We are lucky enough to live surrounded by fields in the Suffolk countryside where dog walks are a plenty. I work from home so am fortunate that our dogs are never left on their own. We are also lucky in that we have a huge garden too, which is put to good use as you can imagine.

For as long as I can remember I have always been animal mad, we were brought up with a variety of pets, a shed full of rabbits & guinea pigs who were bred and shown, cats who had a few litters between them and not forgetting Nicky the budgie!

However the one animal I always longed for was a dog. I can't count how many times I begged mum to get one and every birthday it was top of my list! My dream was realised when I was 10 years old & mum finally bought home a Cavalier from a local breeder. Callie was a sweet dog and once she was old enough we took her back to her breeder to be mated. She had 8 pups, one of which we kept, Jem.

After we lost Callie the house was too quiet with only one dog so we set about finding a new pup. There was no question on what breed it would be, an Irish Setter. So, research was done and we found the Kirkavagh Kennel. What a wonderful breeder and wonderful dogs, we are so thankful we found Linda and her gang. In August 2003 Layla came home. As a puppy she was a naughty little thing but we loved her regardless. She grew up into the most wonderful dog you could ever wish to have, she was beautiful as well as being perfectly behaved, we are so lucky to have had her and thank Linda for letting us non showing folk take one of her special pups home.

Sadly, we lost Jem the next year so again we set about researching some breeds. We decided on an Australian Shepherd as at this point I was interested in obedience. We found a litter near Cambridge which was due a few weeks later. Luckily there was a Red Tri bitch available and 2 months later Tia came home with us.

Since buying Layla I got interested in showing as was always looking up how her breeder and her relatives had done at various shows.
I remember visiting Crufts when I was about 11 and being in awe of those lucky people being able to show their own dogs and wishing one day I may just be lucky enough to set foot on that green carpet myself.
So, I thought it was about time for another pup and this time I thought I could perhaps dabble in showing. As explained on Ava's page I decided on a Spinone. What can I say about Ava, she was such a sweet girl, never did anything wrong. She was not the most outgoing of dogs and was always happiest asleep on her bed. I thank my lucky stars that I found this special breed.
Since getting Ava my leisure time soon changed completely. I now spend most weekends at dog shows, my weeknights at either ringcraft or obedience classes and my car has rather more miles on the clock than it used to!

September 2008 & I was looking forward to the end of the year when I could hopefully bring a brown roan girl home with me. I was wishing the time away as I hate waiting & not knowing what the Mum would produce. However all that changed when I saw a picture of this gorgeous brown pup posted on an online group I belong to. Thinking nothing of it I emailed these pictures to a friend jokingly saying I am so tempted by her. The reply I got was that she was stunning and I should go for it. A few days later off we went up North and upon seeing Maya we just could not leave her there. She is my best friend, my true "heart dog" and I couldn't be without her - best decision I've ever made.

April 2011 and along comes Spinone number 3! I've always longed for another Sh Ch Uma baby and the wait was a long one. After the pups were born, what seemed like years, but was in fact weeks, my sister and I went over for a visit. How adorable they all were, I could not decide which was my favourite. A few more weeks went by and eventually the date had arrived to go collect our new addition. Even when I arrived there was lots of umm-ing and arr-ing over the two girls, but Nora it was and I made the right decision for sure.

Time for a fourth Spinone beckoned and along came my stunningly beautiful Isla. Isla wasn't planned, I'd actually wanted another Brown Roan however when I heard about this litter how could I resist?! I was lucky enough to have second choice after the breeders and knew straight away I wanted Isla, or "Purple Girl" as she was then. She has had an amazing show career, I still can't believe all she has won, she's a star & loves showing!

2020 arrived & I found myself in the position of having space & love for 8 new paws. Finally it was time to fulfil a dream and bring a Picardy Sheepdog (Berger Picard) into the family. Margot arrived from Denmark in February and settled in straight away, like she'd always been here.