I started out in obedience when I was a kid in 4-H. My junior high school English teacher competed with her Keeshonds all over CA and asked if I wanted to go with one day. It’s been all down hill since then. A slow steady slide into the oblivion of dog addiction. I was given a golden retriever puppy from a show litter when I was 10 on the condition that I compete in AKC obedience. By the time I was 12 Brodie and I were consistently winning High in Trial over the adults we competed against.

As a young adult after college when I finally had a house with a yard I set out to find the right breed for me. I knew I wanted a medium sized square dog with elegance and strength, a short coated breed that would be energetic without being annoying, something smart but not a rocket scientist who might figure out how to turn on the gas stove and blow the house up, a loyal loving companion who would look at me every day thinking I hung the moon. What’s that you say? That’s a Doberman? Yup I had pretty much defined the characteristics of a well bred Doberman. I bought my first Doberman from one of the stalwarts of the breed, a true legacy breeder. I was lucky to have been guided from the very beginning by people who cared deeply not just for the Doberman breed but for the dog fancy as a whole. I succumbed to the show addiction soon after. I now fund my own show habit by handling beautiful dogs of many breeds owned by addicts like myself at AKC shows all over the Southwest. I realize that this is not the path many follow to get to their final destination of buying a well bred dog.