My passion for dogs started when I was very young. I would order dog books out of the book order form when I was in grade school. I sat down for hours drawing each dog. I always knew I wanted to do something with animals. As I got to know my boyfriend's pit bull, Thor, and learn how sweet and smart he was, I fell in love with the breed. When my husband and I got married and bought our own home, I knew I wanted a registered American Pit Bull Terrier. We found an ad in the local paper selling UKC-registered Purple Ribbon American Pit Bull Terriers. We decided to pick from a litter of 13 pups. This is where I got my fist show dog, UWP GRCH ‘PR’ Arnetts Notorious Nitro. I learned from the breeder, Corina Castillo, of Nitro’s sire, who was a Top Ten ranked UKC show dog. She also informed me if I wanted to show my dog, all the information about upcoming shows was in BLOODLINES magazine, distributed by UKC. I registered Nitro and later decided to purchase the magazine. I found a few ads for APBT pups and decided to call a breeder named Kim Allison to talk about her litter for sale. Our phone call turned into a very informative one as she had a tremendous amount of information about the breed. I had mentioned showing my dog, and she was very helpful in my decision as, yes, I was definitely going to the next show. I attended Premier, which was also the 1997 Pit Bull Nationals, in Kalamazoo. I watched how everyone stacked their dogs and what was involved. I loved the show and atmosphere and made my decision to participate in the next show. On Valentine's Day 1998, we headed for our first dog show. The weekend ended with Nitro winning a Best of Breed over 31 other pits and nationally-ranked dogs. Suffice it to say, I was hooked into showing. The earlier BLOODLINES magazine I had read advertised two other breeders who I had called and purchased females from, Nevada Kennels (Janice Snyder) and Juno’s Pride Kennel (Dorian Grumbar-Paxson). Back when I first thought of Nitro’s name, I named him after a bass boat from a Bass Masters magazine we had, hence my kennel name. The breeding between the two females, CH ‘PR’ Nitros Nuclear Lea and ‘PR’ Juno Crocodile Tear Ritz of Nitro, and Nitro started my show line. I have bred multiple Champions and Grands that have defeated Top Ten contenders. I have also used Nitro for breed-specific legislation and changed many minds about this wonderful breed. My two oldest girls, Cassie and Kierstin, have also been on the local news defending our breed, as well as appearing in front of the city counsel. They have also shown our dogs and handled dogs for other people. We now have two Miniature Dachshunds and will continue to show and promote these breeds. |
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