My partner and I obtained our first Welsh Terrier in February 1995. Baxter was only 8 weeks old. Our second Welsh came to us in the early spring of 2000. He was a nine-month old rescue pup named Bertie. The Welsh Terrier Club of America and the Welsh Terrier Association of Canada (WTAC) organized our adoption of Bertie. Both dogs were trained in obedience and agility, and have competed in CKC, NADAC and AAC trials. Baxter was also trained as a hospital therapy dog and volunteered in a downtown Toronto hospital for two and half years. The WTAC asked us to represent the Association and the breed at the Celebration of the Dog - Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in 1998. I designed the display and won Best Booth in Terrier Group that year, and Best Booth in Show in 2001. In order to offset the costs, I developed a line of clothing called WelshWear which was subsequently sold over the Internet and was greatly supported by the members of the Welsh List on Yahoo.

Bertie, who came with many heath problems, lived a wonderful long life, but required constant care and medication. While my partner and I were more than happy to make Bertie's life possible, it did take its toll. When Bertie passed on a the age of 8 1/2 years, we were devastated as well as exhausted. After da boys, we just could not face having another dog. Many kind and generous offers were made, but we were not ready. As fate would have it, a phone call from the WTAC changed everything. A welshie's owner had died and the dog needed immediate rehoming. Since he was located in Oakville, a 20 minute drive west of Toronto, I was asked to pick him up. Two hours after that phone call, Morgan came to live with us. He was a wild little beastie, and it took about a year to turn him around. Needless to say he stayed, has taken over our lives and our house.

I continue to organize my stories about the various adventures of our dogs into a net book, and excerpts can be viewed at "Da Boys" - a working title.