John and Theresa

Pepper was my very first Shih Tzu, in 1981. I did seek him out through a reputable breeder. I was intrigued by his sweet temperament and his fearlessness. We registered him Pinafore Pepperoni. He easily bonded to my grade school aged kids. I knew enough to wait until they were of grade school age before taking on a small, fragile little dog. At the time I was into showing Standard Poodles, and he eventually became to think he was one too! It was fortunate that I had strict rules about raising nice, behaved dogs AND kids, we all seemed to get along great. I took him through obedience training; it was odd to wonder, when looking down at him, if he was REALLY sitting. He seemed happier about getting the special attention.

My daughter made him HER dog, and he lived out a good and long life of 17 years.

After a couple years, I then went back to long time breeder, Joy Christenson, for our latest Deedee.

    She was born with striking colors along with her personality and is growing up to be a beautiful girl.  I’m planning on having my longtime friend and handler Candace Hume  show her. She’s already been in her first show.  We’re taking her to nearby handling classes to give her some practice.  Candy is going to be taking her on a road trip to the shows in Oregon.

Richie going Best of Winners. 
Photo courtesy of Steven Ross.