Friends of mine owned a brown
hairy dog who was afraid of flies - he used to jump on my knee as soon as
one came into the room! I often took him for walks on Clapham Common. He
was afraid of heavy traffic and we kept well away from the main roads crossing the common. We thought he was a mongrel but I wanted a dog like
him once I had a place of my own. By that time I discovered he must have
been a Beardie.
I bought my first Beardie, Rudbekia from Davealex in 1974. Becky was a
highly intelligent dog and a real character. I learnt a great deal from
living with Becky. My first show Beardie came a few years later - Romalia
Rochelle at Braddabrook. Della was an absolute darling, having a very
sweet nature and a constant desire to please, while Becky continued to
dominate the Household for 17 years.
Becky and Della were my foundation
stock and for a number of years the lines remained separate. Della's
first litter to Ch Sunbree Sorcerer produced Braddabrook Fluffin at
Beardievale. Five years later her daughter Miggy, Ellas Imogen at
Braddabrook, also became a champion. Five years later her son, Braddabrook OneinaMillion, was 'made up' hence giving me three
generations of Champions. As you can gather from this my lines are slow
to mature, but once there, they are stayers, Miggy winning the reserve
Challenge Certificate and Reserve Best in Show at the EBCA Ch show when
she was 10 and a half years old and at 12 years she was runner up in
the final of the veteran stakes at City of Birmingham having won the
stakes on a working day.
Braddabrook Botzaris at
Fraglestone has both Becky and Della's lines behind him. He was
from the first
litter which truly brought the two lines together. Della's son Mawgan,
being his father, while his mother descended from a mixture of Davealex,
Willowmead, Kimrand and Charncroft.
Braddabrook Beardies live 'en
famile' with quite a few Cavaliers and two Miniature Wirehaired
Dachshunds. They go to the sea in winter when all the tourists have gone
home and have their own field for daily exercise throughout the year.
They are not kennel dogs, but family, except when the bitches are in
season, and have full range of their large dog garden, house garden and
house downstairs. I have to admit that six sleep upstairs too.
At Braddabrook, Beardies are
largely line bred and I am fortunate that I started with the two bitches
from different stock, both sound in body and steady of temperament. I am
also fortunate that the dogs I used in those early days, Ch Sunbree
Sorcerer, Ch Kimrand Simon and the Edenborough and Charncroft lines, built
up stock where construction and movement is sound and not exaggerated
and temperament steady. Later I used Ch Wellknowe Crofter, again a dog
much admired for these reasons and Ch Wellknowe Hill Scout, who had Ch
Charncroft Cavalade and Champion Osmart Bonnie Blue Braid behind him. In
those days my Della line went back to Ch Edenborough Blue Bracken - is it
any wonder I have bred quite a few blues in my time?
