Biography In my day job, I work as a Policy Analyst at the University of Southern Maine Muskie School of Public Service. I grew up in rural Maine and my family had a couple of dogs when I was younger – mixed breeds who were family pets. When I reached adulthood and had settled down, I was focused on my career, being engaged in my community and involved with local political activities. I did not imagine that dog sports and dog breeding would be in my future. But life has a way of presenting a path to us - to enrich us even more. For my partner and I, this came in the form of tawny heads and big brown eyes gazing at us over a fence in a neighbor’s yard. Those eyes were too much to resist and the humans in the home were just as captivating and influential. Bob and Connie Jones (WoodsRunner Chinooks) became friends and mentors. In 1995 we received our first Chinook puppy from them after that fateful introduction over the fence. Who wouldn’t be smitten by a puppy? I didn’t know the path that was ahead of us, but our mentors were patient. Our lives were transformed by this little puppy (WoodsRunner X Katahdin). She was an old soul, with deep understanding and a faithful companion. Katahdin went everywhere with us. We learned more about the Chinook breed – its history and contribution to the region and our country. The breed had faced the threat of extinction and was not yet out of the woods. We had the thrill of getting our first dog sled run with the WoodsRunner team. The trail ahead was becoming more visible. We tried our hand at conformation shows – and learned to soak up what judges could tell us about our individual dogs. We learned about breeding and helped with the arrival, socialization and evaluation of litters. Notably, we learned about the CrossBreeding Program. The Chinook Owners Association (COA) CrossBreeding Program is a long-term program developed in partnership with the United Kennel Club, Inc. (UKC) to add genetic diversity and quality to the current Chinook gene pool by developing Chinook cross lines that lead to progeny that attain UKC registration status as a purebred Chinook. The Chinook breed needed people to commit to breeding, serving on the breed club boards and committees, working their Chinooks in harness and educating others about the breed. We began with one step and then another that has led us to where we are today. With our mentors, we co-founded Chinooks New England, a regional affiliate club of the COA. I have served on the COA Board in various positions since 1999 (Registrar, Vice President, President and Past President as well as serving on the CrossBreeding Committee, Working Dog Program Committee, Judges Education Committee and helping with the Chinook National Specialties). My life is full of beautiful Chinooks. My partner (Jess) and I share our home and 120 acres (GreatMountain Farm) with 13 Chinooks. Jess deserves a lot of recognition for our journey with Chinooks. She is our lead dog! We enjoy dog sledding, walking the woods with our dogs, and raising pups. I love taking photos of EVERYTHING they do. We moved a CrossBreeding line forward and this past fall we celebrated when the first descendent from our cross line was registered as a UKC purebred Chinook. After initiating this line 10 years ago, we are thrilled to report that eleven descendents from this line have now achieved purebred registration. Three of these descendents are in the 2009 Chinook Top Ten listing as I write this note. One of them, GreatMountain Redington Guide, was selected as National Best of Breed in the 2009 Chinook National Specialty – in was her first conformation show as a purebred Chinook. We are more proud to have comprehensive health evaluations at every generation of this line with health measures that have been tremendous and to have puppy owners across the country who are stepping up – ensuring that health assessments are done and reported, breeding litters, working their dogs and volunteering on the COA board and board committees. Our list of those to thank is long. Many wonderful people have led the way in preserving the Chinook breed. The United Kennel Club has been visionary in establishing the CrossBreeding Program with the COA and it has meant so much to our breed. Connie and Bob Jones were our mentors and are to this day. Our veterinarians have been vital to the care of our Chinooks and have taught us a lot. Our Chinooks have been the ones to keep us grounded and focused on what is important – health, temperament, sound structure and a good belly rub. |
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