Whether Champion, pet or rescue, our dogs
are, first and foremost, family members.
They live in our home, sleep in our bed, and lounge on the
furniture. We feel proper socialization
is imperative to the well-rounded Bordeaux and they go most everywhere with us;
the office, Home Depot, outdoor cafes and restaurants. Our friends and family members joke that they
can spot us a mile away coming down the road, as there is a “big head” hanging
out of the car window.
We are breed enthusiasts who love everything
about these glorious animals. We breed
occasionally and selectively, our mission to improve type, health and
temperament. Our breedings are put
together years in advance. We study and
learn about the Bordeaux every day.
Twenty years of living with Bullmastiff
rescues led us to our first Dogue De Bordeaux 8 years ago, our beloved
Louis. He was a puppy-mill rescue whom
we lost after 4 years, 10 months, 16 days and 9 hours of joy and following a
courageous battle with lymphoma.
For years we have been active volunteers for
a host of rescues: adopting, fostering,
transporting, pulling dogs from shelter, however we could help. I recently published a Children’s Book and am
donating a portion of proceeds to Rescue.
Released May, 2011, it is currently the Publicists #2 bestselling book
and climbing (See www.halopublishing.com;
Bailey’s Heartstrings). Before
purchasing a dog, please always first consider whether you have room in your
home and hearts for a rescue as there are many dogs in need of loving, forever
homes.
A series of twists and turns and
disappointments with unhealthy dogues ultimately set us in motion to do our
part to improve the breed however we could. We reached-out to trusted friends in
the breed, both here in the U.S. and in Europe.
Karma came full-circle, doors magically
opened, and we acquired the “Heart of Heartstrings” CH Urszula z Orisku from
the Czech Republic. Urszula is a Moby
daughter and we were blessed that Libuse and Jan entrusted us with her. She is a black-mask female, and only the 3rd
black-mask girl to AKC Champion. To us,
she is a special, special diamond.
And so it began…our first venture into the
show ring (like I needed another job lol).
Urszula is currently ranked in the top #25 Dogue De Bordeaux in the U.S.
according to AKC show points and qualified for the Eukunaba National
Championship at 18 months of age. We
*never* saw this coming.
Next, our boy Storm De Legeane from the Jan
at DeLegeane in the Netherlands. We are
proud to announce he obtained his AKC Championship title at just over 13 months
of age, showing against and beating almost exclusively adult males and even
finished champions; no small feat. He is
a strong up-and-coming young lad and we are very excited for his future. Most important, he is the sweetest, most
loving boy.
We
are keeping our “eye on the prize”…which is to breed and show healthy, typey,
well-rounded dogs who are ambassadors for the breed both in and outside the
show ring. We are absolutely and
thoroughly enjoying ourselves, making life-long friends in the breed, and most
important, having a blast with our beloved dogues.