As a little girl growing up in Edmonton, I had the good fortune to have wonderful neighbours who were a second family to me. So when they purchased their first dog, a fluffy lively St. Bernard puppy, it was love at first sight. When it came time for his obedience lessons I was lucky enough to go along. Little did I know that this adorable fur ball would spark a passion in me and set me on a course I’m blessed to be on.
In the late 80’s I was breeding and raising Standard Poodles when I became involved in Search and Rescue (SAR). By 1994 I’d earned the distinction of having bred, trained and certified the very first Standard Poodle in North America for Search and Rescue. He was RCMP Certified in Wilderness, Water, and Cadaver profiles for six years running. We attended countless searches together throughout the province of Alberta and the N.W.T. In the late 90’s I began assisting in teaching obedience and agility classes in the evenings for the general public. This allowed me to experience broad range of hands on exposure to dogs of every age, size, shape and temperament. I began assisting an animal behaviourist with consultations – reading body language; energy, temperaments and working with their human counterparts to help them better understand and co-exist with the family pet.
It was during my SAR years that I had come to know the Belgian Malinois breed however, it was not until my friend and teammate, Maggie of Capable Canines – imported a Malinois to replace her retiring search dog. It was then that I fell in love with the breed, their drive and versatility. In May of 2000 I imported my first Malinois, and the rest, as they say . . . is history.
We are a small independent breeding kennel for the Belgian Malinois. All of our bloodlines are first generation imports from Europe and directly from working Police or Security dog’s. Our dogs are thoroughly vetted by renowned Police Dog Handler/Instructor, Behaviorist and Trial Judge, Odette Beek of Kennel Cuja’s in the Netherlands. Her accolades are far and wide and we are privileged to call her our friend.