For one borzoi, from a small hobby kennel who has been away for four years to be so lauded on Facebook for winning his championship title with so many congratulations and well wishes, I am stunned and besides myself with joy. Who ever said that Facebook “Friends” were not really “friends”. I can prove otherwise.
Today, we are passing a happy day at home, reading even more congratulatory notes on Facebook, answering email messages, and just being happy.
If saying “Thank you” was enough, I would say it. It’s not enough, but it is all I can say. Today, I will break my rule about not mentioning my friends, breeders’ and mentors’ names, because they are so obvious and deserve mention.
For those who replied to Jennifer Zucker’s (Raynbo Borzoi, Reg.) post on Facebook yesterday, I am absolutely overwhelmed by your enthusiasm for Tresor. However, none of this would have been possible without the generosity of spirit and years of mentoring by Karen Staudt-Cartabona, (Majenkir Borzoi, Reg.). It began in 2003. Bob and I had bought our first borzoi, “Casanova”, Lara’s River of Dreams. Shortly thereafter, Karen invited us to visit her home and kennel, “Majenkir” . She said she had a borzoi selected for us. (See: https://blysskennels.us/our-dogs/mikhailya/index.html).
To our delight, Karen actually sold us a bitch she called “Mikhailya”. Her excellence and quality was beyond standard measurement and she quickly became a Champion. She was the jewel of our hearts and home. There is nothing more to be said to describe her. It was this bitch, “Mikhailya”, who was the dam of “Tresor”.
I want to acknowledge again, as I have done so many times, the debt I owe to Karen for her many gifts of wisdom over the years. Without her, I would not be as learned about this breed as I am. All of us around her, whether they want to admit it or not, owe her a great debt, not only in wisdom but in good, sound blood lines in their kennels. That will endure long after she is gone, which I hope is not for a very long, long time. So, if “Tresor” won his Champion Dog Title yesterday, I say Thank You to Karen for having faith in two very naïve dog owners in 2003 who had recently purchased only one borzoi. She thought we had what it took to care for her young bitch, “Mikhailya”.