Hi Laura, I dearly wish you lived in the UK, I know where I would love my next puppy from. Many thanks for all your help in the past. Best wishes, Ruth ----- Original Message ----- From: "Laura Trunk" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, July 06, 2002 11:31 PM Subject: Re: [CKCS-L] Re-Introduction
> I live in the Greater Cleveland area of Ohio, USA. with the Roycroft gang of > Cavalers and my 8 year old son, Steven. I also have a 23 year old son who > is now living on his own. I recently became a single mom again and may just > stay this way for a long time. So far no luck at finding a husband who > likes the dogs--who can even tolerate the dogs--so I said bye-bye to both of > them. > > I found out about Cavaliers back in 1974. I had had two very bad > experiences with mixed breed dogs (really terrible health and temperament) > and decided I wanted to breed and show in a way that would make a positive > difference to a breed. The obedience class I attended with my second mixed > breed dog was run by some people who showed in both conformation and > obedience and bred as well. They told me to go to the library and research > to > figure out the right breed for me. I did so and discovered the Cavalier. > The same people who ran the obedience classes told me to get a pet first, > show in obedience and attend both AKC shows and breed specialties to learn > about the breed before I got into conformation showing and breeding (smart > people!). I then set about the enormous task of finding a Cavalier in the > U.S. in 1975 (never even thought of going to England at that time). Finally > towards the end of the year I found a breeder with a litter on the way and > got on her list. Lawmaker came home in spring 1976 and by 1980 he had gone > all > the way to his Utility Dog degree (no agility back then!). I attended > several CKCSC specialties with him and just a couple of years after I got > Lawmaker, > my first show puppy came to live with me. Josie was a lovely girl and lived > with me for nearly 15 years. She also became the beginning of my breeding > program--such as it was. Due to my partial involvement with Irish Setters > (which were my then husband's breed) I tested Josie's hips, eyes, heart and > patellas and have continued to fully test every dog in my > breeding program since then. I believe fully testing is an essential part > of breeding because I would no more wish to accidentally *double up* on hip > dysplasia than I would wish to double up on ticking, cataracts, small eyes > or lack of bone. It was very slow going at first. Several dogs > didn't pass this or that test and it was very hard to find stud dogs that > were tested so even in 1990--14 years after I started--I still only had 6 > Cavaliers (some babies, some retired) and did VERY little breeding and very > limited > showing. Finally I decided to *just do it* and in my normal way I set about > trying to figure out *how* I was going to do it (really begin a worthwhile > breeding program). I began to research pedigrees big time and study > statistics to see who was doing what and talking to successful breeders for > the next 5-8 years (slow and steady is me!). It also helped that right > about that time there was a Cavalier being shown that was to me the > prettiest, typiest Cavalier I had ever seen in the U.S.-- the type I wanted > to breed for--she really spurred me on! I purchased my lovely Sanickro boy > in 1998, and had purchased a couple of nice bitches. And so by 1999 my > breeding program was finally starting to get in gear--only 23 years after my > initial start. I laid a careful foundation and it is now starting to come > to fruition--hopefully with typey, wonderfully temperamented and healthy > Cavaliers who are successful as pets, in the show or performance ring, and > in a breeding program. So far, so good--each year since 1999 has been more > successful than the last--2002 is the best yet! > > I have done several rescues over the years, did a bit of therapy work about > 10 years ago--plan to do more in the future, and will be getting into > agility next year as well. I want to do it all! > > Have NO interest in a second breed! After 26.5 years in Cavaliers, I'm > permanently hooked on this breed alone. > > Laura Lang > Roycroft Cavaliers > > ========================================================= > "Magic Commands": > to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL > to start it up gain click here: > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL > > E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. > Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html > > All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 2002 by its original author. > > ========================================================= "Magic Commands": to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL to start it up gain click here: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 2002 by its original author.
