s, let me know when you are available for a phone chat.

Once again, thanks for sending us this great bird dog.

Regards,
Panos Papas



"Your legacy should be that you made it better than it was when you got it."

a quote from Lee Iacocca

I got an e-mail and a phone call from my friend Panos this week. Below is the e-mail that he sent;

Dear Mike,

Its been a long time since we last corresponded. I call a few nights ago to wish you a happy Easter, and Wendy said that you were at work.

I have been very busy lately, as both the wife and I have been busy with our little addition to the family.
Calista is now seven months and she is doing brilliantly. The weekend after next we will have her christening. We are all excited and looking forward to it.

Not only have I been busy with the baby, I have been under the pump at work and a crazy landscaping project that I wish I never started, so I have not had much spare time to spend with the dogs.

Nevertheless, I did manage to sneak away and play around with my new pup. Rommel is now 13 months old and he is a chip off the old block (Mojo).

He is developing into a real brag dog. Rommel is by far the most exciting dog I have owned. He is fast and runs flat (A dog that doesnt hack along like wooded rocking horse, is what I call flat) and drives through the back legs, keeping his nose and head high. He has unsurpassed stamina and a magnificent nose. Rommel is also very biddable and does not need repeat lessons. He is adventurous and it is difficult to keep him between the hands.

In the lead up to the quail season I have slowly broken Rommel on pigeons, and he is classy, decisive and super steady. He loves to retrieve. Rommel gets very pissed-off when pigeons get missed and fly away. Therefore Rommel prefers tight chokes and heavy loadsJ

Last weekend was the opening of the quail season. Unfortunately, I did not get out as all the properties that I hunt are not holding birds. This is consistent with all of the reports I have heard so far. The birds seem to have migrated north, were the drought has broken and there is abundant feed and water.

So, as a consequence, Rommel has yet to find a wild bird. This is very disappointing, but I am optimistic that our fortunes will change as the season progresses.

Mojo is doing fine, though Andrea Melisi is in the same boat and he too cant find any birds. Andrea sends his regards. J

Andrea and I are thinking about our next breeding strategy. As you would suspect, this involves the importation of a BoDarc bitch.

I will give you a call, as it is always great to talk to you in person!


Regards,
Panos Papas


In the previous e-mail from July of 2008, Panos spoke about breeding Mojo to a gyp in the December 2008-January 2009 timeframe. Rommel is a product from this mating, which is Mojo's first litter. Below are some pictures of Andrea with Mojo and Panos with Rommel.