About Me
Judging the 2015 AWC Futurity.
Ch. Cherche Walk On The Wild Side
w/afghan pal Omen in 1973
I came from a dog show family. My mother, Christine, got her first show Afghan a few years before my sister and I were born and my earliest memories revolve around going to dog shows. My sister, Heather, and I enjoyed playing with all the dogs and hanging out in X-pens and Bob McKee crates, wearing snoods, and all the other fun things little kids could do to keep occupied at a show. Mom got a Greyhound in 1980, in order not to have to deal with all that hair. Our greyhound “Pup” got hit by a car and his show career ended young. As a teenager, I never missed the Golden Gate Kennel Club dog show in SF, read and re-read old issues of “The Gazehound” and “Sighthound Review”, and plotted when I could move out and get my own show dogs.
In 1988, our Greyhound passed away. We all wanted another dog. My mom found an ad in a dog mag for a Greyhound litter from a breeder she had always admired, and “Alex” came to us via United from New Mexico. He became Ch. Suntiger Silverhawk, JC and was a great reintroduction to shows. Alex also showed us how fun lure coursing could be.
In 1988, our Greyhound passed away. We all wanted another dog. My mom found an ad in a dog mag for a Greyhound litter from a breeder she had always admired, and “Alex” came to us via United from New Mexico. He became Ch. Suntiger Silverhawk, JC and was a great reintroduction to shows. Alex also showed us how fun lure coursing could be.
Alex in 1989. WD at GCA. Handled by Cindy Hatcher.
While showing Alex, we stopped and watched an Afghan person (Sue Kauffman) judge a large entry of Whippets in Vallejo one weekend. I was immediately struck by four dogs who were shown in the classes; Locar’s Candy Spots, Locar’s Ruffian, Timbar’s The Cats Pajamas, and Timbar’s Windseeker of Locar (all later champions). They were all gorgeous, houndy, and much more beautiful movers than any whippets I’d seen previously. They were all sired by the same stud dog, Ch. Locar’s Dressed To Kill, ROM. I immediately set my mind to wanting a whippet just like them, so I wrote to Carol Curry inquiring after a puppy.
Carol was nice enough to write back and let me know that while she had no Dressed to Kill litters in the works, she did have one coming out of his granddaughter “CJ”, sired by an East Coast dog, Ch. Morshor’s Majestic Prince. I looked up a picture of Prince and immediately put in my order for a “show bitch who was the exact color of the sire”. Yes, I was a silly, dumb kid, picking on color alone. Thankfully, there was one black brindle irish-marked bitch in the litter and she turned out to be sound, typey, and an excellent brood bitch. It was pure beginners luck – and I’ve never been that lucky again. Julia was a one-in-a-million Whippet! I brought Julia home the week before my 19th birthday and I have never been without a whippet since.
Carol was nice enough to write back and let me know that while she had no Dressed to Kill litters in the works, she did have one coming out of his granddaughter “CJ”, sired by an East Coast dog, Ch. Morshor’s Majestic Prince. I looked up a picture of Prince and immediately put in my order for a “show bitch who was the exact color of the sire”. Yes, I was a silly, dumb kid, picking on color alone. Thankfully, there was one black brindle irish-marked bitch in the litter and she turned out to be sound, typey, and an excellent brood bitch. It was pure beginners luck – and I’ve never been that lucky again. Julia was a one-in-a-million Whippet! I brought Julia home the week before my 19th birthday and I have never been without a whippet since.
Showing Pie to first in the "really old bitches" class at the National in 2010.
Today, I share my home with three of Julia's great-grandchildren, Imari, Jade, and TJ, one great-granddaughter, Folly, and a great-great grandchild, Portia (who coincidentally reminds me very much of Julia).. All of my whippets are house pets first and foremost. They hang out with us on the couch and sleep in the bed and our lives are arranged around catering to their every whim.
As an individual who has always lived in the City, with small yards, and limited resources, I am eternally grateful to the partners I've had in dogs over the years, who really made the Milescross whippets possible. Dan & Leslie Silva were extremely generous with their time and knowledge and moved heaven and earth to make the first couple of Milescross litters a reality. Wendy Gay has been a steady friend from my beginning in the breed, and without her savvy breeding choices and generousity in sharing dogs, Milescross whippets of today would not exist.
Due to only breeding when I want a whippet to keep for myself, Milescross litters in the future will be few and far between. I really enjoy showing whippets for myself and others and have gotten pretty good at presentation over the years. I also enjoy lure coursing & racing my hounds, but at events I am happiest behind the clerk's desk, teaching newcomers how to be efficient field clerks, the way I was taught by Patti Burt all those years ago. I enjoy judging whippets and if I can get over my unreasonable fear of ring stewarding, I will work towards becoming an AKC judge of the breed.
I am very involved with my local whippet club, the NCWFA, and have held every office over the years. I am eternally grateful that in 1989 Betz Leone and Henry Modetz pestered this "non-joiner" into getting involved with the NCWFA. I am presently the NCWFA Secretary and am also the coordinator for our rescue program, which is often eye-opening business, and keeps me quite busy. I edit the NCWFA's award-winning newsletter, which satisfies the frustrated journalist/editor inside me. I am proud to be the current President of the American Whippet Club & am also the Editor of the AWC's bi-monthly magazine, "The Whippet News"., although Cynthia Schmidt does all the heavy lifting with this publication.
I am thankful most of all for my whippets, who give me a reason to get up in the mornings, have allowed me to meet some great people, taken me to places I would not otherwise have visited, and definitely have given me a fuller life than I otherwise might have had. Good dogs!
As an individual who has always lived in the City, with small yards, and limited resources, I am eternally grateful to the partners I've had in dogs over the years, who really made the Milescross whippets possible. Dan & Leslie Silva were extremely generous with their time and knowledge and moved heaven and earth to make the first couple of Milescross litters a reality. Wendy Gay has been a steady friend from my beginning in the breed, and without her savvy breeding choices and generousity in sharing dogs, Milescross whippets of today would not exist.
Due to only breeding when I want a whippet to keep for myself, Milescross litters in the future will be few and far between. I really enjoy showing whippets for myself and others and have gotten pretty good at presentation over the years. I also enjoy lure coursing & racing my hounds, but at events I am happiest behind the clerk's desk, teaching newcomers how to be efficient field clerks, the way I was taught by Patti Burt all those years ago. I enjoy judging whippets and if I can get over my unreasonable fear of ring stewarding, I will work towards becoming an AKC judge of the breed.
I am very involved with my local whippet club, the NCWFA, and have held every office over the years. I am eternally grateful that in 1989 Betz Leone and Henry Modetz pestered this "non-joiner" into getting involved with the NCWFA. I am presently the NCWFA Secretary and am also the coordinator for our rescue program, which is often eye-opening business, and keeps me quite busy. I edit the NCWFA's award-winning newsletter, which satisfies the frustrated journalist/editor inside me. I am proud to be the current President of the American Whippet Club & am also the Editor of the AWC's bi-monthly magazine, "The Whippet News"., although Cynthia Schmidt does all the heavy lifting with this publication.
I am thankful most of all for my whippets, who give me a reason to get up in the mornings, have allowed me to meet some great people, taken me to places I would not otherwise have visited, and definitely have given me a fuller life than I otherwise might have had. Good dogs!
