Our life with Tibetan Terriers began in 1982 when we were looking
for a smaller breed. I liked the shaggy natural look of the
Tibetan Terrier and coat care did not scare me after all those years
with Afghans. Pete was a little uncomfortable with the smaller
size but was willing to go along.
Shang came to us from Ohio shortly before Christmas and we have never looked
back. We found good homes for the last Afghans and Tibetans have been
our only breed since then.
Tibetans were hardly ever seen at Canadian shows in those days but Shang helped
to make the breed popular.
Although we breed sparingly, we had some nice litters over the years and sent
dogs all over Canada, many States and even Europe.
1997 to 1998 were our most successful years in the show ring
with Marbles, our Shang grandson. He is the Top TT in Canada
of all times, with 8 Best in Shows gained over two years.
And in 2000 our young Marbles son, Eli, made his debut. He
became a Champion at 8 months and became the #1 Tibetan Terrier
in Canada for 3 consecutive years from 2001 to 2003, taking
3 Best in Shows along the way.
Over the years we accumulated 11 BEST in SHOW rosettes that we are very proud of.
Who knows how many more we would have added if Pete had not died so unexpectedly.
We loved showing and getting away in
our trailer to the summer shows.
We were looking forward to many more exciting successful
years.
Pete and I made a good team: I usually showed the dogs
to their Championship, then became the groomer once
Pete started specialing them.
Of course Pete used to have a brush in his hand and
"pretend" while he waited at ringside.
When I developed serious back and foot problems I seldom
got into the ring any more. I hope that will change
again in the future.
An old picture: Jo and Bhaloo - 1991
|
 |
We served on the executive of various All Breed and Specialty
clubs, mostly as President and Secretary. In 2001 we became
Life members of the Canadian Kennel Club. We had started judging
and had all preliminaries completed when Jo got serious Arthritis
and Pete did not want to continue alone.
In 2004 tragedy struck. Pete was diagnosed with cancer late in
July and died one month later, August 31st.
I found homes for some of the dogs and only
kept Willa and Harley with me. I still co-own Eli who is being
shown in USA and Sophie who now lives in Edmonton. Unfortunately
serious health problems forced me to stop showing and breeding
for a while. But things changed in 2006.
Willa had a nice litter of three males in
August, Harley was the dad. It was fun to have puppies around again. All three boys are in wonderful homes. Two of them went to families who already had one of our boys.
In November 2006 I finally had the foot operation on my left foot that I had waited
for for a long time. Recovery was slow and I could not drive for 10 weeks. But when the healing was complete I mustered courage to get the left foot done in May 2007. This time it did not take long until I could walk with a cane again.
In December 2007 I had back surgery which put me out of commission again for some time. But in January I started Aquafit and Nordic Walking and am feeling quite well again. The dogs get almost daily walks and I started Obedience with Harley. Maybe we'll be ready for Rally later on this year.
I have even booked a trip to Germany for the end of April and cannot wait to get back to visit family and friends and to take in at least one dog show. The future finally looks brighter again.
|
