In 2004 Bill and I began to consider what breed to choose for our next house dog. For 2 years we went to dog shows, visited homes of multiple breeders and read voraciously. The Montgomery Dog Show of 2005 introduced us to the idea of having an Airedale Terrier as our next house dog. The search was on; how do I find the best breeder and how will I know her when I find her?
Hours spent on the web looking at hundreds of Airedale breeders confused me terribly. Everyone claims to be the best; I am not knowledgeable enough to evaluate any breeder's quality.
Good old fashion human interaction and word of mouth were the only tools I could use that would bring me the comfort level I sought: I have a high quality dog breed by a knowledgeable person who cares about the breed and the puppies produced.
I know Jennifer Moore, a former Miniture Schnauzer breeder, handler, trainer and all around Terrier judge. Jen connected me with Peter Green, the top Airedale Terrier judge (retired). Peter gave me several names and I selected one as my breeder of choice: Terrydale.
Maripi of Terrydale was kind enough to put my name on her list of prospective owners of a pet-quality puppy from one of her litters. Mother Nature intervened. I sat on that list for a year or more before receiving a phone call that one of Maripi's co-owned bitches had given birth to 11 puppies (August 2007). The co-owner, Paula of Ice Pond, and I connected. I would get a puppy. Hooray!
October 2007, Paula and Miripi had decided which puppies were of show potential and which would go to homes as pets. They generously awarded me a female. I was even more fortunate in that I live close to Montgomery, Paula was coming to Montgomery 2 weeks after the litter evaluation and she brought me a wonderful girl puppy.
I will write later about my family's connection to Airedales, but for now I want to upload some pix of the adorable Airedale, Keva:
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