Something About Us
The youngest son, Mark, is also an incredible help as well. Mark is our computer whiz. He is responsible for keeping us on the straight and narrow when it comes to the computers and office equipment/programs. He is also responsible for greatly aiding the new website as well. Unfortunately, he also feels that he has the task of trying to keep us organized. We try but we feel that it is a wasted effort! You can only lead a horse so far! Anyway, as long as he tries, so will we. Mark has been in the real estate field and a computer program instructor in the past, now he is in Financial Investments and Life Insurance. He's quite good at what he does. If you are looking for financial help, he's the guy. If he could help us, he can help anybody!
It is Norm and Sue’s daughter, Laura, that has taken on the world and work of the Springset Gordons. Laura too is a walking archive. Many times she will not only remember an individual dog but sometimes even it’s birth date as well. Mostly, she is the walking pedigree buff. She can put together the history of the Springset Gordon on a pedigree within minutes (along with the siblings as well). When asked by Norm decades ago what Laura was interested in the most about the Springset operations, Laura told Norm that she really got into the genetics of it all. Creating the perfect dog or shall we say, the goal to do so! Laura loves many aspects of the Gordons, from puppies to the old codgers, from the house pet to the field performer (both hunting and competition). When asked if the puppies were the favorite part of her job, she will tell you that she loves the pups (they are quite a perk!), she loves watching the dogs work and handle well in the field (all that natural ability!), but most of all, she likes making people happy with her Gordons. There is nothing like a happy dog and a happy owner! Laura, her husband Bob, and Sue run the kennel now.
In the 1980’s she met and then married her husband, Bob Borges. They actually met via the kennel when Bob acquired a daughter of Laura’s then stud dog, Springset Viking. Later, Bob got heavily involved in field competition and acquired a Hall Of Fame quality bitch by the name of Tammy, Springset To Each Her Own (a littermate to Springset Touch Of Class). Tammy wasn’t very hip on her man bringing another woman into the house, but Laura and Tammy worked it out and became best buds! Bob is a retired General Contractor and is our resident “Help! Bob, can you fix it?!” man. In which, of course he does. Bob was the contractor in charge of building the new facility. It is a work of love, both for the new facility and for Bob! He is the guy who keeps this place running smoothly. He is also our financial guy (non-investments). In other words, if we need something, we take it to Bob.
Since the mid ‘80’s, Laura has been working in the office. She, with our computer programmer (the late Nick Munson, Jr., who is sorely missed both as a programmer and more importantly as a friend), helped develop the Springset database. Spending sometimes over 12 hours per day and with a new baby, Laura became once again firmly entrenched in the business. In the early ‘90’s when Laura mentioned to Norm that her passion was in the genetic field of the Springset Gordon, Norm let her arrange all of the breedings for that year. The breedings were so successful that he continued to let her do it. She made 90% of all the breedings between the early '90's to 2007, since 2007, she has made 100% of the breedings. She has a talent and an eye for it. Laura has been working for Springset in many areas of the business; kennel help, kennel manager, clerical, sales, database developing, dog trainer, breeder, groomer, and overall Gordon owner. With the exception of helping her brother Scott out for three years when he started his landscaping business in 2000, she has been responsible for 95 % of the breedings here at Springset. Her goal is to build the perfect Gordon Setter; an intelligent, good looking dog incredibly well suited for the field as well as the perfect family house pet that is a cinch to train. She is almost fully arrived at her destination!
Many people say that Norm would retire. Quite frankly, we think even Norm mentioned it here and there. The fact is Norm never retired; it was his life and his life’s work. Norm passed away in April 2014. He never did retire. In fact, he was busy writing another book, "Breeding the Super Dog", when he passed away. Unfortunately, anyone who knew Norm knows how organized he wasn't! Trying to find all of the pages, recordings, etc. is quite a bit of work. One of these days, we will have it all together and be able to get it published. There was nothing he loved more than introducing people to Gordon Setters and educating people about them. He loved to work his dogs and develop them. He left the office work to his wife and daughter and now also to his granddaughter, Cynthia who is our new webmistress!
Cynthia has many talents and thankfully she is a great help around here both in the office and in the kennel facility. She is also a Gordon owner. She owns Indi, Springset Life Of The Party, an up and coming dual type Gordon and overall best bud for her. She is the creativity behind the new website and works with Mark (technical support) and Laura (Gordon knowledge support). This young lady is supremely talented and Laura only hopes that some of this computer/website know how will rub off on her. Cynthia does too since she now is working full time, attending school when she can. She patiently tries to help her mother through the technical jungle. The good thing is that old dogs can learn new tricks!
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