Blyss Kennels

Home to Beautiful Borzois in the Watchung Mountains in Mountainside, New Jersey

Paris

Life today at Blyss Kennels. After a hiatus.

For the last two years, I needed to work because, sadly, I needed the money.   However, working did not help my finances much, especially the last year when I worked in a very fancy department store with beautiful clothes and jewelry.  I am a girl with a spending disorder, and it kicked in while I was there.  I had to quit that job and I decided to address my cash shortages by closely examining my spending patterns and I found many “mistakes”.  Still, I have financial obligations that are considerable and challenging.  Not having a borzoi at this time will help keep me on the path to becoming more financially sound.  But I have made the decision to attend the Borzoi National Specially this year because I can drive to get to it, and that is a good thing.

I thought about moving to southern Delaware but after a long consideration, realized I could not do it.  I could not leave my home, and did not want to be far from NY City where my son and his family live.  I have a baby grand-daughter now whom I adore.  I am trying to be happy in the here and now, content that what I have is good, just as it is, that I have accomplished a lot, and have every right to be happy.  But the real reason is I could not leave my home in Mountainside, or the beautiful Watchung Reservation that borders it where our lives, Bob’s and mine, with our borzoi was lived.

Before deciding not to move, I set about cleaning out boxes and files in the garage and attic.  There, I found many items of interest, including my borzoi books, magazines, BCOA Yearbooks with photographs of Blyss Kennels borzoi, and many figurines.  I have decorated my house with the figurines and pictures, many of which are beautifully framed.  Going through my files, I found all of the correspondence with Karen Staudt-Cartabona of Majenkir Borzoi, the owner of the stud dog for Mikhailya’s litter, that I had done over the years, especially those written during the summer of 2008, prior to breeding Mikhailya.  They were long emails, pouring my heart out to her, about how I felt about Mikhailya, and why I wanted her to be bred.  Then, I found the email telling her about the birth of the puppies, and how splendid a puppy Magnus was, about his “greatness” even as a newborn!  After that,  I found a file about “Raynbo”, the kennel of Roni and Jennifer Zucker, from whom we got Paris and then Opal.  There were photos of visits to their home: club events, a Match show,  picnics, private invitations.  I was overwhelmed.  Tears flowed……  So much is gone now or different: Roni is dying in a nursing home; Jennifer has to work outside of her home and kennel; Bob is dead; I am old and frail; all of the borzoi of those days are all dead.  Nothing is as it was.  Although reviewing these materials left me feeling  overwhelmed, I was so grateful to have saved and found it all again.

 

 

 

 

 

Blyss Kennel: Gratitude and Reminisces, Champion Dog Tresor

I had not mentioned in any previous postings that when I placed “Tresor” in March 2011, he only needed three points to complete his Champion Dog title. This was part of the reason I always thought of him and later, wished to have him back. I always felt connected to this special borzoi and never gave up on the possibility that someday, somehow, that would be accomplished. With his sudden return in July 2015, that possibility could be realized.

However, accomplishing this title was a team effort. Two very dear and close friends (Jennifer and Roni Zucker of Raynbo Borzoi), assisted me with the work of completing his title; as did Frances Wright of Bibikov Kennels, his very talented handling instructor, Stacey LaForge-Gross, and his trainer, Nick Valentino. So, it was a group effort, not to mention the day in and day out work of caring for him, a great deal of which is done by my boyfriend, LT.

“Tresor” earned his Champion Dog title during the following events and under the following judges:

8/28/2015: Newton Kennel Club, Winner’s Dog and Best Opposite (1 point)

(Mrs. Janet Lobb)

8/29/2015: Newton Kennel Club, Winner’s Dog (1 point) (Mr. Houston Clark)

8/30/2015 Sussex Kennel Club, Winner’s Dog, & Best of Winners (2 points)

(Mr. Hal Bierman)

My special thank you goes to Mrs. Janel Lobb, Mr. Houston Clark, and Mr. Hal Bierman for recognizing the quality of my borzoi, “Tresor”.

I am overjoyed for these accomplishments for “Tresor”. Yet today, I reminisce.

I think of “Tresor”’s great dam, CD Majenkir My Ksar Mikhailovna, “Mikhailya”, whom my husband loved so much and she him. I remember how she grieved for him when he died, and had to live another two years with me and was not happy.

I remember the cruel day I had to give up “Tresor”. And then, I sent “Paris” away too.

There were so many hard things like that I had to do and do alone, over and over again. After a while, I felt nothing anymore.

Today, it is strange how so many very sad, terrible things have gone away into the past like last autumn’s leaves. I think how wonderful it would be if “Mikhailya” had lived longer to see “Tresor” return to Blyss. “Mikhailya” herself was a Champion, and I hope somewhere, somehow, she too knows her much loved son earned his Champion Dog title today. I hope somewhere else in the universe of time my husband knows “Tresor” came home in July and that he finished his title. Yet we must accept life on its terms and we shall never know. The universe is very grand and mysterious, and it is not for us to understand how it works. Therefore all of these strange and diverse things are possibilities. Most importantly of all, Tresor came home.

 

 

Blyss Tresor, a new life

Although not totally unexpected, it still came as a surprise when I got  the txt from Tresor’s family that they were returning him to me.  It was the same as it was on Christmas Eve in December 2011 when they asked if they could return Paris, who had also gone to live with them in March 2011.  Of course I said yes and  yes again.  Now my real work begins.  It will entail finding a good behavioral dog trainer, someone with certification and experience, in dealing with the issues that make Treasor a difficult dog to own, especially in the suburbs.  I am optimistic such a person can be found and although it may be a long  process, he can live a happy life with us.

I have reached out to my usual mentors, (N5, N7, N24, and N29) and each had their own insights into what I should do,  reflecting their own unique philosophies in handling borzoi.   There is no shortage of opinions here.  I will follow my own style, based on the mentor with whom I most agree in this area, whose advice was based on a trainer educated in the field of animal behavior modification and  dog training certification.   I would have hoped his affluent and very well educated human “family” would have been motivated to do this for him, but they did not.  They loved him for his looks, not realizing in the beginning how difficult an accessory an unhappy borzoi could become to live with.