Gunny was much like his father in temperament but slightly larger built. Steady and dependable, Gunny was a thinker and a personable companion. As a junior showmanship dog Gunny took his then three year-old handler in the ring and around the pattern flawlessly. All the young handler had to do was stay on his feet at the end of the leash.
Once, while visiting relatives in Cincinnati, Ohio, Gunny disappeared. As the family spilled into the streets searching and calling for him, Storey's sister-in-law, Chris, walked through the house. Noticing a puddle on the floor of the kitchen, Chris wiped it up with a paper towel and continued her search. Returning to the kitchen sometime later Chris noticed another puddle in the same spot. Looking up, Chris saw a trembling and stranded Gunny straddling the exposed roof joists of the kitchen more than eight feet in the air. Gunny had made his way up stairs and out onto the joists in search of who-knows-what, and then found he couldn't turn around to get back. After being rescued, Gunny required a couple of hours of relieved hugging and petting to loosen the cramped muscles in his shoulders and thighs.
That wasn't Gunny's last brush with adventure. Back in New Mexico, Gunny somehow escaped the confines of the Black Rock kennels and made his way out to a busy city street where he was promptly hit by a car a minivan, to be precise. Tumbled under the vehicle and out the back, Gunny escaped being struck by the wheels. He bolted for a nearby abandoned lot and lay in the weeds. Fortunately for Gunny, a Samaritan across the street witnessed the entire event and came to his rescue. Gunny, in shock and pain, was reluctant to come to a stranger and warned her away with a growl. Patiently, the woman tried to coax him into her car. Finally giving up, she turned and walked away. At that point Gunny got up and followed her to the car where he obligingly climbed in. She drove him to the nearest vet, which as luck would have it, was Storey's vet as well. A quick call confirmed Gunny's identity.
Gunny suffered a collapsed lung and a broken tooth in the accident. Well on his way to recovery three days later, and with both sides of his ribcage partially shorn to show for his troubles, Gunny was awarded Best in Match at the Rio Grande Kennel Club sanctioned B match.
Gunny was bred twice. His black bi son, Black Rock Road to Mandalay (Polo), carries on with Gunny's handsome proportions, idiosyncratic personality, and fabulous free movement.
