My love and respect for all creatures has taken me
down the challenging and rewarding road to becoming a breeder, trainer, and exhibitor of Great Danes. I'd like to share the story of my journey
with you.
Getting Started Early
Our family got our first Dane when I was 7 years old and we had many
special Danes as I was growing up. I became very interested in the breed
and read every book I could find about Great Danes and studied the
photos carefully. I pored over the breed standard and even presented a
major report on Great Danes when I was in junior high school.
Heartbreak Alley
Before buying my own dog,
I worked as a volunteer at a county animal shelter. I worked hard to
save as many animals as I could from being euthanized. What
heartbreak to walk down that long aisle every day seeing all the
deserving dogs who would never find homes. From this experience springs
my strong commitment today to responsible (and extremely limited!)
breeding and continuing efforts to help Great Danes in need through
Dane
Outreach. I feel strongly that everyone who breeds should do rescue
work.
Due Diligence
When I was an adult finished with graduate school and settled enough to have a dog, I did a lot of
research and finally concluded that the Dane was the breed for me. I was
interested in competitive obedience, but I was worried; could a Dane do
it?
Only a Dollar more...
I called the only Dane breeder I could find that bred for
intelligence and had many Danes with obedience titles, Dr. Jean Churan,
DVM in South Elgin, Illinois. She sent me the most beautiful soul I have
ever known, my beloved Zool. Though I
purchased her 'just for obedience', while at a puppy match
one day I entered Zool in conformation (the beauty contest of the dog
world). It was only a dollar more, seemed like a good deal, right? Like so many breeders before me, with
those first fun match ribbons I was hooked. Fortunately, luck had given
me not only the obedience Dane that I hoped for, but also a quality
conformation Dane as well.
Great Dane Fever
Soon after I purchased
Zool, I also bought her half sister
Chevy. These
two lovely ladies and I competed all over the Northwest in dog sports
and volunteered our time at community and educational events. Both girls
were trained therapy dogs and we regularly visited nursing homes. I
became heavily involved in obedience training and worked as an obedience
instructor at Lilac City Dog Training Club.
Are You the Keymaster?
In September 1995, Zool had her first and only litter. The birth of
those puppies signified the beginning of my kennel, Keymaster Great
Danes. I have been so fortunate to enjoy not only the love and
companionship of some remarkable Danes, but also bring joy to the lives
of others through owning my Danes.
Making History
Keymaster Danes is one of a handful of kennels in the U.S. to not allow
ear cropping on any of its puppies.
PashN, in addition
to being the first black Dane with natural ears to earn an AKC
championship,
is the first natural ear champion to produce multiple natural ear
champions from one litter. We are now working on our third generation of
natural ear champions. I am hopeful that more breeders and exhibitors will take up the
challenge and leave the practice of ear cropping behind. |
