As a dog trainer in the Minneapolis area, Kathleen Daniels frequently has visitor pups at her home. Her husband Dave made the mistake of saying that he wished they had a pup around the house again that was their own. His statement coincided with the birth of a litter of two gorgeous female pups in Seattle. Without Dave's knowledge, one had been selected to be his baby girl. The two months after her birth and prior to her arrival in Minneapolis, Bailey was the worst kept secret in town. Everyone except Dave knew that the pup was coming. On the day Bailey was to arrive, Kathleen arranged for one of Dave's friends to take him golfing. He arrived home to find a gold ball of fluff in amongst the black of their other dogs. Bailey had arrived.

Bailey's family includes her great uncle, Mystic Banshee, a gorgeous black and tan Chinook, Bear, a lab of unknown origins, and at first, Phantom, a elderly show and field champion lab that had been with Kathleen for many years. (It was not long after Bailey's arrival that Phantom crossed the Rainbow Bridge.) Since Kathleen also offers limited board and train in her home, there is a constant parade of visitor dogs for Bailey to show the ropes.

Though there are not presently UKC shows for Chinooks in the Minneapolis area, Kathleen and Dave have shown Bailey at the IABCA shows in their area and she has easily walked away with not only puppy-level championships but Best in Show Puppy awards too. And she's finally growing into her ears.

Bailey has the heavy bone and determined, powerful gait of her sire, Thunder, along with the lively personality of her dam, Brandy. She is a quick learner and with Kathleen's experience training service dogs for the disabled, Bailey is already learning many tasks, including ringing doorbells to go in and out of the house.  She's enjoying life at the new Daniels spread out in the country but is still called "that devil dog from hell" or "SOS" (they tell me that means "spawn of Satan") with great affection (and a bit of exasperation).

Bailey, Banshee and Bear had a very close call with their lives. That sad experience is told in the article "Blood Sport Bait" in the The View From Rain Mountain -- Articles and Links section of this website.