My first experience in the show ring was at the Associated Terrier Clubs 1965 show. "Gilly" was not really a showdog. I put the lead on him, he fought and I pulled, as he slimed his way around. I tried showing him every year at that same show as well as very few others. I believe it was 1968, I dragged my dog through the ring and later, as we were watching the Best of Breed competition – there was Ch. Melbee's Chances Are, a beautiful great moving dog. After he won the breed, I went over to the handler, Ric Chashoudian and asked him "What do I have to do to make my dog look like yours?" He looked at my "Gilly" and said "Buy another Dog". That was Gilly's last show – he was fun and cute and wonderful with my two boys -- he thought he was one of them.

We decided that we needed to have a Melbee dog. By that time, we lived in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. We contacted the Schlesingers (the breeders of Chances Are) and tried to convince them that we would provide a good home for a Melbee dog. We had to furnish references from other dog people, and luckily, George Rodda, a friend of Bee and Mel Schlesinger, knew us and vouched for us. The dog we bought was Melbee's Mostly Malarky (aka Wally). He was a real character and our first Champion.

We bought Hitching Post Farm about 4 years later. There was a kennel on the property and many fenced in areas. We felt that it was time to establish a bloodline of our own and set out to find a bitch.

This was in 1983. We had become addicted to the Montgomery County Kennel Club show. That year, we saw, in the ring, Ray Perry of Tontine Kennels, with the prettiest little bitch we had ever seen. Her name was Tontine's Frankley Scarlett. After the judging, we approached Ray and Lou Perry and told them that we would like to buy her. Unfortunately, she belonged to someone else, but we knew we had to get a Tontine bitch.

We called the Perrys about every 3 weeks asking about any bitches available and always got a negative reply. At the beginning of January, 1984, Larry had to go to California on business. We once again called Ray and Lou and I told them that Larry wanted to see their kennel. They said they had nothing available, but he was welcome to come. He looked at all of the Tontine Kerries and saw their Pick of a Litter which had been born the past May. He just fell madly in love with her and nagged so much, I think they sold her to him just to make him quiet.

They named her Tontine's Going East (Simi). She became our foundation bitch and was owner-handled to #1 Kerry in 1987, winning the first KalKan Pedigree award in our breed. We bred her to our Wally.

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