Our Story...
I believe
you can never forget how a passionate love affair starts with
your particular breed. I will never forget that day. Maybe part
of our lives changed that morning....... as well as a lot of
other things such as our working behaviour with our breeds, our
comprehension of dogs, etc. It was a rainy October Sunday
morning at the National Terrier Show, close to Madrid. Long ago
my husband Miguel Angel and I became Terrier addicts and that
morning we were going to show some of our Scottish in that
important event.
We were unloading all our stuff from the car and trying to reach
our Ring when it happened. There they were. In the main entrance.
They walked by just under our noses. They were handled by a
pretty blond girl who looked good with them; and Miguel and I
were flabbergasted. Our jaws were hanging and I'm absolutely
sure that we looked like a couple of idiots.
It was terrific!!! Really incredible!!! We had never seen
anything like it. And Blue! Well, not turquoise blue, but enough
to see the bluish sparkles. They were "Kerry
Blue Terriers".
Since that day we couldn't think of anything else. We had to get
one, no matter how,
so we started searching for information and talking with some
breeders. We went to a lot of shows just to see them move and we
were more and more impressed with each show; their movement,
their coats, colour, elegance! Our hearts were touched. A famous
breeder told us he had a litter with 3 bitches but only one of
them was available. You can easily imagine where she ended up
that weekend....our home sweet home, of course. Since her
arrival she showed us some important things about Kerries.
Things like living with their owners is a must, and only with
their family they feel happy and grow up well balanced. For a
while she had to share with our Scottish Terrier and this was
one of our big mistakes. But we found out soon enough how to
correct this situation. So we built our house big and wide so we
could all fit in, dogs and family, in a small town near our
small city: Avila. When she was at the age, we mated her to a
Spanish Champion and she gave us 5 lovely puppies. The
"Es". It was fantastic to see her training them and
forcing them to learn how to protect themselves. That winter was
a real cold one and we often saw footprints of a fox on the snow
around the farm. Our puppies worried us but pretty soon, with
their mother's intensive training, we laughed thinking about the
poor fox's fate if he decided to get into the puppies area.
Nothing good considering those wild "Marines"!
We kept a bitch from that litter so "Mommy Auryn"
could play and have company and with time achieve our own blood
line. Ebony she was named but she'll never know because her
barks were so funny they sounded like these dolls with a whistle
inside so that when you squeeze them they go: Mooky - Mooky. Our
son started calling her Mooky and Mooky she remained forever. He
loved this puppy very much and they both played all day long
which made her very friendly with children as well as with other
dogs and a lovely adult bitch.
In this same litter there was an unforgettable dog called
Elliot.
He was our wedding present for two of our best friends who had
asked us for a puppy; it had to be a very special one because
they had a little baby. We took good care of Elliot until we
could take him to his new home which was far away in the north
of Spain in a beautiful place full of green grass as it is in
Ireland; the right place for a Kerry ! A few weeks before
leaving, he had a little accident jumping too high and hurting
his shoulder. We had to cure him every day, and maybe that made
him the way he was. We have never had until now a dog like him.
He was so good, kind, gentle and smart! When he was well, we
took him up home and the adopting family looked at him with
distrust; he was 6 months old already. When we left that Sunday
morning I have to confess we spent a while crying. Soon they
were calling us frequently to tell us about Elliot's progresses
and how happy they all were with him. He was so smart!!! The
little girl loved him so much she wouldn't eat if Elliot wasn't
by her side letting her pull his beard off. He was like her
shadow. Wherever she was he was too. Nobody could get close to
her without asking for Elliot's permission. You had to ask him
please (of course) to take her to the bath or to bed or for a
walk or to have her meals. One afternoon they went for a walk
with the baby leaving him at home. When he saw her leaving
without him, he jumped out through the window and ran and ran
after them without minding the road.
Oh yes. A big truck put Elliot to sleep before celebrating his
first birthday and the baby got sick. We all cried very much and
we couldn't eat for days but his death made him a "Myth".
There's always the one who's different to the rest, that special
quality; and who knows why they're always like wandering stars.
After this, we wanted to know much more and study all we could
get about the breed. We looked and looked again at all the dogs
we had in Spain and weren't really convinced about any of them.
As we had very few Kerries in Spain, the mates were always the
same and the in-breeding was too close. We also couldn't find
anybody able to inform us much about this properly. Bitches were
mated to dogs only because they were champions without looking
at anything else; just the same as we had done before. So a new
project came in mind. We had to try to bring to Spain a good dog
who could open bloodlines. We talked to different friends to see
if they had relationships with Irish breeders (we wanted a real
Irish guy), and could help us to make our dream come true.
Things were not going to be easy because we were absolutely
NOBODY in the Terrier world to give references about, and
everybody knows how hard it is to reach people of the islands.
They don't like to sell their good stuff. And we understand this
very well and agree.
A friend gave us the address of a lady in Dublin who is a very
prestigious Judge and breeder. An honest and serious
person, much respected in the trade. So here was our opportunity
and there we went. We had to try. Our friend told us it wasn't
going to be easy to get it; so we wrote her a letter telling her
all the truth about us, first of all our ignorance about the
breed were in love with. We tried to be honest with her about
ourselves and our 2 bitches. We just wanted to know if she had
what we were looking for.
It was a big surprise when we got her answer back saying YES!!!
She had good stud and she wanted us to phone her and discuss it.
AAAHHH!!! We talked and became very good friends. To be honest I
have to say it's very easy with such a lovely lady like her. She
sent us the dog that came 2nd in "Cruft's" that same
year: "ARIGNA OSKAR" (this was our Boy).
Absolutely incredible!!! A dog born in one of the best kennels
of Ireland with great bloodlines behind him, pure Irish blood
only "Arigna and Louisburgh". Even
today,
we are still surprised and sometimes can't believe that Oskar
lived at home with us. Also, we can't forget the exciting moment
of opening the box in which he travelled
from Ireland and the
things we were impressed with, like his balance, his elegance,
his majesty, his long beautiful head; in our shows we never saw
a dog like this one. He was different. His colour was blue
already but he kept on changing till he got a light colour. His
temperament was different too, and had nothing to do with the
dogs we had seen before. He had real class in every move. Irish
people call this: "SPIRIT".
Oskar started competing and the problems started also. Wow, did
I say problems??? Of all sorts. Suddenly everybody was so
shocked: Who's that dog? Whom does he belong to ? From a Kennel
in Avila? La Ca- what? They bought a dog in Ireland? You're
kidding, aren't you?
The rest soon followed as well: that dog doesn't move well or
he's not a good dog at all.... or don't you ever mate your bitch
with that dog, can't you see he has a bad bite ?
People said too many things about him. They were so shocked and
full of envy! But all this helped us to discover many things.
Oskar really showed us how to learn. He taught
us about the breed. He revolutionized the Spanish Kerry world. We still think
Spain wasn't prepared for him. Now they are because his offspring
came real strong. The first of his sons is already CH. of Spain,
Portugal, International, E.N.C.I. and many more titles. He has
been one of the most famous Kerries in
Spain: Ch. El Tukan Azul
de Chapeau Terriers. Oskar now has 20 Champions all over the
world and more to come.
Well, as soon as he arrived, we realized that our 2 bitches
weren't good enough for serious breeding work. The decision was
painful but we had to start all over again. We sought a good
home for them, even better than ours. Being a breeder is not
easy, sometimes it hurts very much. Before we found a new home
for "Auryn", she gave us a very good litter with Oskar.
These were the "Hs". This birth was the most special
we've had. We learned another magisterial lesson with these
Kerries. Oskar was by her side all the time. He never pestered
but was always close enough to let her know he was there, by her
side. He never got close enough to make her feel nervous but
never went away. When she left the nest to take a walk and
release herself, he would always clean her eyes and ears and
follow her to the nest again and then lay down close. He always
did this will all his litters. Specially with his girlfriend
"Lisa". She was the love of his life.
When the puppies were a little bigger he got a bit closer and
asked her permission to have a look inside the nest and put his
head near hers. He wanted to see and stay with those little
black things, that even then looked exactly like him. We have
only had one littler before this one but the puppies were very
different. The heads were so so long, their little tails were
always up and the never cried. They were self-assured from birth.
"Huella" comes from this litter (that means Footprint)
Sub Champion of Europe '98 in young class and champion of Spain.
When she arrived at her new home there was an Airedale bigger
than her. It took her 3 days to become the queen of the house
and of her owner too. She's a lovely bitch. So sweet, every time
she sees us she makes pee. It really is a pleasure to feel that
our puppies never forget us.
There's also a "Homero" who lives in the land of Fire
and Gunpowder: Valencia; (by the way, he Sired already and his
owners have told us he did the same things Oskar did); oh well,
when they're in Fiestas with all the noise and firecrackers:
"Fallas", he really loves it and runs around jumping
and playing with people and children. He feels like the king of
the place.
"Hermes" (Tariq is his nickname), is another special
dog who loves water to the limits. His owner can't make him
surface when they find a river, a lake, a fountain or anything
to do with water. Often his owner had to get in with him to make
him scat. He lost half of his tongue trying to hunt a
caterpillar, but that's no problem for him! He can lap your face
perfectly and kiss you to his heart's content.
Auryn was a lovely bitch but as a Kerry she was a disaster. We
took awhile to see it but we didn't want to see it either. We
knew very well what that meant. Almost everything in her was a
disaster except her wonderful coat which was perfect and her
lovely size. She had the most beautiful coat we have ever seen.
So shiny and steel blue! Auryn and her daughter Mooky left but
"Lisa", "Lara", "Chachi" and
"Pepa-Bandera" joined the family. We bought Lisa with
almost a year and a half from a Spanish breeder. Her grandfather
was the great World Champion "Master Rathlin Van
Daelenbroek". She had never left the kennel in which she
was born. She's got a special angel quality that makes you look
at her. Her breeder knew that very well and had big plans for
her future. We wanted her for exactly the same purpose so the
arrangements were easy. Poor little Lisa. She was so afraid when
we took her out of the kennel she only wanted to crawl into a
match box. She was afraid of everything and everyone. She didn't
want to eat. She used to sleep under our bed and the most
terrible thing was that we couldn't figure out how to make her
put her lovely tail up. It took me like around two months to
make her feel a little happy at home. Then suddenly, the witch
she has inside started to emerge and now she's like Miss
Rothermayer. It took us a year to show her. Now she's Champion
of Spain, Portugal and International (to date!). Every night,
before going to bed and while Miguel plays with Oskar running
around the room to see who gets first to bed, Lisa jumps over my
side of the bed, puts her paws on my shoulders, jumps over me so
I have to grab her and carry her around the bedroom as if she
was a rucksack or a Koala. We look like a crazy family! She's an
adorable bitch, very friendly with people, with other animals
and with children. Now her temperament is the best of all.
Lara ("Arigna Anu") loves puppies. She is really
lovable, gentle and kind. She loves water in all its varieties.
She is gorgeous and a saint. She comes from Oskar's same kennel.
So calm and patient. I think growing up doesn't interest her at
all. She always lives with puppies and takes care of them all;
cleans their eyes and ears and forces them to clean themselves
up. It's very funny to see them. She is the best mother of all
the girls. I have to say she's my favourite
in a way.
We've had 4 litters with Lisa and, as with Auryn, Oskar became
her personal bodyguard. As before, the puppies were a carbon
copy of their dad. This time they were the "Ks" the
"Ps", the "Vs" and the "Ys". We
have incredible stories of many of them and their owners which
are really funny to tell. Some day we will write a book or
something.
This wonderful breed helps you meet wonderful people too. Kerry
people are special.
A lovely bitch called "Dru", came home to mate Oskar,
and it was a pleasure to have her with us. She had a beautiful
litter with two real jewels. We also had at home Susi and Triana
and Toni and Huelli..., all of them lovely bitches to be with.
When Oskar arrived, some people said: "These fellows have
started very high"!!! But God knows it's not true. We
started very low, the lowest with our first two bitches.
Oskar, and of course his breeder who is an incredible lady, have
shown us all we know now about Kerries.
It is a beautiful thing to share your days with a Kerry. They
have so much to give! They give you everything just to please
you. But they need you to show them how much you love them or
they can die. Kerries are not for everybody. Some people must
never have a Kerry. You have to understand dogs and love them to
have one.
From here I want to thank Oskar for the wonderful days he has
made us live as well as send all our gratitude to the great Lady
Miss Una Rigney for all the wisdom, information, love and
kindness she has always shown us. I also want to thank everybody
who have put their trust on us buying a puppy sired by Oskar,
and to the people who have mated their bitches to him, who I
think are really satisfied; as well as to all the Judges who
have seen his beauty making him be Champion of Spain and
Portugal.
Sometimes I feel upset when I think that if Oskar would have
been in professional hands he would be up there, amongst the
stars, where he belongs! Which is impossible being with us
because we were beginners. But then I feel better again when I
think he has been the happiest dog on earth, in our house,
roaming free around our farm, sleeping over our bed, playing
with Miguel, with the children, the puppies, the girls and with
his gals.... just being one of the crowd, and he knew this very
well. He was the happiest dog in the world. That was my job!!!
Now he's gone to guard a much more important place than our
house. "Heaven".
God needs him by his side and I can't blame him. He knows well
!!!
Oskar leaves us El Piri, Sonitron and many other wonderful
Kerries to continue him. He made us up and we will never forget
him. He has been our best dog, our best friend and our best complainer.
He has o lovely place in our garden were he will keep guarding
us forever.
Thank you very much to all of you who had the patience to read
our story. We honestly hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as
we've enjoyed sharing it.
To be continued.......
Maribel
de Luna & Miguel Angel Garcia Pedraz
La Cadiera
|
