beginning with Ruby I knew the day would come that my Labrador breeding would come to an end.  I didn’t expect it to be now. I thought I would have a few more years.  My dogs made the decision for me.  In some ways, that made it easier. I’m too long

    With the corona virus scare, the Cat Fanciers Association has cancelled all shows through the end of May. Wow. I took a look at my calendar and deleted all the shows I had planned.  No dog judging assignments or cat shows for the next 2.5 months! I thought about what I will do

Anyone that follows my limited Labrador Retriever breeding program knows I was unsuccessful in producing the much anticipated litter from Bling in 2018. I tried again in spring 2019, again with no luck. After that, I made an appointment with a reproduction veterinarian to check her out. She had an ultrasound, a culture, and blood

  All my animals get yearly checkups. Yes, I see them at home on a daily basis. But, I make it a point to haul them into the hospital every year for a physical examination. I put on my doctor hat and look at their teeth, check their ears, listen to their heart, etc. I

I just came back from the 2019 Cat Fanciers’ Association  International show in Cleveland, Ohio. It was an epic event.  Hundreds of beautiful pedigreed cats, rescue cats available for adoption, celebrity cats for meet and greets (think Farrah Pawcett) , tons of vendors, a cat costume contest, educational seminars, and entertainment by the Savitsky cats

The email came today. It’s an important one for me. I was notified that I am now an American Kennel Club judge of Labrador Retrievers. It’s been an ongoing process for the last two years. I began showing Labradors in 1996. Since then, I’ve competed in conformation, field, obedience and rally. My dogs have earned

Pixi Stix's 2018-2019 regional trophies   Every June, it’s time for the big event.  Cat show people gather  to celebrate the previous season. This year the NAR ( North Atlantic Region) chose to hold the event in Cromwell, Connecticut. It’s further away than I generally travel, but, my Pixi Stix was getting two

        My sweet twenty-one month old CFA Grand Champion iCandy Jelly Belly was due for her first litter this week. Her due date was Tuesday. Monday morning she was acting a bit different and went in the nesting box , joining another litter of kittens and their mother. By two PM she

    The last half of the 2013/2014 cat show season was busy six months for me at the cat shows. I missed the first half of the season, but then took out my Grand Champion, Kaerik Canterbury Nougat as a premier. Premier is the category at cat shows that is made up of the

  a crate can be a nice place to nap too!   Most of us wear seat belts in the car. At least, I know I do. How much thought do you put into the safety of your pets in the car? With any luck, nothing will happen, but what if there is

Some years back, I took RagaMuffins Ganache and Nougat to a photo shoot  for litter packaging. I checked regularly to see if the litter was out and was just about ready to give up. Then, I saw litter packaging that had two cats similar in looks to mine with a similar background as our photo

It was my pleasure to be invited to judge at the Berks County Kennel Club match shows today. Once again, I had the opportunity to examine more than just Labradors. I judged the sporting group along with Best in Match in the morning. The afternoon brought with a second match. In this match, I judged

    It was a good weekend at the cat show in the Philadelphia area. My eighteen month old RagaMuffin Jelly Belly was very close to earning her CFA Grand Championship after her last show. Her career had picked up speed recently and she had earned quite a few points in the last couple of

  As I do most nights, last night I was sitting in the den on my computer waiting for time to feed the horses. My youngest RagaMuffin Sugar Daddy went running across the room looking up. Another cat did the same. I looked up as well, knowing that it was probably going  to be something

Last weekend was a typical cat show weekend for the most part. I took my kitten Sugar Daddy for his first time being judged. He was nervous Saturday morning. But, as the day wore on, he learned that it was fun being handled by judges and even decided to go up the pole for a

I had the pleasure of judging the sporting dogs at the Lehigh Valley Kennel Club match today. It was the first time I have judged anything other than Labradors (or much earlier in my life, horses). And, yes, on Super Bowl Sunday, dog lovers take their dogs to a competition or simply pack up the

Living with a RagaMuffin is like living with a breathing, squishy, silky throw pillow. While they do have a playful side, their favorite pastime is, well, hanging out. They like nothing better than being petted and loved on. My first show cat GC GPD RW BW Kaerik Canterbury Nougat is a wonderful example of the

A lot of people don't know this about me, but I was once a serious horse person. I rode horses for most of my life. In high school I was a hard working competitor. I loved to ride and train my horse as well as others. I managed to hang on to the horse world

  My dogs have a history of surprising me. Sometimes it is by doing something to prove they are not perfect. The couch in my den has examples of that. My youngest, Bangle, has had more access to that piece of furniture without supervision than she should have. The chewed cushions are proof of that.