Well, we have good and bad news! Good news is that Gracie is expecting a small litter - she is high-risk, so we are hoping she will hang on to them through full term. The bad news is that Olivia is not expecting this time. No one ever said that breeding is easy! But, we keep moving. So, our next breeding is in March. Allie, our newest champion pictured below, is being bred to a really beautiful Irish boy. And, we will also be breeding our lovely Luna (pictured on our “Girls” page) to a lovely triple Champion - UK, AKC and CKCSC - in March as well!!
About Us
We have always been dog lovers, having grown up on a farm in Michigan, but we went many dog-less years due to work schedules and small children in the house. But, when my son Andrew was 11, we felt he was ready for a dog. We researched different breeds, and settled on the Cavalier because of their beauty, gentle temperament and manageable size.
We had no idea that our first Cavalier - Don Diego De La Vega, or "Diego" - would start us on our journey into showing and breeding these extraordinary dogs. We had Diego about two weeks and we knew we needed another one. Diego was a puppy mill dog, and we realized right away that despite his sweet personality that he was not what we'd imagined - so we began our search for a show breeder and found them in Texas. Once we found "Sophie", our love of this breed was solidified.
My father bred prize cattle on the farm, so it was only natural that I began to think about showing Sophie. After a year, we found a trainer and handler for her, who showed Sophie with some success. We became acquainted with Scott Sommer, a BIS handler and Westminster winner, and he showed Sophie to her Championship and a national ranking! We were hooked!
What has ensued since then is careful breeding, with new dogs introduced into our group from time to time, and a slow but sure progression into showing our own home-bred dogs. We love the English look in our Cavaliers, and strive to improve upon all aspects of the dogs in each breeding - health, temperament and conformation. We are blessed with these small family members and are grateful for their success in the show ring and the recognition they have received.
We moved to Johns Island a few years ago to provide more space for the dogs to run and play. Johns Island is next to Kiawah Island a little bit south of Charleston, SC. Johns Island is where most of the area's horses are stabled, and there are several show kennels here as well. Its a lovely location for us and our dogs!
Our News
Breeder of Merit
Last fall we were honored by the AKC with the designation of Breeder of Merit. What this means is that we are an ethical breeder, doing all of the recommended (and more) health testing for all of our dogs, make sure that all of our puppies are properly registered and that we have shown a number of our dogs to their championships. We have worked hard for this recognition and try every single day to raise the best puppies possible in every way - health, conformation and temperament!
Grand Champion - Laurelwind Mockingbird Irish Blessing
I can't believe I never posted this before! Last summer we gained our third Grand Champion, Laurelwind Mockingbird Irish Blessing! He is a beautiful boy with lots of promise for his show career in the future. He wound up being nationally ranked even though he was only shown about 6-7 weekends in 2022. He is simply the sweetest boy ever, and now gets to come home and lord it over all of his girls!!
New Champion!!
We are thrilled to announce our newest Champion, Mockingbird's Alleluia! She is a simply lovely girl out of Valentyne the Irish Tenor and our sweet Huntland Lexie of Mockingbird Laurelwind. Now that her show career is over, she gets to come home and begin her new adventure as a mother in the next few months!!
2023 Breeding Plans
We wound up keeping our singleton from our September litter, and are running her on to see what happens. But, we are missing having puppies around, so we have gone ahead and have bred Gracie and Olivia and are hoping for two March, 2023 litters about 3 days apart. It's too early to tell if they are pregnant, so check back in about 2 weeks for that news. If one or both of them are, then we will expect both tricolor and Blenheim puppies!
Update on September 2022 LItter
It is with great sadness that we have to tell you that we lost all but one of our puppies from our September litter. It reminds us of how risky breeding dogs can be. The surviving puppy is a tricolor girl, born on September 14. She is the most adorable puppy ever! Our next litter will likely be in Winter 2023 - I haven't decided if it will be a Blenheim or a Tricolor litter yet!
Update on 2022 Breeding Plans
We are preparing for our next litter, which I am very excited about. We are repeating our sire, International Ch. Womanizer of An Excellent Choice, pairing him with Laurelwind Full of Grace, who is the litter sister to my new Grand Champion Laurelwind Mockingbird Irish Blessing. They are both beautiful dogs with lovely pedigrees. This litter will be due in mid-September. Stay tuned!
Future Puppy Plans - June, 2022
The puppies from March and April are now, or will be, mostly in their new homes. There is one lovely Blenheim boy (3 months) and a tri girl (10 weeks) that I have not decided on, and there are two puppies from my April litter that I am running on as well. Those decisions will likely happen in early August - you cannot keep them all, as we say!. But, good news! My lovely Gracie and Luna are coming into season in July and September, so there will be more puppies (God willing) in late September and November. Some of you are waiting on my final decisions on the two puppies above, and others, so I will be in touch on that.
2022 Pupdate - April 1, 2022
Hi all;
Well, so far this year we are making good on our puppy plans. We have a litter of five Blenheim boys on the ground right now at 2.5 weeks old, and a new litter of six tricolor/Blenheim puppies coming next week. We are gluttons for punishment. Our little boys are absolutely beautiful, and this new litter is hopefully going to be a gorgeous litter our of International Ch. Womanizer of An Excellent Choice - the loveliest tri boy we've ever seen and our beautiful Chloe! I am starting the interview process for our boys, and will for the new litter in a couple of weeks once I'm sure they are thriving.
Next Year's Breeding Plans
We are presently planning on three litters next year - maybe four if we aren't too worn out - with the first litter expected in May, and then the next litter 2-3 months later through the end of the year. We want our Show Team to finish up their championships and to mature before they are bred. I'll post when there's a new litter on the way!!