We understand that a “Show Quality” dog is not just about finding a “pretty” dog. It is about finding that dog whose movement is effortless; temperament is confident and loving, and whose genetic clearances maximize chances for a healthy, happy and hopefully very long life with us.
Golden Retrievers
Goldenwinds Sizzle or “Shiloh” to us. We always said we “rescued” her from a bad situation. Even though that situation was a “show breeder”. It took us years of hard work to get her confident and socialized enough to begin to enjoy being out in the world. We finally were able to go with her and regularly visit many children’s foster homes and hospitals. She made a wonderful Therapy dog. We lost her a few years ago to cancer.
Oliver was our second Golden Retriever. He came to us from Helen Dorrance of Ducat Goldens. He was always my heart dog and became a wonderful therapy dog. He had over 200 visits mostly to children’s READ programs at our local libraries. He also visited foster homes, hospitals and mental health facilities as well. He did this not because it was his desire to do so, but because I asked him to, and he obliged me.
We lost him right after our retirement and move to Georgia. He is still very much missed.
English Springer Spaniels
We owned and showed English Springer Spaniels for most of our adult lives. We were privileged to own some nice dogs in that time and make some wonderful friendships. While most of our Springers were campaigned by us, there were times that a valued handler piloted our dogs to wins on our behalf. Both options are equally gratifying when you are able to ensure that the dog is presented to its best and recognized by judges for its great qualities.
While the “CH” title doesn’t make a dog better by itself, it does allow you the opportunity to ensure your dog is judged against the breed standard and is a good representative of the breed. It also allows you to make wonderful friendships, have exciting times and spend time with other exhibitors and judges whose lives also revolve around a chosen breed. This makes the journey all the more special.
Darin was finished by the lovely Carol Rushing of Circle Games springers. She gave him a wonderful home and tons of training and most of all, lots of love. He stayed with her until his passing at 14 years of age.
Although we had many more Springers in our lives, we lost all the pictures in a move.
Bengal Cats
We showed Bengal cats from 2007-2010. It was fun to learn something new and we made quite a bit of progress with our breeding program. Finally, we bred our first Champion Bengal Queen. “Open” (above). She was finished by Mark at the Corpus Christie shows in Texas.
This was Jenga, (Nitewindes Ngoro Njenga) the culmination of our Bengal breeding program. Large eyes, small ears, thick whisker pads and a deep chin with short thick tail all added to his wild look.
This is Tally, another of our Bengal Kings. There were too many more to list here, but we remember them all and loved their great temperaments and incredible beauty.