2010- Beginning Again
After so many years with Jake being at the
top of the Charts that included World Champion; #1 basenji; the
Canadian # 3 Hound; AKC Top Hound and Basenji, Eukanuba AOM; and
the2008 National Lure Coursing Finalist. Until recently he was the
first, and only, Canadian Grand Champion.
Jake continued his outstanding career with BOB and Group wins
at thed Sicalam, Las Americas, and Caribe shows, and capped off with
28 Canadian All-Breed Best In Show, while
Jake’s loving Madam quickly followed in his footsteps.
Jake has since been recognized as the all-time Top Canadian
Basenji, according to the national statistics published in the BCOC
and BCOA magazines.
We thought he had finally turned, as a veteran, to other pursuits than Conformation and Coursing and that the last of the Siete-Dancer pups were ready to Special. After a long-awaited breeding, between Jake and Madam, the pups arrived –lots of them. Eight to be exact. Of the eight, one crossed the Rainbow Bridge early and seven remained to grow up. The marriage of the Jake and Siete lines once again resulted in Lily-Smooch pups, now old enough to Special after having brilliant puppy careers. Siete had a second year tied for top Basenji sire with a Meisterhaus boy in the U.S.
Babe, a Jake daughter, was bred on an out-cross to Flo Havens boy,
Tex. -
this was Flo’s good eye not mine and resulted in the most
promising outcross litter I have ever seen. Flo
and I kept to play with Ch (AKC,CKC) the Ahmahr Nahr’s Lost Angel
Gabriel and BISS Ch. Ahmahr Nahr’s Hallelujah Makes a Joyful
Noise. Little Ernie
went to Reena Faire and all are showing like crazy.
The others are in show and performance homes. They
are all lovely red/eh basenjis with laser level top lines and an
elegant gate that has been described by a handler friend as like
running a “hot knife through butter.”
FC Ahmahr Nahr’s Tears of the Giraffe (Precious) had her own happy
family with Smooch- that charming Siete son from Florida, and
resulted in our little champion Ch Ahmahr Nahr’s Sweeter than
Wine, who finished her title in January at the Portland specialty
with a five (5) point major on day one.
Precious now lives with her new co-owners the Simkins’ and
“bosses” a Tilapia fingerling breeding farm near Animas, New
Mexico. She and Jack
teamed up this year to produce seven (7) red/wh pups.
Out of
the first Madam litters we kept, Africanadian Legend of Ahmahr Nahr,
a clown-like brindle boy who is out hunting that last elusive major.
Madam and Sally Wuornos
boy Sonic produced another great litter after Madam’s fall visit
to Minneapolis, tri’s and red/wh.
I will be going to Ottawa area in a few weeks to meet them
and bring back my new tri boy..
We
had a little black/white Angel visit us from Florida to meet Siete-
who worked his charms on her as easily as he has all of the rest of
the girls over the last 12 years, and a litter of tri’s and
black/whites was born. We
have our eyes on a black/white girl - Black Magic Fantasia, and a
little tri boy that is so like his daddy, nearly breaks your heart. Michelle Smith Barbour, myself, and Sergio Espejo are breeders
here and will proudly show our little Fantasia girl from the “bred
by” class - Sergio’s first effort at basenji breeding-
We were so busy this year we only got to have
Jake help get Tally and Babe QC’s in February and did not get to do
any other coursing all year. They
showed great promise and we will be out there this year. We began
working on Jake’s obedience triple title campaign and have him ready
for competition in raly and obedience.
The problem is he forgot to tell us he wanted to do his Grand
Championship. He earned his AKC CGN at the Albuquerque shows in May as the
only non-poodle entered at the Enchanted Poodle Specialty. He loves those girls with curly hair.
I
had him entered in obedience for the nationals and threw him in the
FC class for fun. Just to make sure he “had not forgotten how to show.” We
entered him in a few local shows right before that and he began to
win like crazy, getting all his Grand Championship majors and dogs
defeated with only a single or two to finish his G Ch. I
missed his obedience call at nationals due to a trial, but he won
the Field Champion class as a veteran. He
went on to repeat this as the Dual Champion winner at the Portland
Specialty in January and winner of an AOM. He
has just begun completion on his Rally titles and his obedience
titles. Oh- well, he is
“young” for obedience.
Proudly, we took six (6)
basenjis to the national, and every one of them won a placement in
regular or special classes - a rare achievement.
Michelle Smith Barbour and I were thrilled that the 2009 pups
out of Siete, Jake, Dancer and Fauna so consistently showed their
merit. Michelle even
trained a shy pup during the long weekend who has then gone on to be a
conformation winner in his new home. A very good weekend.
Jack stayed
under my direct tutelage for another year and Ryder tried his hand in
Canada. Ryder won the Canadian National in 2009.
This year, with a very limited showing, due to closure of shows
in the Canadian West for the Olympics (he did not
start showing until mid April) he became No. 1 basenji and No. 15
Hound all breed and earned a BIS with Larry Clark.
He also starred in South America.
He was the 2009 Las Americas and Caribe Ganador and the
Primitive and Spitz Group Winner under Nicolas Imbimbo, the President
of the Italian Kennel Club at the FCI section shows in Peru.
He has become a champion in Peru, and a champion and grand
champion in Puerto Rico as well as an FCI and Sicalam champion shown
by Sergio Espejo on a great trip we took to Peru.
They have 200 kinds of potatoes, you know, and we ate every one
of them on our gourmet dog show trip.
This was a most beautiful show site in downtown Asuncion, and a
water ballet park where 15 fountains danced to symphonic music while
the dogs showed - incredible. On the way to Peru, Ryder finished his AKC title with a five
(5) point major- undefeated in AKC competition.
Jack
was a Top Dog basenji in bred and group points this year in the
states. This was his
second year to be so ranked. He went BISS at the Dallas-Ft. Worth Regional Specialty, and
even held the coveted No. 1 spot for a great part of the year.
It was only our bringing the charming Halle out that lowered
his win percentage. The
choice was just too much for many judges. Nevertheless, he had a
very good year finishing – No. 5 in the states, and No. 5 in the new
G Ch race here. He was
the second basenji in the U.S. to earn this title and missed being
first by a half day. Jack
is now off to Canada for a year trying his hand at beating his
daddy’s record there. He
had a good start- His first show with Larry was a Group 2.
Tally - the last
of the Siete- Dancer girls was bred to Jake this year and in November
2010 produced a dynamite litter of red/wh and brindles- this may be
the best litter ever produced here at Ahmahr Nahr - everyone is
dynamite and have their dad’s show personality.
She is in training to do some coursing this year - I promised
her.
Gabriel,
one of our outcross pups mentioned above, finished both his CKC and
AKC titles and went on to beat both Jack and Ryder by years end.
He is an old style basenji hearkening back in appearance to the
dogs I saw when I started in this breed.
We
believe his Mom and Dad may have been the top CKC producers of titled
dogs in a litter in 2010. He
is a great representative of their finer characteristics.
He is home growing up. We
will see if he courses - I have my doubts, but I could be wrong.
Gabe so reminds me of his great uncle, Sindar, who went to the
Rainbow Bridge this year at nearly 14 years of age.
Unfortunately we had an incident here which involved several dogs, including Sindar suffering from what was believed to be a poisoning, using an organo phosphate based product. Dancer and Siete were both taken ill suddenly. At Sindar’s age and with the testing required to determine the cause he did not make it. Dancer nearly left us and is just now getting back to her old self. Siete was deathly ill but fine by the weekend - nothing like a little activated charcoal, a stomach pump and some good drugs - or so he says. He has been out running in the snow in the bitter cold here in February, having dusted off his Canadian passport and pretending he never left Larry’s yard. He spent two hours running in 5 degree weather this week and throwing snow angels - God Bless him- he is crazy.
Halle is a special girl and proved it at a very young age. Halle has
he US and Canadian Ch.
Titles- pretty instantly- she did not loose on either of these
campaigns. In the Process she
pile up multiple Puppy Best in Show in Canada and a PBISS at
Winnipeg as well as winning an adult specialty at 8 months of age-0
Manitoba Hound Club to add BISS in front of her name and qualify for the Canadian Eukanuba-
Best of the best- Top 100 contest.
Our boy Ryder also qualified.
Halle also went Best basenji Puppy at the Sicalam show in
Mexico City in the fall and placed every single day in the Spitz and
Primitive group at the Sicalam cluster.
This year again, Jake, Madam, and Jack were all qualified for
the U.S. Eukanuba National in Long Beach, however all were showing elsewhere at the time
and did not attend. Evander,
another Siete son who resides in Florida with Michelle Smith
Barbour, also qualified for the Eukanuba from the bred-by classes.
Additionally,
our old faithful, Ch. African Dharian Breka’s Kmau Shakara JC began
her journey over the Rainbow Bridge at nearly age 14. Shakara
lived with friends of ours and went tracking every day for the last
several years in the Sandia Mountains.
She developed a cancerous tumor on her liver and went for her
last track, and the next morning began tracking with Si, Buddy, Sindar
and others of her old friends in doggie heaven.
Ahmahr Nahr owes Shakara for its freedom from fanconi disease.
In the years before the availability of testing, this full
African out crossed with dogs we knew had to be at least carriers to
save us the right of breeding any sick animals.
We will always be grateful to her.
One
of Jake’s sons left this world too early Ch AKC, CKC, FCPR, PE,
Ahmahr Nahr’s Diablo left this world in Montana when he went hunting
off lead in a national park with his owner.
Another lesson that no matter how much they love you, or how
well they are trained, basenjis are not an “off lead” dog. Additionally,
a little pup from the Precious - Smooch litter was electrocuted on
clothes dryer circuit when not crated and left to play in the laundry
room- a victim of a misdirected kindness.
A beautiful dog - the top show prospect in the litter whose
life was cut so short. Hopefully Shakara has this beloved pup in hand teaching him
all the tricks he did not learn on earth at the Rainbow Bridge.
Another
year in the record books.