Almost Heaven Kennels

Almost Heaven Kennels Breeding Quality German Shorthaired Pointers and providing Training of Upland Gundogs for Hunting, Trials and Testing.

Well Jonathan Sensinger, Alayna Sensinger and I, were able to wrap up what has been a great Spring Trial season this wee...
05/25/2026

Well Jonathan Sensinger, Alayna Sensinger and I, were able to wrap up what has been a great Spring Trial season this weekend at the Oak Ridge PDC Trial. I absolutely adore my western PA Field Trial family and this Trial has always been our end of season wrap up.

I started the weekend off with a win in Open Gun Dog retrieving stake with Cooper, owned by the Ploeger family. Cooper has been a bit of my hard luck dog this Spring, in his first broke dog season after his initial win early on, having missed out on the ribbons for things that leave you scratching your head. He put it together Saturday with probably the most powerful run on the grounds of the entire weekend, picture perfect bird work and a clean retrieve in the callback. This boy is an hour dog all day long and as young as he is, has a brilliant future ahead. Here's to finishing him in the Fall.

Jon and I followed up with 3rd place finishes on Samson, owned by the Perkins family, in very competitive Open and Amateur Puppy stakes on Saturday and Sunday. Samson gave some fantastic performances both days, including with Jon handling him for the very first time, but was ultimately bested by age and experience of some other fantastic pups. This youngster is going to be something special!

I followed up with a second place finish on Trooper, owned by Carla Mitchell and L A Bryfogle Aguilar, in the Open Limited Gun Dog. This is also Troopers first broke dog season, in which he has placed or won in 5 of 6 runs. He's fast become one of my favorite dogs to run, because he's just plain exciting and cool! It was a tough decision for the Judges between 1st and 2nd, but I'm happy to know it took Holly to best him, as she's one impressively solid and consistent contender to compete against. Her limb find was the separating factor over Trooper. This boy is going to Michigan this Fall 😎

Last but not least and to wrap up the weekend, Clyde, owned by the Poss family and under his owner Steve's hand, won the Amateur Gun Dog retrieving stake with authority. Steve makes the 3rd different person to now have handled Clyde to blue ribbons. Clyde doesn't need a handler, he only needs a flusher with a gun to follow him! His mother Kricket is the same way and was also handled by 4 different people to multiple wins and placements. Bidable and cooperative, as well as pure "burd dawg" might be in the genes?

Huge thanks to the members of Oak Ridge that put on these events, particularly the small core that do the Mother load of the work, including the gunners and bird planters! Be good to these folks, without them, we have nothing. Better yet, if you have the free time and desire to learn, step up and offer to help!
Also a huge shout out to my owners, that make it possible for me to show the best in their dogs abilities and trust me to care for, nurture, love and bring their dogs along. Couldn't do it without you!

05/18/2026

Thought I'd share a series of videos showing our new training course we're working on. Not a lot of green yet, as we're nursing our newly planted native warm season grasses and pollinator plots that are just coming up. We need rain for them and failing that, we'll start taking tanks of water out in the back of the utv and spray them once or twice a week in the evenings. The short course presently is 1 mile, while making a second reverse pass on the top loop adds another 3 tenths of a mile and one we've cleaned up the drainage on the second half and finished fencing to keep the dogs contained from the road and neighboring properties, we'll be adding yet another quarter mile.
Second and third videos will be in the comments, as well as some images of the plots and course.

So being a slow learner and a glutton for punishment once again, I decided to leave the trailer home, load 4 of my bulle...
05/11/2026

So being a slow learner and a glutton for punishment once again, I decided to leave the trailer home, load 4 of my bullet gun dogs in the truck Saturday morning, and do a same day, up and back to the VCGC Trial up at Polk PA Brittany Club Grounds. Ran Trooper, Cooper, Huck and Vega in Open Gun Dog. Talk about a longggg day, getting home at midnight Saturday night, but I had to be home to take Jen and the girls out for Mother's Day dinner yesterday. It's the least I owe her, for all of my shenanigans she puts up with!!!

I was proud of all 4 dogs for their overall performances, disappointed with a few bobbles, the kind that leave you asking "Did that really just happen?!?!", that took them out of any chance at ribbons; but Trooper, owned by L A Bryfogle Aguilar and Carla Mitchell, came shining through! He was the first brace of the stake and set a bar that would remain untouched for the rest of the stake! Five finds later, a run that started with a strong break away, finished with him 300 yards to the front running an edge and boxing the final corner, and seemingly not missing a single objective in between, I called the lil guy in to snap the leash on him with a huge smile and praise. I knew his performance had the potential to be a winning run, but there were still a lot of really great dogs to go yet.
At the end of the 3 point major stake though, Trooper still was on top of the podium!

Huge thanks to the VCGC crew and everyone that made the event possible, my owners that trust me with their companions, couldn't do this without you and a special thanks to my wife Jennifer Shaffer on this Mother's Day weekend, for tolerating my craziness and giving me my two most valuable gems, our daughters Raine Shaffer and Storm Shaffer!

Making progress on our new training course. 1 1/4 mile UTV trail running up and down hills, as well as level lines and e...
04/28/2026

Making progress on our new training course. 1 1/4 mile UTV trail running up and down hills, as well as level lines and edges to run; with native warm season grasses and pollinator plots being seeded this year and next, as well as a test planting of five American Chestnut. Also planned for next year, soft mast bearing shrubs and trees such as, Elderberry, Mulberry, Persimmon, Crabapple, Hawthorne and others.

Great weekend for the Almost Heaven family at the Niagara Frontier Brittany horseback Trial, held at the PA Brittany Clu...
04/20/2026

Great weekend for the Almost Heaven family at the Niagara Frontier Brittany horseback Trial, held at the PA Brittany Club grounds near Polk!

Clyde, owned by the Poss family and out of our Kricket x Duke pairing, won the 4 point Amateur Gun Dog stake, handled by Jon Sensinger, to finish his Amateur Field Champion title, pending AKC. Clyde is reliably consistent every time down and if he isn't winning, you can count on him being in the ribbons almost assuredly. He has had his hips and elbows OFA certified "Good" and "Normal", and will be offered at Stud as we complete more health testing. He will formally be FC AFC Sycamore Glen's Clyde the Glide after AKC approval. Steve intends to begin Master Hunter, as well we are now seriously considering future hour Championship runs.

Vega, owned by Laine Sladen, set an EXTREMELY HIGH bar in the 2nd brace of the Open Gun Dog, that was still up there untouched 20 dogs later for her first 4 point win, in her fourth AKC Field Trial entry. Her initial move off the break away was some 400-500 yards to where we found her standing her first of six birds. It becomes VERY hard to show a complete dog with that much bird work on a tight course, but she did an amazing job of charging forward with every release, fluidly covering all the objectives smartly and snapping in to dead broke points on each find. This dog only has 2 gears, dead stopped and full speed when she's hunting!

Last but not least, the two "red head" Vizsla pups, Samson and Delilah, owned by Darryl A Perkins, showed up to demand attention in the Open Puppy stake. Samson ran a race in a league of his own for the win, punching 200 and 300 yards ahead, while handling like a seasoned adult dog and hunting his rear off, checking every line and objective for birds. Delilah, trying not to be outdone, showed the same hunt and handle as her "brother", but just couldn't muster the same authority, to earn a 2nd place finish.

I was pretty happy with the whole string, only having to pull the tracker on one of our youngsters in the Open Gun Dog stake that got a little too caught up in the moment and one that elected to try and do things "his way" in his second ever run. They are after all, an independent living, breathing, thinking critter, with a mind of their own!

Huge thanks to the Club, Judges, Bird Planters and everyone that makes these events possible; with special thanks to my owners that trust us with their companions, without whom none of this would be possible!

Wrapping up the weekend, Trooper, owned by Carla Mitchell and L A Bryfogle Aguilar, won the 4 point major Open Gun Dog s...
04/13/2026

Wrapping up the weekend, Trooper, owned by Carla Mitchell and L A Bryfogle Aguilar, won the 4 point major Open Gun Dog stake at the Kentucky Brittany Club Horseback Trial, run at the Oak Ridge Pointing Dog Club grounds! He's one badass and super fun little "bunny" to run! Jon and I have an argument going over who gets to keep him lol! He's just too 😎

Millie, owned by John and Ashley McClinton took 2nd in the Open Puppy horseback stake, in her second Trial stake, first time ever run off horse. For those that may think they recognize her, she was the VERY independent little female runt from our Kricket x Murphy the Diabetic Alert Dog pairing last summer!

Lastly, Clyde, owned by the Poss family, took 3rd in the major Amateur Gun Dog stake. He laid down an amazing run, standing his one and only bird for well over 5 minutes as I watched from the viewing stands, waiting for Jon to get to him. He was 20 yards off the bird and never moved another muscle the entire time, as those of us in the viewing stand watched and waited, never letting down until Jon took his collar after the shot. I can't help but believe another bird or two could have helped change where he placed, as he ran the course like he owned it.

Huge thanks to the Club, Judges, Bird Planters and all the small army that make these events possible. Without them, we wouldn't be able to have these events.
A huge thank you and congratulations to our owners, whom trust us with their companions and whom without, I'd be at home training instead of competing!

Continuing with the great weekend for our Almost Heaven family, I'm going to share Alex Quear's success with Baby Grrrro...
04/13/2026

Continuing with the great weekend for our Almost Heaven family, I'm going to share Alex Quear's success with Baby Grrrroooooot!. Alex successfully handled Groot to his final Master Hunter pass and finished him, all owner handled. Groot, pending AKC approval, will be known as FC AFC Kanonier’s Branch Manager DS STR BCAT TKN VHMA VC *MH*. While we trained Groot, all of his handling has been 100% completed by Alex since we finished him up, for his Field Champion, Amateur Field Champion and now Master Hunter. He is an amazing young dog that finished out 2025 ranked #2 GSP in, I believe both, Open and Amateur Gun Dog. Keep an eye on this young stud and team for more accomplishments!
Well done Team Baby Grrrroooooot!

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1FxEdGg8Bt/

So being a glutton for punishment, I decided to leave the trailer home, load 4 dogs in the truck yesterday morning at 4:...
04/05/2026

So being a glutton for punishment, I decided to leave the trailer home, load 4 dogs in the truck yesterday morning at 4:30 am and do a same day, up and back to the GSPCO Trial, back up at Beaver Valley Pointer Setter Club. Ran Cooper and Vega in Open Gun Dog, then Huck and Trooper in the Open Limited Gun Dog, with a much needed nap in between stakes.
Both Cooper and Vega made the callbacks, but I unfortunately got too much separation from Vega while flushing and the fall was more than she could take. It was a bummer after her great run on course.
Cooper, owned by the Michael Ploeger family, did a really nice job on the retrieve and showed how much of a powerhouse he is on course for the win in the 17 dog, 3 point major stake.
Trooper, owned by Carla Mitchell and L A Bryfogle Aguilar took a 4th in the 16 dog Open Limited Gun Dog stake, with 3 finds and 1 non productive on a brush pile towards the end of the course, that after a pretty good flushing attempt, I just said the heck with it and elected to move on. This is 2 back to back placements for Trooper in his 3rd and 4th broke dog outings. He is such a fun little dude to run!
I didn't stick around for Limited placements after running Trooper, as I was already going to be a very tired 8:30 pm getting home, so just a ribbon picture for him.

Big thanks to the Club for a great Trial and everyone that worked together, to manage to run 24 braces of Open, Amateur and Open Limited in one day, with 2 callbacks! That's quite an impressive feat!!!
Also a big thanks and congratulations to my owners, who trust me with their companions, as I wouldn't be doing this without them!

Just catching up after the long weekend this past weekend, running at the GSP Club of Greater Pittsburg Trial at Beaver ...
04/02/2026

Just catching up after the long weekend this past weekend, running at the GSP Club of Greater Pittsburg Trial at Beaver Valley Pointer Setter Club Saturday and Sunday, then boogeying up to Oak Ridge, to run Boomer in the VCA NGDC.
We had a pretty good first Trial of the season.

Clyde, owned by the Poss family, and Jon won the Amateur Limited Gun Dog retrieve stake.

Trooper, owned by L A Bryfogle Aguilar and Carla Mitchell, and I took a 2nd in Open Gun Dog in his 3rd broke run. Such a fun young dog to run, with 5 finds and a stop to flush!

Delilah, owned by Darryl A Perkins and family, took a 2nd in Open Puppy, in her first Trial experience. She hunted hard and ran very well, checking all the likely cover.

Samson, also owned by Darryl and family, took a 4th in the same puppy stake. He also hunted hard and ran well for his first time in a Trial.

Fray, owned by myself, pulled out a win to Qualify her for Limited stakes in the future and wrapping up her Derby career quickly, to work on being a big girl and getting broke out over the summer.

An additional kudos goes to Alex Quear on her and Baby Grrrooooot's 2nd to Clyde in the Amateur Limited Gun Dog stake. She insisted I be in the picture since I trained Groot, but I can take no credit for the handling by her and the fantastic team the two of them have become! Job well done Alex and Grrrooooot!

Huge thanks to the Club, Judges, Bird Planters, Gunners and village it takes to make these events happen, as well as thank you and congratulations to the owners whom trust me with their companions!

Address

Springfield, WV
26763

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 4pm
6pm - 8pm
Tuesday 10am - 4pm
6pm - 8pm
Wednesday 10am - 4pm
6pm - 8pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm
6pm - 8pm
Friday 10am - 4pm
6pm - 8pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm

Telephone

+13044925757

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