BRED BY - Dolores Ferrero, John Flora & Nancy Barrett
OWNED BY - Dolores Ferrero & John W. Flora
April 26, 2024 - May 17, 2024



Sometimes things go wrong… quickly… and we have to make very difficult decisions. At four weeks old, our little male with the orange birth collar stopped gaining weight. Every time he nursed, he’d be coughing and sneezing up milk. We took him to the emergency vet, and when x-rays showed a vascular ring anomaly that was compromising his esophagus, we chose to let him go. He wasn’t in pain, but he was very tired, and his prognosis was poor. It was absolutely heartbreaking, and weeks later, we’re still processing what happened and what it means. I’m not a veterinarian, but my understanding is that this condition is congenital (he was born with it) but it is not necessarily hereditary (something he “caught” from his parents) – and that there’s nothing we could have done to prevent it. That doesn’t stop it from hurting.

We both know that his grandma Rebel was there to meet him at the bridge. He will be known as Delphi’s Rainbow Connection (Orange Boy), and while he’ll never have titles around his name, he’s still an important part of our breeding program.
Dolores Ferrero