I have loved and shared my life with several Rhodesian Ridgebacks since 1992. It all started when my then-husband Chris decided it was time to get a dog. We spent hours reading a dog encyclopedia trying to come to a consensus on what breed would be best for us. We were having little luck agreeing until we came upon the Rhodesian Ridgeback. As we read about the breed it was an instant agreement. And the rest is history. I was hooked. Our first two ridgebacks were Bushman and Zulu. Later when I was on my own, I added Bantu and we had a 3 dog pack for many years. As they passed on I added Ema who was an owner-surrender/rescue. All of my ridgebacks were pure bred and registered with the AKC but came from a variety of different kennels and breeders. With all of my first RRs I was busy working and traveling the world and my dogs were part of the family who were here when I came home, loved me unconditionally and snuggled with me incessantly. But I was not active in the show world nor in performance activities.

Then in 2006 when Ema and I were ready to add another dog to the pack we were fortunate to find Mike and Lisa Patterson and Tigris RR who entrusted me to become one of their ‘puppy homes’. They educated me about conformation and performance events and a whole new world opened up. Mike showed Kanzu in conformation all the way to his championship and they encouraged us to become active in lure coursing and agility. In spite of all my years of experience with Ridgebacks I came to realize that I had never truly appreciated the versatility of the breed. Over my journey from a loving pet owner to the partner of an accomplished performance dog, I continue to marvel at the versatility and the unique quirks of the breed. Every day and every activity are learning experiences and I continue to gain respect and appreciation for this amazing breed of ‘African Treasures’.  In 2012 I took the next step in my Ridgeback journey when we added a Kanzu-son, Kuyu, to our pack.

As I continue my journey with my own dogs and with the breed in general, I am committed to improving the health and temperament of the breed for the future. I am a member of the Rhodesian Ridgeback Club of the US (RRCUS) http://www.rrcus.org and I wholeheartedly support the RRCUS code of ethics http://www.rrcus.org/club/clubinfo/COE.pdf