2019 in Review
Celebrating the successes and excitement of the year that was is an important tradition--and there were a great many things to be proud of. Though I didn't show much this year myself, I had the absolute best time at the small number of shows I attended. Miley met and exceeded my expectations with some lovely wins and consistently brilliant performances that saw her to #2 TMT in Canada with another Best in Show and several Reserve Best in Shows, despite only a few months of showing. She finished strong in early-September to take a break for motherhood as I welcomed my first litter in several years. Her three babies were the apples of both of our eyes and provided a great reminder of how much one can miss the sound of puppy feet without even realizing it.
The year also brought some great successes for dogs I own, co-own and/or co-bred. We have a number of young males starting to come into their own and I'm quite excited to see what the coming few years brings for them as they continue to mature. We also added a number of new champions to the ranks, with a total of 4 new American champions, 4 Canadian Grand Champions, 2 American Grand Champions, one dog with new titles in three European countries, and 3 dogs with new performance titles. Together, Miley, Denzel, Marvin and Jagger earned a collective 65 group placements in Canada last year, including a Best in Show, 3 Reserve Best in Shows and 18 Group wins while young Buckie and John were also awarded a number of nice American group wins and placements at young ages. While it may seem silly to track these things, as breeders Wendy and I took as much or more pride in our consistent performance over many years as we did any individual win. I know she would be proud that in 2019 we reached and passed three important milestones with our 90th champion around the world (93), our 350th Group win in Canada (361) and our 50th Group win in the United States.
As always, I am so thankful for the support of my family, friends, co-breeders and co-owners. I am grateful, of course, for everything they do with their dogs but even more so for their generosity in sharing their journeys with me. Having the opportunity to continue to be involved in this breed as a breeder and exhibitor is a privilege, but being able to collaborate in planning upcoming breedings and sharing successes with my friends is a tremendous amount of fun and lets me continue to exercise my 'black and tan' brain even when it may not always be possible for puppies to be born here in my home!
As we all prepare for 2020, take a moment to hug those you love close...both two-footed and four-footed.
Amanda
The year also brought some great successes for dogs I own, co-own and/or co-bred. We have a number of young males starting to come into their own and I'm quite excited to see what the coming few years brings for them as they continue to mature. We also added a number of new champions to the ranks, with a total of 4 new American champions, 4 Canadian Grand Champions, 2 American Grand Champions, one dog with new titles in three European countries, and 3 dogs with new performance titles. Together, Miley, Denzel, Marvin and Jagger earned a collective 65 group placements in Canada last year, including a Best in Show, 3 Reserve Best in Shows and 18 Group wins while young Buckie and John were also awarded a number of nice American group wins and placements at young ages. While it may seem silly to track these things, as breeders Wendy and I took as much or more pride in our consistent performance over many years as we did any individual win. I know she would be proud that in 2019 we reached and passed three important milestones with our 90th champion around the world (93), our 350th Group win in Canada (361) and our 50th Group win in the United States.
As always, I am so thankful for the support of my family, friends, co-breeders and co-owners. I am grateful, of course, for everything they do with their dogs but even more so for their generosity in sharing their journeys with me. Having the opportunity to continue to be involved in this breed as a breeder and exhibitor is a privilege, but being able to collaborate in planning upcoming breedings and sharing successes with my friends is a tremendous amount of fun and lets me continue to exercise my 'black and tan' brain even when it may not always be possible for puppies to be born here in my home!
As we all prepare for 2020, take a moment to hug those you love close...both two-footed and four-footed.
Amanda
