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It all started 20 years ago! Joe mentioned several times, "If I ever
get another dog, I want a Kerry Blue Terrier." I didn't even
know what they looked like! We had purchased our house and just moved in.
Seems the former owner's son was not the nicest guy in the world! Our
house was broken into twice the first month we were here! The police were
pretty sure it was this guy, but no way to prove it. Their solution,
"Get a dog." So I did!
I was aware of the puppy mill
situation, so I went right to the AKC, figuring they could refer me to a
breeder. Their stance, back then, was, "We can't refer breeders!"
I was like, "What do you mean? How am I going to find a Kerry Blue
from a reputable breeder if you can't help me!" So, they very nicely
gave me the phone number for the Secretary of the US Club. I called her,
in Oregon, and she kindly referred me back to Long Island and Aileen
Santo. Aileen did not have any puppies, but her wonderful "Sampson",
Ch. Paxon's Dancer's Image,
had sired a litter from Bob Thompson's bitch, Ch. Keriden's Missy
Blue. We piled Joe, the two girls
and my nephew, JR, into the pick up and headed off to Newark to meet the
little brat. Bob had two bitches and a dog available. We definitely
wanted a dog. When we got there the little boy was happily beating up his
sisters in their puppy play pen! It was love at first sight!
And that's how we got
"Beau", or Bozo as he was often called. "Beau"
was just a wonderful dog. Everything Joe ever wanted and guess what, I was
hooked! Even though "Beau" had been sold to us as a pet,
Joe felt (like many new owners!), that "Beau" was
championship material. And I guess he was. I'll never forget the day he
finished in Hartford, CT & became
Ch. Keriden's
Beau Jangles! Joe & I were sitting up in the stands so he wouldn't
see us. Aileen was handling him and he was just having a field day,
barking at the other dogs and letting everyone know what a top dog he was!
We videotaped that win and, until he died, we would play it for him.
Whenever he heard himself barking, he would start barking back! As I said,
Bozo was an appropriate name!
We lost our wonderful
"Beau" at 13 years of age to Cushing's Disease. To this day, I
miss him.
"Scarlett",
Paxon's Scarlett O'Hara came into
our lives when "Beau" was 7 and it was love at first sight!
"Beau" & "Scarlett" were wonderful together and it created a
monster, me! To this day Joe says, "I wanted one dog! "One!"
We now have 4!
My first breeding, of course,
was "Beau" & "Scarlett". From that breeding we got
"Bonnie Blue" who produced
"Chukie".
By this time, my sister, Mimi, was buying a house and raring to get a
Kerry Blue. She, of course, had fallen in love with mine and wanted
one of her own. She had a very old mixed breed, Puddles, so we
figured a female would be best for her. "Chukie", by
the way, is a Turkish word meaning "Little One".
I had been socializing
one of Aileen's bitches when we lost "Beau". She was
suppose to go to Canada and when Aileen called me to tell me that she
would be leaving soon, I told her NO WAY! To this day we joke
about the fact that I "stole"
"Bunny"
from her!
"Bunny" (Ch. Paxon's Lady of the Lake CD,CGC) was my wonder
dog! She introduced me to so many other aspects of the dog world that I
can never thank her enough. When we got "Bunny" I decided
that if I was going to have a multiple dog home, I had better get a real
good handle on their behavior so I found the Nassau Dog Training Club.
"Bunny" & I started obedience at 4 months of age. WOW!
This was fun! I got so involved with obedience because I was so totally
amazed at the difference it made. It is quite nice to be able to take your
dogs anywhere and to have people come up to you and ask where you got that
wonderful dog! I always tell them, "They aren't born this way!"
Both Mimi & I are now very much involved with the Nassau Dog Training
Club. Mimi is the Treasurer and I'm the AKC Delegate for the Club. We meet
every Tuesday night for training and our club offers training classes for
the general public. The Club also hosts the yearly Obedience Trial in
connection with the Westbury Kennel Club show which is held every autumn
at the Planting Fields Arboretum. I have finished "Scarlett"
to a CGC, "Bunny" to a CGC & CD,
"Tigger" to CD & TDI. Mimi has
finished "Dori" to a CD & "Chukie" to a CD &
TDI.
One thing you learn after you've been around this wonderful breed for a
while is that while they have many similar characteristics, they are also
so very different. "Chukie" was the sweetest, most loving
Kerry you would ever want to meet - unless you were a squirrel or a
mouse! I spent over an hour one night trying to get her into the house.
There was no way she was coming until she got that mouse in the wood
pile! By the time I finally grabbed her collar, I was ready to do her in!
But she gave me such a nice kiss, I just couldn't do it! This is what
makes Kerries so very special. They keep you on your toes, but they give
you such unconditional love!
The future looks good. We have "Larry",
Ch. Jorkaite's Lorenzo of
Dalton,
who's grandmother is my "Bunny" & his father is
"Mick",
Ch. Torum's Scarf Michael.
"Larry" finished at 15 months and will be specialed as soon
as he gets more color. However, he is very busy at obedience school and,
hopefully, will have his obedience title some day! "Sparkle"
is also finished and working on her obedience title.
"Crackers"
is just being brought
out into the breed ring, and already is major pointed, and the newest
addition, Dalton's Royal Sarabande,
just was born and will
be introduced this coming year.
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