Don Teddy and Ely - a blood tracking team from Reese, Michigan

Ely's registered name is Eifel von Moosbach-Zuzelek, and he was born on February 28, 2008 so now he is almost three years old. He is out of FC Billy von Moosbach-Zuzelek and FC Gilda v Moosbach-Zuzelek. We ran this particular breeding three times - in 2005 it produced our "K" litter, in 2008 "E" litter and in 2009 "G" litter.

When Don and his wife Sandy came here to pick up Ely, we knew that he was going to a great home.
This was the first e-mail from them:

Ely tolerated the trip to Michigan exceedingly well and has settled comfortably into our home, as well as into our hearts.  Our lab, Raven is very accepting of the little guy and seems to enjoy having a playmate.  On Mothers Day our home was filled with family members and Ely was the star.  He suffered from no lack of attention and was one tired little fellow by that evening.  The crate training is going well and so is the blood trailing.  It is amazing to watch the little guy work it out.  We couldn’t be happier with Ely.  He is bright, inquisitive, easy natured and a welcome addition to our family.  We are sure there will be many exciting stories involving Ely in the years to come.

As a puppy Ely bears uncanny resemblance to his sire Billy.

In June 2008 Sandy wrote:
Ely has taken over our household, as well as, our hearts.  He and Raven get along wonderfully.  They play hard and when Raven has had enough she just sits down on the little guy until he gets the message.  Every morning is a wrestling match with much snarling and growling.  Ely has figured out that he can boss me around and regularly puts me in my place.  Seriously, though, he is coming along great.  The blood tracking training seems to be going well (I leave that up to Don)……the house training not quite as well, but we have been down this road before and know that it will straighten out in time.  The little guy has made several trips to our camp in the u.p. and does great.  Exploring, chasing rabbits and hitting the lake along with playing with the children that drop by keeps him very occupied and a very tired puppy at the end of the day.  He has become the darling of the little league field (our grandson plays) and everyone is curious about the breed. Everyone recognizes a dachshund, but not the wirehaired.  I am so impressed with the tenacity of this dog.  He fears nothing.

Pictures from the 2008 tracking season:

In summer 2009 we got a note:
Things have been going well. Ely is in great shape and ready to go back to work this fall. Our bear season opens Sept. 10 and we have already had several people ask if they can call us if needed. There was an article written about Ely in the Michigan Bow Hunters magazine this summer, the writer found out about Ely last summer when he was a pup in training and followed up with me last spring to see how he did. Needless to say Ely is now well know throughout the organization and has been a big hit at all of the archery events we have attended this summer. It should bring us some additional work that we are looking forward to.

After the 2009 tracking season:

The picture with a doe was shot while we were tracking for a non-ambulatory hunt at the federal refuge near home, that experience was very rewarding. If I remember correctly there was 40 wheel chair bound hunters and Ely was in on 10 tracking jobs for them, we found all but 1, some were pretty easy.

He weights 22 lbs. now and is full of it, if you know what I mean. He is definitely the boss around our house and yard and is a big hit everywhere he goes.

December 2010:
Ely and I went out on 27 tracks this year, he found 19 of those. We worked 21 tracks at the Shiawassee National Refuge this year while they conducted a non-ambulatory hunt for handicapped hunters over a 4 day period and recovered 15 deer, most of those tracks were fairly easy but it was good work for him. Because of my work schedule this year I had to turn down quite a few calls.

I have not seen Ely since he left our home as a young puppy. Hopefully Don, a UBT member, will be able to bring him to the Michigan Deer and Turkey Expo, which is taking place on Feb 18-20 in Lansing, and John will be able to see him. Thank you Don and Sandy for taking a great care of Ely and giving him many opportunities to work.