The Beagles I have owned in the last 26 plus years have taught me how to become a more patient person and given me total loyalty and devotion. My "Amazing Grace" helped me get through the most difficult times in my life. Sometimes I think these wonderful dogs of mine were heaven sent. I am not sure what I may have become without my sons and my many loyal and always loving dogs. The one constant I have had in my life has been my dogs. I thoroughly love working with dog owners and teaching them to "teach" their dogs. We share a common interest, our dogs and our affection for them. I believe people that care deeply for their dogs are better people for it with a larger capacity for caring.

BRANDI OF BRIARHAVEN

     The first Beagle I owned came into my life in 1981. She was nine months old and we were already the third home she had known. She was purchased as a hunting dog but never quite got the Beagle hunting thing down. I decided to investigate her pedigree and discovered she had been bred from show lines. Her bloodlines traced back to some of the top Beagle show lines in the country. Brandi's Grandfather was "The Whim's Buckeye" one of, if not the top producing Beagle Sire of Champions ever. She was beautiful, very intelligent and very determined to have things her way if she could. She never had a great nose for tracking and learned to cheat. She did try to hunt simply for the fun of the game. If it was a bitterly cold day, the tracking was more difficult. She would run to any gun shots she heard along with a pack of hunting Beagles as she understood it would be easy to get a rabbit that way! If she didn't see anyone she knew, after a while she would find the nearest house and run up to the door to scratch on it until someone answered. It was as if she knew a house would be warm, nobody could say no to those huge eyes and her collar Id would get her back to us.

    Brandi's escapades were part of the reason I decided to breed for show lines, trainability and sell my Beagles strictly as house pets not to be hunted. Brandi was a great problem solver. Her hunting career came to an end soon and I was given sole ownership of her. I had one of her pups in the house by then as my house dog. Brandi's daughter Greta convinced me Beagles were the absolute best dogs for children. Her unending patience for my toddlers hair pulling, grabbing and nagging never seemed to end. When she was sure she could take no more she would run to me and climb under my legs as if to ask me for relief from this small bundle of two legged trouble. I would remove the ornery toddler and was thanked with kisses and wagging tail.

    One of my children at the age of 2 decided to open the front door of our home while I was on another floor of the house tending to the laundry. Greta followed my young son as he wandered out the door. I was searching the woods thinking the dog would have naturally headed to the wood or field, when in fact Greta remained with my exploring toddler and followed him instead. Fortunately a neighbor spotted them both. Greta would not get in the car with the neighbor. I retrieved her a bit later. Another time a neighbor's Cocker Spaniel had decided to run into our yard after my son. This particular dog had temperament problems. Grace had been tied out near the children. I have no idea how but she managed to get loose and intercept the Cocker and I believe save my young son from suffering a dog bite. She sent the dog scampering back to it's own yard. Unfortunately a few years later this same Cocker Spaniel did manage to bite Kyle.

    Our Beagles have always been loyal and attached to my children. For this reason, I decided to name our kennel after my sons' Kyle and Lee. Since Greta and Brandi had come into my life as well as Greta's brother Zeke I knew there was no equal in any breed with all of the positive aspects of owning a Beagle. They seem to have a sense of humor about things. They are loyal dogs to family members. They enjoy the simple living of life every day. They never reacted with aggressiveness to any family member, child or visitor we had. Their small size was absolutely perfect for the youngest children and ease of handling. Their problem solving skills are at times unbelievable. I have witnessed Beagles cooperating more than once for a common goal. Beagles actually enjoy and thrive on having other canine family members. They need very little grooming other than keeping those wonderful ears clean and compared to most purebreds they have fewer genetic health problems. They do love to eat and for many owners this can prove to be a problem. Your Beagle will still love you even if you don't share your dinner! And watch those snacks. Beagles are great thieves!

     In spite of what some may think, the Beagles' intelligence often finds them outsmarting the owner. Any Beagle owner that believes their dog is not bright or is difficult to train has been outwitted by their own Beagle. Honestly, who bothers to try to train a not so bright dog? Exactly! This is the reason I began breeding and training Beagles to excel in obedience training. Brandi came into my life in 1981. Since that time, I have never entertained the thought of breeding anything other than Beagles. I have trained approximately 3,000 or more dogs of all breeds at this point in my life, and I am more convinced than ever that I have the most wonderful dogs in the world. Every dog I own goes back to Brandi... my "Brandi of Briarhaven".

     **Grace was sired by Ch. Echo Run Jumping Jack Flash. Most of the dogs I have now are Grace's sons, daughters and Grandkids. Grace was bred to Ch. Echo Run Frolicsome Fella several times over the years. I kept

many of their pups to establish a truly solid quality type of Beagle   Brandi was Grace's Great Grandmother. Most of Brandi's bloodlines went back to the Whim and Teloca blood lines. Both sides of my dogs' pedigrees go back to Ch. The Whim's Buckeye
 

     One of our dogs "Samantha's Gift Of Grace CDX" was featured in a Public Television Station ITV Series called "Secrets Of Sherlock". Filmed in 1993,  the show was developed to help children in Ohio with the proficiency tests. It aired in both elementary schools as well as on channel 45/49. It was voted one of the most favored educational shows by the teachers using the programming that year. Our "Grace" auditioned against many other dogs from Northeastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania to win the starring role in this educational TV series. Grace worked off leash in the city of Akron as well as in Akron Airport, Cleveland Metro Parks and in many surrounding locations throughout the Youngstown, Akron and Cleveland areas.

      As past Public Education Coordinator for the Mahoning Shenango Kennel Club, a member AKC All Breed Club, we went to schools, clubs and organizations speaking and giving demonstrations to educated adults and children on responsible dog ownership. Grace is no longer with us, but her Grandchildren go on to demonstrate the ease of training and intelligence passed on to them every day.

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