Doreen never grew up with dogs and actually had a fear of dogs for many years.
Sean, on the other had, grew up with animals as his parents owed a horse riding school.
When we first met we lived in a flat so the only animals we had were Koi carp which was Sean’s hobby having bred and shown them for years before we met. As Sean was growing up he had a best friend in a beautiful black female Labrador, named Bridie who played with him and kept him out of trouble at their property at Glenorie. Sean’s mum remembers fondly the times when as a toddler Bridie would go everywhere with him and stop him from going near the dam by getting between him and the dam and bump him over before he got too near.
After traveling on and off for many years and living a ‘very’ cosmopolitan lifestyle we decided to take the plunge and buy a house. The first thing Sean wanted was a Labrador! Doreen was not too sure but Sean assured her that she would love a Labrador… boy was he right and from that time our lives changed! Mocha arrived in 2001 as an 8 week old chocolate female from Don Sharpe’s kennel ( Harestock ). We loved her to death and made all the mistakes that novice dog owners make but in our eyes she was perfect. We kept in touch with Don and became good friends. Don suggested that we might like to show Mocha because she was a nice type of chocolate bitch… although she would need some training! At Don’s suggestion we took Mocha to show training and Doreen found that she really liked it. Mocha was entered in her first show in 2002. We still look back now and laugh at how nervous Doreen was. For her first few shows she had to have an alcoholic drink to calm her nerves before going into the show ring ( some who know her may say nothing has really changed but it has nothing to do with the nerves anymore ). For the first 10 months of showing, Mocha couldn’t win that first bitch challenge but she got many runner ups. Although this was frustrating at times Doreen was well and truly hooked and made many friends. The first win eventually came (what a day!) and before long many more. The overly enthusiastic puppy became a great show bitch and Mocha gained her Australian Championship in late 2003.
A second Labrador sounded a great idea. About this time we saw a stunning black bitch at a show which had been bred by Blackboy Kennels (Aust. Ch. Blackboy Wicketty Witch – funnily enough we now have one of her son’s). We put our name down with Glenice McClure ( Blackboy Kennels ) and crossed our fingers. Before long Glenice asked if we would be interested in a black male. Although we wanted a bitch, it took us about 2 seconds to agree. Guinness arrived in 2003 and we immediately fell in love with him. He made an immediate impact in the show ring and won most puppy classes he entered. Guinness achieved his Australian Champion quickly in just over 6 months. In our eyes, Guinness is the ultimate Labrador and his temperament is to die for. He has won numerous show awards and has now sired many beautiful puppies. He has given us so many memories and continues to do so.
We have become good friends with Glenice ( and Mike ) and we can not thank her enough for all her help and the knowledge she has shared with us about what makes a good Labrador, and our future breeding plans. Without Glenice’s help, we certainly would not be where we are today!
Over the years we have owned a number of dogs. Each are unique and we love them all. We have made many friends who share our love of dogs, especially those friends who share the same passion for labradors and breeding this truly amazing animal. We must also thank Anna Spanswick ( Cambewarra ) and Guy Spagnolo (Driftway) for their honest and constructive opinions, and guidance about what makes a ‘true’ Labrador and how to pick a promising puppy from a litter.
