As
a youngster, I had a way of attracting every stray dog
in the neighborhood. I guess it was inevitable that
after our children were mostly grown, I would become
hooked on this wonderful breed of dog-the Silky Terrier.
I
had my beginnings in Silky Terriers in Northern California
in 1989. My foundation was a Jenini bitch, named Ch.
Jenini's Kat Dancer (Mara). She was awesome and my mentoring
group was strong--many wonderful knowledgeable people
in the San Francisco Bay area.
1991
brought a change to Shalee Silkys, we moved to the Oklahoma
City area. In the mid-90's I acquired a young Silky
bitch named Tawny Mist Once Bitten (Bits) from friend,
Lana Thomas, and began my relationship with Donna Renton,
Tawny Mist. Through my partnership / mentoring with
Tawny Mist, we had many successes together.
Our
first breeding was to Ch Marina's Houston, ROMX, which
produced International & American Champions; i.e.,
Am Can Champion Tawnymist Shalee Galveston (Gage), #2
Silky in Canada 2 years in a row. While Gage was living
in Canada with Dianne Miller (Cygnus) he sired the very
first Canadian-bred Silky to go Best in Show in Canada,
Ch Cygnus My Captive Heart (Kramer). Gage's sister,
Am Int'l Ch Tawnymist Shalee del Rio, has produced multiple
Group placers as well.
Our
second litter, bred to Ch Marina's Tawnymist C Quest,
produced the sensational record breaking Multi Ch Shalee
Tawnymist Royal Silk, ROMX. Roy's litter sister, Ch
Tawnymist Shalee Cool Silk is also a producer of BIS
and multiple Group placers. Roy's grandfather, Ch Lucknow
Local Talent (CiCi), was the Record Holder for the Silky
Terrier breed at that time for All Breed BIS. Under
the Professional Handling and care of Barbara Beissel,
Roy broke his Grandfather CiCi's BIS record on the weekend
of May 2, 1999, in Seward, NE. Roy and Barbara went
on to win 20 All Breed Bests in Show, 2 National Specialty
wins, Group 1 in the Terrier Group at the World Show
in Mexico City, and 2 Group 2's at Westminster Kennel
Club in NYC. Roy retired from his Specials Career in
February 2000, after winning his 2nd Group 2 at Westminster.
Roy has offspring who are among the Top Terriers in
Europe from the well-known kennel of Curiosity Silky
Terriers, Finland-and also now a top Toy dog in Australia,
Aus Ch Curiosity Royal Edition (Rory), owned by James
Camac, Balkana Silky Terriers.
Ch
Tawnymist Shalee Stok Option (IRA) was bred by Tawny
Mist, and I am proud to own him w/ Barbra Anderson,
Fort Worth, Texas, and have him at stud. He is a wonderful
dog and has been in the Top 3 of the Silky Terrier Breed
for 2000, 2001& 2002. Stok Option (IRA) was handled
by Brian Livingston and was assisted by Kirsten McGregor
for most of his career, then assisted by Veronica Valentine.
I have known Kirsten for some time--she assisted Barbara
Beissel, PHA, in the conditioning/care/handling of Royal
Silk during his campaign and is a special young lady.
Brian and Kirsten showed IRA to his fullest and Kirsten
had him conditioned and groomed to perfection. I am
proud to call them friends. Kirsten McGregor is now
a handler in her own right and is starting the year
2003 on her own. We wish her all the success she so
rightfully deserves, she has worked hard to get to this
point.
IRA
also produced the beautiful multiple Group placer Ch
Shalee's Bejewelled who was #1 Silky Terrier Bitch for
2001. Jewel brought me the friendship/partnership of
a special young woman, Angela Smith, Blackrange Kennels.
Angela handles Terriers and so it is no surprise that
that is what she likes best about the Silkys-their personalities,
their fire. She is outstanding in the way she conditions,
grooms and shows them and has great success in the show
ring with the Silkys. 2003 will bring the Silkys Angela
and I have co-bred into the ring, and we are very excited
about them.
I
am honored to have so many valuable friendships around
the world. 2002 was exciting at Shalee and brought changes.
2002 brought the addition of Australian Ch. Balkana
Special Edition-Eddie is delightful, a real Silky clown,
and has many wonderful qualities which should incorporate
well into my line; I co-own Eddie with Angela Smith,
who finished Eddie to his AKC Title in 2002. Thank you
so much to friend James Camac, Balkana Silky Terriers,
Australia, for this wonderful boy.
Also,
arriving at Shalee in the spring of 2002 was another
youngster-this one from Finland! We are really excited
about this boy. He is Curiosity Touch of Shalee (Beta),
another Roy son. Thank you so much to friends Kristina
& Pia Heinonen, Curiosity Silky Terriers for this
outrageous boy. Our challenge with Beta is his "natural
tail" - the tails are docked in the US. Some judges
excuse him, some judges let him show but won't place
him, AND some judges just judge him-he has had some
nice wins and is worthy to be an AKC Champion-I am proud
to say he attained his AKC Championship with all major
points and 1 single. He is a beautiful boy of wonderful
quality and a joy to show. Watch for Beta's offspring
in a ring near you.
Here
in Oklahoma, (Guthrie actually) I am an original member
of the Central Oklahoma Toy Dog Club having served as
a Board Member, a Secretary for years and am currently
Vice President. I am also a member of the Silky Terrier
Club of America, holding membership since 1991.
Shauna
Jones, Guthrie, Oklahoma
