Feeling a little disappointed, we wandered on a little further in the Crufts hall, to see these amazing golden creatures, just like how I remembered our GSD from my youth, but yet quite different. These amazing and magnificent creatures had such a strong nobility and grace of posture, such composed stature coupled with a kindness in the eye, and we almost immediately fell in love. Our daughter, who was initially wary of these large dogs, was soon won over when a glorious male, owned by a charming couple, decided to rest his beautiful golden head on her lap having only just met her for the first time. This truly was the dog of our dreams, and as we learned more we were just even more convinced.

We found the site via the Internet, and have to say that we were very much sold by the attention to detail of having the photos of the litter's puppyhood available to see. Our golden boy, who Kevin and Julie had named Woody, had injured his tongue slightly. We weren't too fussy about this sort of thing, but when we asked Kevin what it looked like, he dutifully went off to exercise Rostam to get him to pant, then took a photo with a digital camera, and emailed the image to us (naturally, everything was fine). This sort of attention to detail really won us over.

So, we set off on a grand expedition as novice dog owners all the way across the country. We didn't have a very suitable car, and I can't imagine what Kevin and Julie thought of us as we pulled up. However we asked them plenty of questions, and got to see the whole family, and all of their wonderful dogs were just impeccable. To be absolutely honest about it, we had set our hearts on little Rostam from when we first saw him, and he was such a sweet little boy. We held him on our laps as we drove back along the motorway, which was hard for Haleh and me to ignore when we were driving, as he was such a ball of golden colour, and his inquisitive nature meant that he was always nosing around the inside of the car. We were most worried about whether he would be able to hang on until we got back home, but amazingly enough, even after five hours in the car, we got back in one piece with everything intact and unsoiled. What a relief!

So, there we were, with our golden boy, and about to start the difficult process of turning from green novices into experienced dog-handlers. How well did we do? Probably not that well for our first week, but we were very lucky indeed to be able to sign up for puppy classes starting at the end of our first week. We so desperately needed some good advice and tuition to make sure that we were doing the right thing, for both Rostam and for us.

Three months later, and Rostam has doubled in size (if not more!). He has shown himself to be a very clever dog indeed, and he has lapped up all of the puppy training, and is now starting his novice training courses. We have total control for all the usual tricks: sit, down, stay, stand, lie, recall, fetch, heel and even walking on the lead. But the one part which just breaks our hearts is when we started trying to teach him recall - as if he needed to be taught! We would hold him by the collar while one of us ran off, calling his name, to encourage him to chase after us. Well, no incentive was necessary! He would squirm and writhe, squealing and crying in desperation to chase after his disappearing owner. No matter how fast we ran, or how much of a head start we would give each other, as soon as we let Rostam go he would streak off like a bolt of golden lightning, scorching across the grass a foot off the ground, and he would be so overjoyed and delighted to be reunited with us once more.

He really has won the hearts of everyone who has been near him. The beautiful Terveuren appearance always confuses people not "in the know", and from a distance he does look rather fox-like. But it's wonderful to know that we have such a unique and special dog, and his amazing character and temperament has been such a blessing to our family. He really is one of us, and I can't imagine us being without him. Kevin and Julie have been smashing, and gave us the best advice and starting kit we could need. Although there is no substitute for learning for yourself, and learning what Rostam likes too, we feel as if we are making great progress with our new young man.