I want to thank Sharon and Benson for the opportunity to introduce myself and my dogs to the readers of the Pom Reader. My experience in poms has been a wonderful roller coaster ride filled with thrills and chills. I started off like most people, looking for a pet for my stepdaughter. We researched the toy breeds before settling on a Pomeranian. It was a decision that I have never regretted. Our first visit to a dog show left me dazzled by the little balls of fur that acted like the large breeds that I was raised with and it felt so familiar to be on the show grounds after many years of showing Arabian horses. It was a very short trip to wanting to compete.

My Arabians were my first venture into showing and breeding. My first show mare went National Top Ten and I was quickly drawn into showing and breeding. Never one to stay uninvolved for very long, I also became active in my local club and have served as a board member for 10 years including Vice-President and President. In addition, I became a Regional Delegate to our parent organization, IAHA. Arabian rescue also became a passion for me and I have a long term friendship with Linda Moss, Director of the largest horse sanctuary in the U.S., Equus Rescue and have helped them find many healthy slaughter bound horses new, permanent homes. My involvement in rescue led to introducing a resolution at the IAHA convention which would disbar those convicted of abuse of horses from membership in IAHA and would keep them from competing at the Regional and National levels. In spite of much lobbying, it failed, however it did bring the plight of neglected and abused animals to the attention of the breeders.

My educational background is art school and Fine Arts and Illustration were my focus. My dream was to become a Fashion Illustrator and I was fortunate to be able to work as one for several years before most fashion changed to photography. I still paint and draw but only for pleasure and I have been eyeing the coat of a pom to figure out the best way to translate it to an oil painting! Currently I am a sales representative at one of the top commercial printers in Los Angeles. Hours are long and unpredictable and with dog shows, I have to juggle to fit it all in.

In my twenties, I was lucky to have the opportunity to move to Europe and lived there for three years. This was an unforgettable experience and while living in Paris and Brussels I traveled throughout Europe and North Africa. We still travel when we can and just arrived back from a trip to Africa where we visited a game reserve. Viewing these animals in their wild and natural state is truly inspiring. We were able to get close to so many of them and I took tons of photos that will soon turn into paintings. At night, far way from any civilization, we worried about leopards rather than stolen cars and gang members. I think I’d rather take my chances with the leopards and we left with a great reluctance.

Lucy, my step daughter, is lead singer for a pop-rock band Lily’s Siren and we are now reliving our 20’s and going to the local clubs, The Whisky a Go Go, The Roxy and The Gig to watch them play. She is a very talented artist and I hope to hear her on the radio driving to the shows. In the meanwhile, she is working hard for that break into the music business and going to college.

Currently I have two dogs competing as Specials: BISS Intl/Am Ch Pominique N Noble’s Dark Vader (Walker) and CH Starfire’s Show Me the Huny (Pooh) and the beginning of searching for a show puppy seems very far away but it was really only a few years ago. Back to our humble beginning, we met several breeders that first day and gathered telephone numbers to follow up on for a pet. In the meantime the thought that it would be fun to show were starting to grow. Little did I know that I had just reached the most difficult part of the journey, finding a show dog. This is the point where I tell anyone contemplating acquiring a show dog to have patience, a thick skin and an ability to research and network, and lastly the decisiveness to move swiftly when the occasion requires it. We all know what happened next. The unreturned phone calls with message after message left. The talks with breeders culminating in the answer that there were no show dogs available. The referrals from one person to the next still without any show dogs available and of course, my first purchase of a dog who was not competitive. And so the search continued.

Julie Clemen at this point played a very pivotal role in my program. She introduced me to Carolynn Berry who was selling a few of her poms. I will be eternally grateful to Carolynn for entrusting me with a little show pom, Can CH Sharian’s Jamison. Jamie was my first pom to enter the show ring. Jamie brought me new friends in poms. His sparkly personality drew many to him and I soon met Cande Freeman (now Gordon) Pominique Pomeranians, Diane Finch, Finch’s Pomeranians, Noble Inglett, Mari Iffland, Tom Wilson and Shalon and Michael Parrott. Each has contributed special dogs to my program.

I have had many very special moments with my dogs and one of the very best was the phone call last February that Walker (BISS Intl/Am CH Pominique N Nobles Dark Vader) had won an Award of Merit at Westminster. Walker followed that a few weeks later with a Best Of Breed at the San Diego Specialty. Walker also ended up 1999 with a Group 2 and a Group 3 placement and was ranked as number 16, despite having only finished in the latter part of the year. All of his wins were with Curtiss Smith handling. Then, last summer I overcame my stage fright for one short weekend to show Walker to his International Championship in a single weekend. Despite my fears of going into the ring, we showed to 2 BOB and a Group 2 and Group 3 placement. Thanks to his training, he is such a show dog, that he practically showed himself and I was just there as the "required" handler!

The breeding of dogs was a natural step after breeding horses for so many years. And like the horses, soundness is a priority along with an emphasis on type. I found that in the dogs there is much more line breeding than in horses and much more consistency, however that consistency comes with a price. There are so many more genetic problems than I ever encountered in horses. When I first started to breed I thought that I would be able to produce the soundest, healthiest dogs around. I would tolerate nothing short of perfection. Then realism came to live at my house. I have come to believe that the genetically "perfect" dog does not exist. I want a line that is winning in the show ring and I want to improve the health of those that I breed. I think that we, as breeders need to concern ourselves with the myriad of genetic problems in this breed. We focus on the coat issue; however, there are many other problems that are being ignored.

For me, developing a consistency of look, if not bloodlines, was very important for starting a breeding program. From the horses, I wanted a beautiful moving pom that made a pretty picture. Surprisingly, there is a great deal of similarity of structure between dogs and horses, so my horse background has served me very well. In addition the importance of soundness easily transferred from horses to dogs. With type there are many more variables and there are so many different looks in poms that it can get very confusing. Large shows or Specialties are ways to see many poms in one venue and I finally found a consistency of what I liked, and then found, as in horses, that there was usually a consistency in the pedigrees too. I admired the Finch dogs for their movement and the Sun-Dot’s for their type, and found a beautiful cross in Walker (BISS Intl/Am Ch Pominique N Noble’s Dark Vader), my black Travis son and his litter sister Brooke (CH Pominique Talking Water) bred by Cande (Freeman) Gordon and Noble Inglett. He and his sister became my first two Champions. The third bitch from this litter belongs to Noble Inglett, the lovely CH Noble’s Queen of the Night. Mari Iffland contributed Marbils Prelude to a Kiss whose first daughter, became my first homebred champion with Mari as co-breeder. Carolynn Berry’s Sharians It’s Genie I Dream Of produced the little black dynamo, Showcase Music In The Night "Diva" who captured 3 majors in 2 weekends and is just singles away from her championship. Show puppies in the wings are from girls that came from Cande Gordon (Ch Pominique Talking Water), Diane Finch (Finch’s Petipom Enchantress), Tom Wilson (Sun-Dot’s Orange Twist) and a puppy hopeful from Shalon Parrott Showcase I’m Justa Ragdoll.

For someone new to poms, developing an eye for type and structure is one of the most important things that you can learn. Without type, it is not a pom. Without structure, you cannot succeed in the show ring and more importantly the dog will not remain sound and comfortable for his lifetime. One of the ways that I have learned about structure is by trying to paint the "ideal" horse or dog. Most breeders go for extremes. For example, if a short back is good, a shorter one is better. I learned from painting that the most beautiful animal has a balance between all of the parts. I have kept one of the paintings that I did incorporating all of the most desirable extremes in an Arabian horse. At the time I felt that I was painting the "perfect" Arabian. It is the strangest looking creature you have ever seen: nothing flows, nothing fits. Looking at that painting from time to time keeps me humble and keeps me striving for moderation in style and a balance above all.

As I have learned how my dogs produce, I have added in new dogs to contribute their special qualities. One of these is the gorgeous CH Starfire’s Show Me the Huny (Pooh). I cannot thank Veronica Boudreau enough for letting me bring her beloved Pooh to the West Coast and to Tony Cabrera and Fabian Arienti for breeding such a gorgeous dog. His show career on the West Coast started out with 6 Best of Breeds and 2 Group placements in less than a month. But most importantly is the contribution that he will make to my breeding program. With his lines to Travis (BIS BISS CH Finch’s He Walks On Water ROMX HOF) through his most accomplished son, BIS BISS CH Valcopy-Wakhan Valentino ROMX, he will fit in perfectly with my Travis/Sun-Dot lines. I am very excited by this cross and the first Pooh puppies are very, very beautiful and I can’t wait to see them in the show ring.

One of my "little secrets" is my love of the parti colored poms. I have a lovely chocolate sable parti bitch Wildwood’s Chocolate Surprise from Val Murray of Wildwood’s Parti Poms who has produced a deep dark semi-sweet chocolate daughter who Julie Clemen now has and I hope to at one point produce a parti who is show quality.

I want to especially thank my husband, Stephen for putting up with all of my dogs and helping me daily in their upkeep and care and for loving on all of the puppies. Without him, I would not be able to work and keep up with all of the daily maintenance.

I have met so many wonderful people in poms that I hope to spend many, many future years getting to know better. Those who helped me get started in the beginning: Julie Clemen, Carolynn Berry, Cande Gordon, Noble Inglett, Val Murray and Mari Iffland. My Southern California friends: Gina Bush, Tammee and Dan Felix, Karen Crawford, and Barbara Pluff who are all so generous of their time and advice. From Dallas I met and roomed with Shalon Parrott (in person after many, many hours on the phone and the computer), Brenda Segelken, Donna Machniak, Linda Pelz and Jessie Klein. Recently I have added Mario Panlilio and Ronni Boudreau as very special people and Ronni is a second mom to Pooh. I have been so fortunate to have a wonderful group of friends. And lastly, Curtiss Smith. Without Curtiss, I would not have finished the dogs that I have. From my stage fright to my crazy work schedule he has been instrumental in helping and is far more importantly, a new friend. His advice and his knowledge of conformation has helped me so much to get ahead. When my dogs stay with him they are healthy, happy and are always beautifully presented.

My dogs and the friends that I have developed through the dogs are now one of the most rewarding parts of my life. When the stresses from work become overwhelming, a hug and pom kisses make the tension fly away and a phone call to one of my friends-in-poms can lift my spirits in an instant. They have brought such a richness, I can no longer imagine a life without a Pomeranian in it.