“Author Archive”
Stories written by AnthonyA
A longtime friend lost her husband of 30 years. A week later, her beloved Cavalier died. Her grief was beyond tears. She begged me to find a young Cavalier to ease her pain. Initially, her heart was set on adding a Blenheim to her household. My search was a failure because most Cavalier puppies were promised a forever home at Christmastide. After exhausting my contacts in the U.S. and Canada, a nearby breeder friend reached out to me. She owned a black and tan Cavalier bitch who was beautiful and structurally sound but rather small. Having recently become a widow herself, she understood my friend’s pain and decided to place little “Jackie O” with my grieving friend.
May 16th, 2026 | Posted in Current Articles,Featured | Read More »
Some of the top setups in the country share one thing in common: they have at least one live-in assistant, and if they are fortunate, they might have several assistants on the weekends. Learning how to work alongside co-workers–not only at dog shows, but also in everyday life–is an invaluable skill.
May 15th, 2026 | Posted in Uncategorized | Read More »
As I started to pen my next article, I had a very different thought in mind. But after a four day set of shows in Western Canada last week…I had an epiphany of sorts.
May 14th, 2026 | Posted in Current Articles,Featured | Read More »
Rarefied Heirs is going to take a brief detour from Rare Breeds… to Rare Talent. Andy Linton has kindly agreed to offer the fancy a few articles with his insights and recollections gained over a lifetime in our sport. It’s an exciting and humbling thing to have the opportunity to share these interviews with our readers here. I hope the writing rises to the worth of the subject.
May 13th, 2026 | Posted in Current Articles,Featured | Read More »
When you sit and watch Groups, do you pay attention to the basics of presentation? How the dog is presented is the first impression the judge gets, and often it’s not a great impression.
May 12th, 2026 | Posted in Current Articles,Featured | Read More »
We are rapidly approaching the back-to-school season, and it comes at the same time that many of our young people are looking forward to their favorite fall show circuits. This is a time for new opportunities to compete in the juniors’ ring, and a renewed focus on academics.
May 11th, 2026 | Posted in Current Articles,Featured | Read More »
Shaun Usher’s website: https://shaunusher.com/, describes him as “Professional Letter Nerd.” He has earned that title honorably. In 2009, he established a “Letters of Note” website to explore and share his fascination with other people’s letters which, he explained, consisted of “correspondence deserving of a wider audience.” And he gave them one—the site has been visited over 100 million times. This was a period in which much of life was still material, not digital, and Usher obtained letters from families, archives, books, museums, and other collections. Then he lovingly posted facsimiles to his site.
May 10th, 2026 | Posted in Current Articles,Featured | Read More »
The ‘aristocrats’ of dogdom, Afghan Hounds have a distinguished history at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, with the breed’s first and most notable Best In Show victory coming in 1957. They are known for their elegance, aloofness, exquisiteness, and wildness. Throughout history, they have been a significant status symbol, captivated aristocracy, and have been not only a pet, but a muse to the painter Pablo Picasso. If a specimen of another breed is to take on one in the show ring, it indeed takes a truly outstanding dog to be a worthy peer.
May 9th, 2026 | Posted in Current Articles,Featured | Read More »
After finishing my assignment in Ring 4, I walked over to my next ring, Ring 8. The judge in Ring 8 finished his last breed for the day, marked his book, and on the way out, saw me waiting and started a conversation. Quite excitedly, he asked if I agreed with his breed winner. I did. Well done.
May 8th, 2026 | Posted in Current Articles,Featured | Read More »
There was one weekend when I drove nearly across the country for a big dog show. I was excited. Optimistic. I thought we had a real shot. I had imagined how it might feel if everything came together after a dry spell.
May 7th, 2026 | Posted in Current Articles,Featured | Read More »
