VC Tess Von Klana Spirit MH "Tess"

Tess was blessed with an abundance of style and desire, two attributes that permeated her entire being. Her ability to find birds made her a showstopper since her first day of testing and competition.
 In remembering Tess after her death, NAVHDA Judge Greg Wentz wrote the following about Tess' performance at her Natural Ability Test, "I will always remember Tess from a Bismarck test, when she leapt 20 feet over a creek and kept on hunting as if nothing unordinary had happened while we all stopped and stared in amazement... then we climbed down the bank, crossed the creek and clambered up the other side...90 seconds or so to do what she did in 1 second."
Tess was impeccable in the field, and her desire carried over to the water. Her energy was limitless as she never put forth less than 100%.
"What an incredible dog--what an incredible life. I still remember, as if it were yesterday, her ripping up every field and every slough...beautifully, like a ballet --she was truly an awesome work of art to watch," written by fellow hunting buddies and the owner of Tess' sister, Bronte, Ken Horner and Liz Dyer.
Tess raised four litters of outstanding pups. The first three sired by INT CH, Shooting Starr's Sharp Shooter MH and the fourth litter by VC Jacob Vd Westwind, MH. Three of her litters became Natural Ability Breeder Award recipients and her first with Shooter is also a Utility and Invitational Breeder Award recipient. Even more impressive is the fact that she produced four Versatile Champions. We thankfully own some of Tess' great, great, great grand children who carry her legacy and genes into the future.
Tess was one of our primary hunting dogs until the end. She was the first to hit the ground and the last to jump into the trailer at the end of the day. She bagged thousands of birds while hunting, training, testing and guiding. We can only hope that her version of heaven includes prairies to the horizon, sharptail grouse, potholes and ducks, all in abundance. We will forever miss her spirit, her determination and her never ending love to hunt.