THE KERIDEN STORY
(please click on
the items that are underlined to see a photo)
Barbara & I decided that
it was time to look for a new addition to our household. We had 2 very
“senior” citizens; a Mini Schnauzer named Jason & a St Bernard,
Flip. Since our youngest son had allergies we had to consider a
non-shedding, hypo-allergenic dog that was good with children. This of course
limited our choices.
There was a dog show that was being held nearby at the Meadowland's Race
Track, so we decided to attend hoping we would find the breeds we had
researched. So our search began!! The rest is history.
As we were walking around the grooming area, talking to as many breeders as
we could, looking at their dogs, Barbara suddenly felt herself being
“hugged” by a dog on a table that was being groomed for the ring. This of
course was Jesse Seligman’s Kerry Blue Terrier, “Sam”, Ch. Blu
Star’s Ace of Spades. It was love at first sight. I guess you could say
the breed “chose” us. As luck would have it, Jesse had just bred “Sam’s”
dam, Ch. Keriwyr Blu Star O’Kip,
“Kip” to Ch. Tontine’s Something Else. He had repeated the
breeding that produced “Sam”. We arranged to buy one of the pups &
went home praying that she was indeed expecting & there would be a male in
the litter for us. In May of 1977 we got the call that “Kip” had her
pups and there were males in the litter & one was marked for us. We were
thrilled. When the pups were 10 weeks old we went to pick up our new
addition, Blu Star’s Silver Shadow, “Shadow”.
“Shadow” turned out to be just perfect for our family. He was great with
the kids, & our son had no allergic reaction to him.
We kept in touch with Jess & made several trips to Long Island to have
“Shadow’s” ears pasted. He was growing into a very handsome fellow & we
decided we might want to give “show biz’ a try…just for fun.
We let Jess show “Shadow” & he did some winning. WOW!!! Talk
about getting hooked. I thought it didn’t look all that difficult, so I
wanted to try it myself….and I did….& did some winning with “Shadow”
too!! Between the 2 of us “Shadow” became a champion at the age of 2
1/2. I was very fortunate to have such a good mentor.
Just about the time “Shadow” finished, Jess told us about one of his
litter sisters, Blu Star’s Which Witch,
“Witch”, was looking for a home. Her former owners couldn’t keep
her. Barbara & I looked at each other & said at the same time….WE’LL
TAKE HER!!! Now we were a 2 Kerry family.
“Witch” was a delight. I was determined to show & groom her myself.
“Witch” did very well with me at the end of the lead. She won a
sweepstakes & finished her championship in short order. Dog showing was
definitely in my blood now!!! WHAT NEXT??????
Jess was due a puppy back for “Witch”, so we were committed to breeding
her, but to what dog, we had no clue. Jess felt that a breeding to the
Ashbey’s top winning dog, Ch. Blujac’s Afternoon Delight would be a
good mating, so off I went to North Carolina when Witch was ready to be
mated. This breeding resulted in 8 puppies (born on my daughter wedding
day). We got 4 M & 4 F…what a litter!!
Jess took a bitch from the litter & we kept a boy & a girl (now we were up
to 4 Kerries). Now we had to come up with a “kennel” name for our
pups. Jess of course named his pup with the “Blu Star” prefix, & we decided
on KERIDEN. Now we were “real” breeders!
The 3 pups that were kept from that 1st breeding all became
champions! The bitch that Jess took became Ch. Blu Star’s Kiss Me Kate,
and the 2 that we kept became Ch. Keriden’s Thom Terrific &
Ch.
Keriden’s Missy Blue. “Thom” & “Missy” went on to do some very
impressive winning, with ME on the other end of the leash…and once in
a while, Barbara stepped into the ring & had some wins too! “Thom” &
“Missy” both had wins at the prestigious United States Kerry Blue
Terrier National Specialty, held with the Montgomery Co. KC…the “Terrier”
show of shows. “Thom” also had numerous breed & group wins & produced
many winning champions.
“Missy” was then bred to Aileen & Richard Santo’s top winning
Ch. Paxon’s Dancer’s Image
& produced several champions from that breeding, including group winning
Ch. Keriden’s Gotcha Number, “Adam”, who in turn produced some
champions for us, and some other breeders as well.
It was time to breed ”Witch” again & this time we decided on Susan
Dunivant’s Best in Show winning Ch. Elf Loch Where There’s Smoke. Off
I went down to North Carolina again & this breeding produced yet another
winner for us…Ch. Keriden’s Special “K”, “Butch”.
We were having so much fun at this new endeavor, & making life-long
friends at the same time.
I decided that I would like to expand my dog show experiences & was told
more than once that I should try my hand at judging. I took the advice &
have done some Rare Breed Matches, & some
Specialty Sweepstakes as well.
We have slowed up a bit as far as the breeding & showing goes due to family
matters (we have a bunch of grand kids now), but we still have a litter from
time to time & get to some of the shows. We now have a young dog in the
ring that is almost finished & hope to have a puppy in the ring later this
year or early 2004. A few judging assignments are not out of the question,
as I found judging to be a very rewarding experience.
I hope that anyone getting
into the world of breeding & showing have as good a time as I have had.
See you at the shows!!!!!!!
