THE FURKEEPS STORY...My love affair with Old English Sheepdogs started as a kid...I must have watched all the Shaggy Dog movies 1000 times. I loved anything with that much hair. My dad was an avid sportsman, so we had the obligatory Labs and then a Brittany. So, no masses of hair for me to brush until after I got married.

In 1976 after college, Jeff and I married and one week after we moved into or first home I began my search for a dog. A litter of Old English Sheepdogs were advertised in our local paper and I bought the last male puppy. Super Dog, as I named him, became my teacher and best friend. He was a typical sweet, stubborn OES. We dabbled in obedience and I joined the local OES club and attended a few matches and club meetings. Yes, I was bitten by the dog show bug. Of course, my next step was to start looking for a show quality dog. You see, my beloved SD was deemed "pet quality" by several in the know OES people. I was told he did not have enough coat...I could not believe it, as I kept him in full coat and it seemed like plenty of work to me.

Lonestar Kennels sold me a lovely female and after breeding her to CH. To-Jo's Matinee Performance, I had my foundation bitch, Trixie, CH. Flashfire Premiere Performer. That was four generations ago!

We do not breed very often, but when we do, we strive to breed for the complete package–soundness in temperament and body!

I absolutely love to show, but hauling and grooming is becoming more of a challenge as I get older. So, the most logical thing seemed for me to find a smaller dog. A wash and wear, show and go dog. I have always loved French Bulldogs and one day the stars aligned and we were able to bring CH. Madaka's It Takes A Thief "Dizzy" into our lives. We thank Mary and Darryl Kaiser for sharing him with us.

Thus you have the story of FURKEEPS OES and Frenchies!

Jan Rolfe

PS. Our dogs are all named using a movie or musical theme. Our "Ethel Merman" is "No Biz Like ShowBiz" and "Dizzy" is named after "Dizzy Gillespie" in honor of his big cheeks!

FURKEEPS jrolfe@wi.rr.com ®FURKEEPS 2008 • Site Created, Designed & Maintained by KathyDV.com