We owned and loved a Boxer. One of my kids begged and pleaded for a little dog to cuddle and hold because he thought the boxers were too big! We went through our collection of dog books to help make our selection! My son was intrigued by the PUG and it's curly tail! I had an old memory of my grandmother's PUG 'Puggy' when I was a child. We made our decision - we wanted to be owned by a PUG! My son decided he wanted a black pug.
The search begins......
We started out contacting every dog person we knew and dead-ended. Then we made tons of phone calls and inquiries. We didn't want to breed or show - we just wanted a pet! How could it be so difficult?! You all understand I'm sure! We decided we didn't care - black or fawn - we'd do it! By the time we found Jemima - we really didn't care! She was perfect to us - an adorable black pug - we laid out no other considerations!
The saga ends........
All too abruptly Jemima left us at 3 years old from seizures that could not be stopped. She was our pride and joy!
Did we learn anything from this experience..........
We learned a lot!
1. Pugs are the best breed in the entire world!
2. It is very important to consider the health of the puppy you're buying as it hurts very badly to lose your love at such a young age!
3. Healthy Pugs are few and far between and worth waiting for!
So why did we start breeding...........
We had previously bred Springer Spaniels and Boxers so the idea wasn't too far fetched.
We totally adored our pugs and wanted others to be able to find happy, healthy pugs for pets and show prospects.
How did we start showing.........
We discovered while starting out in pugs that it is very difficult to get healthy, quality dogs to breed unless you intend to show them also. Most responsible pug breeders are also involved in showing. At about this same time our children were getting old enough that traveling around on weekends showing dogs wasn't totally out of the question. Then my baby (of the human kind) decided he was very interested in showing dogs. So, mom took the backseat and did most of the behind-the-scenes stuff, dad paid the bills, and Levi got the show ring experience! We also discovered that he was too young to show AKC so we started out in the IABCA (International All Breed) shows. Our first attempt was very fun and successful and we've been hooked ever since. Now only mom shows in AKC; but Levi loves to travel to the shows, and to sit ringside and "mark the book" to record our wins!!
Now with several homebred AKC CHAMPIONS, conformation handling classes and workshops to improve our skills, and of course a knowledge and concern for pedigrees and backgrounds to be sure we're breeding quality pugs, Simplicity Pugs is definitely breeding show dogs!!!
Levi and Latte'
February 2000 IABCA Show
