30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Thursday, January 4, 2018

Puppy Love

Dogs are truly man's best friend.  I haven't owned one in nearly thirty years, but one of my closest friends has one.  She's a Bernese Mountain Dog named Mika and humans aside, she's one of the few things I love more than trading cards.

Hopefully my friend isn't reading this... but I actually look forward to seeing Mika more than her.  My favorite thing about dogs are their range of personalities.  Mika is just like her human mom.  They're both princesses who do what they want, when they want.  That's what I love about both of them.

Mika and Chibi @ Santa Cruz

Mika has a sister named Chibi, who belongs to my friend's sister.  I know... it's confusing.  Two sisters who own dogs that are sisters.  Both of them are like giant teddy bears (the dogs... not the ladies) who are very loving and playful.

Anyways... every year during Christmas I struggle to find something for my friend, because she's so picky.  But a few weeks ago, I stumbled upon the 2017 Goodwin Champions Canine Companions set on either a blog or possibly an eBay search... which eventually led me to tracking this down:

2017 Goodwin Champions Canine Companions #CC44

Upper Deck has produced one of the coolest insert sets ever.  Well in my humble opinion.  I've been waiting for someone to produce a modern day Bernese Mountain Dog trading card for years and I honestly don't think I could have come up with a better designed card.

This manufactured patch is part of a set that's in the first year of a three year run.  So if you're a dog person... you're in luck.  The 100 card checklist is broken down into six different tiers (sporting, working, herding, hounds, toy, and surfing) with different levels of scarcity.


As you can see on both the front and back of the card, Berners are part of the "working" tier.  According to Beckett, dogs in this tier were inserted in one out of 271 packs. Considering that there are 20 different cards in the "working" tier, this particular card was inserted into one out of every 5,420 packs/271 boxes.  Kinda reminds you of those rare 90's inserts... right?

Sadly this card was only in my possession for a few weeks.  I eventually wrapped it up and gave it to my friend for Christmas.

As most of you know, I've cut back on the number of eBay searches I have saved.  However... even before I handed this card off, I started targeting a replacement.

In fact... I think I like this card more than the Krazy George autograph I nominated as my Favorite Card of 2017.  Sorry KG.

What about you...


Are you a dog person?  Do you have any dogs?  A favorite breed?

Although Berners are hands down my favorite breed, I also wouldn't mind one day owning a Golden Retriever or an Akita.

Well that's it for today.  Happy Thursday and sayonara!

15 comments:

Kin said...

Funny you post this today. Our Coqueta passes away less than 24 hours ago. I’m looking for the mastiff card from this set, have an old Goodwin and Just bought two other mastiff cards on COMC today. This will become one of my happiest, and saddest, side collections. She was the sweetest dog I’ve ever met. Good luck in your search!

The Lost Collector said...

I am a dog person. Our 10 month old puppy is actually half bernese mountain dog and half poodle...he's a bernedoodle. It's a very interesting breed that shares characteristics of both dogs.

Prior to this, we had a cockapoo who passed away earlier last year.

Big Tone said...

We've got a Yorkie Pom and a German Shepherd.Being the only one who tends to them they can drive me a little batty sometimes.I love dogs,taking care of them not so much ,but It's something I do because they are part of the fam and I love the crap out of them.

RAZ said...

We have a Basset Hound and a Lab. They are both a pain in the butt, but I have a hard time imagining life without a big dog or two in the house. They are our second Basset Hound and our third Lab in thirteen years as a family. Our second Lab wasn't around for very long before cancer took her.

defgav said...

I didn't grow up having dogs, but my wife converted me to being a dog person. Our first dog was a German Shepherd/Chow mix (or thereabouts) named Lucy who was a super sweet teddy bear and quickly won me over. Sadly, we didn't get nearly enough time with her before cancer got her, but she's revered as a saint in our household forevermore. Our current dog Annie is a Rottie/Shepherd mix and she too is a very good girl.

SumoMenkoMan said...

Minature Dachshund here.

ketchupman36 said...

We have a black lab who is 10 but still acts like a puppy. I can think of at least one person who I like seeing their dog more than them. Dogs are so much fun!

night owl said...

My doggie is a beagle-basset mix. He's starred on the blog a couple of times. He's getting up there in age, but still has non-stop energy. He kind of drives us crazy.

Reds Card Collector said...

We have a pug/boston terrier mix who's going on 17 this year. She and my daughter have been the best of friends. Though she's very timid around people since she was abused before we got her, she's been a fantastic dog for the family.

GCA said...

My current Pit mutt has been here a month. Announced her debut here: https://thecollectivemind.blogspot.com/2017/12/new-addition-to-collective.html
She's even a bit more of a diva then the Boxer/Pit mix I had before. But she's only half as old as the other one, (and I'm ten years older now) so it can be tiring at times. The companionship is worth the sacrifice of the freedom.
I've often browsed eBay for sets of dog cards from the 30's to the 50's that came in tea or tobacco, but haven't bought any yet.

Chris said...

I'm more of a cat man myself, but that is a fantastic card. The stitching is very detailed, right down to the whiskers (or is that doggy slobber?)

Hackenbush said...

I had a border collie mix growing up. She used to chase me around the back yard nipping at my heels. I didn't know at the time that she was herding me. She was a great dog. Not her real name but I used to call her "Snootz". I grew up with the dog but my last pet was a cat (a Maine Coon, the dog of the cat world) and I loved him just as much.

Fuji said...

Kin - Oh man. So sorry for your loss. I don't want to even think about the day I'll have to say goodbye to Mika & Chibi... and they're not even my dogs. My thoughts are with you and your family. Best of luck on tracking down the Goodwin mastiff card.

TLC - Lol. Can't imagine a poodle hooking up with a berner. I'll definitely have to look up a picture online. Sorry to hear about the loss of your cockapoo.

TLC - Update. Just looked up a picture. Very cute.

Tony - I know how you feel. Part of the reason I don't own a dog right now is I wouldn't have enough time to properly care for him/her. However... it'll be one of my first purchases when I retire.

RAZ - Sorry to hear about your 2nd lab. I understand the whole pain in the butt. I've experienced that every time I dogsit... but I still love them.

defgav - I love German Shepherds and Chows, so that mix sounds awesome. So sorry she passed away. Annie sounds like a good mix too.

SumoMenkoMan - One of my friends had two of those growing up. Lol... they were a blast. I can still remember one of them loved to nibble on my shoelace.

Cardboard Jones - Thanks. I've met a few pugs over the years. Love the expression on their faces.

ketchupman36 - Totally agree. I love their unique personalities. Glad to hear your 10 year old still acts like a puppy. They're so energetic.

night owl - just looked him up on your blog. He's super cute! I could see how he'd be energetic.

Reds Card Collector - 17 years old. That's awesome. Can't imagine the type of bond formed over that period of time. It's so sad to hear about dog abuse. Not sure why anyone would want to hurt man's best friend.

GCA - I remember that post. I know how energetic they can be at times. I get worn out playing with the dogs for 10 to 15 minutes.

Chris - Cats are cool too. I'm just allergic to them. Pretty sure the stitching are whiskers. Although... Mika and Chibi have been known to slobber from time to time.

Fuji said...

Hackenbush - border collies are awesome dogs. had a friend who owned one. i could totally see them as being herders. don't remember her nipping the heels, but she loved running around constantly. lots of energy.

carlsonjok said...

Currently, have three dogs. A 15 year old Australian Shepherd-Collie mix, a German Shepherd-Golden Retriever mix, and a Great Pyrenees-Anatolian Shepherd mix.

Bernese are great dogs. I would probably have one, but they do have a fairly short average life span. So, I go with Great Pyrenees which have similar personalities, but tend to live much longer.