Come on Robin!
Robin! Please tell the story of how you got into show/breeding and how you became a Master Groomer!
Oh my, I almost missed this message. You're putting me on the spot Polly.
My first cocker I acquired when I was 16. I initially wanted to get into showing at that age and that puppy entered a match show here in town and won his class. However, the dog club that put on that match was somewhat snobby to me and being as young as I was, it hurt my feelings. It wasn't until after I was married when I went to another dog club meeting and unfortunately things hadn't changed much. The same people seemed to still be in charge. At the time I felt like it was a lost cause to get into showing so I set out to breed. After some time, I discovered I wanted something more than what was being offered in my area both by myself and other breeders locally. I ended up scrapping what I had and petted them out with the exception of one, whom I still own, Cookie(spayed).
In 2003, I lost 50 pounds on Weight Watchers so I set out wanting to show again. I went looking on the internet for a show dog, had always wanted a brown one, and low and behold, I found one for sale in Oklahoma. He was sold to me a a show prospect at 7 months old. I named him Stormy. I put most of his single points on myself as well as one major. We learned together. His last major and last two points for his Championship were put on him by a good friend and mentor of mine, Lisa Bowers.
My kennel name is derived from my first cocker's name, Beau, and my first "real" showdog, Stormy, thus StormBeau.
Both Cookie and Stormy are registered therapy dogs through Therapy Dog Incorporated.
As far as my National Certified Master Groomer cert? I love challenges and I'm the only one in the northern half of Oklahoma to acquire it. It took me 4 years to get it testing once a year as the closest place to do testing was in Kansas City, MO. You see, Oklahoma doesn't require a groomer to be certified. It was something I just wanted for me, once again, to make myself better.
