history

Reba, Kelsie & Victor

“The Beginning and Foundation of Keltor Boxers.”

From the time I was a young girl, I dreamed of owning a dog. I begged and pleaded with my parents to let have a dog. However, a childhood dog was not to be part of my life.

My dream and desire to have a dog in my life never died. It took a while, but finally in 1990 my dream began to come true. It was just after my husband and I had built a new house when I began the search for my first dog. I thought for sure that a Doberman was going to be the dog for me, the short coat, the lean yet muscular body, the regal appearance…. That was until I met the neighbor’s Boxer…

I did my research about the Boxer and the more I learned, the more I knew that this was the dog I had to find. After phone calls and visits to various breeders, I put my name on the waiting list for a puppy from an upcoming litter. My wait for a puppy ended on Valentine’s Day 1991, when Dee Kennedy of Tambell Boxers called to let me know that puppies had been born that day, and that there was a plain brindle bitch that she thought I might like.

Kelsie (Kelsie’s Heart of Tambell) was my first dog and my first Boxer. Kelsie was my dream come true. However, I had no idea how this one precious, plain brindle Boxer was going to impact my life.

It was only 10 months after Kelsie came into our home and became my dog, that my husband was soon asking for a Boxer of his own. So it was, that Victor (Castilian’s First Victory) a handsome, flashy brindle male was added to my life.

I enjoyed taking Kelsie through the puppy training classes. We advanced to the obedience classes, then the attention classes, more obedience classes and the next thing I knew, we were competing in obedience competitions and in only three shows earned a CD. I had always had a secret wish to show a dog in the conformation ring, and while taking Kelsie to the dog shows I became hooked on watching the conformation classes.

I knew I wanted to be a part of the conformation show ring and that I couldn’t wait to own and show my own Boxers. So, I enrolled Kelsie and myself into a conformation training class being taught by Skip Abel. Mind you, Kelsie had been spayed as a puppy and was a terrific obedience dog, not a conformation dog. I explained to Skip that I was taking his class to learn how to handle and show a dog, so that when I finally purchased a show dog, I would be able to show it myself. One night, after class, Skip told me that he and his wife, Linda were going to the Boxer Nationals. I asked Skip to keep his eyes and ears open to possible puppies for me. Skip came home from the Nationals and told me he had seen a nice brindle bitch I should check into.

Interlude’s Gypsy Promise (Reba), a daughter of Ch. Sundarby’s Fleetwood Mac and Thanque Gypsy Wind became my show dog hopeful. She was, in my opinion, the most beautiful flashy brindle bitch puppy and she quickly began to mature into the beautiful show dog I was waiting for. Reba was well received in the show ring and I was quickly learning all about dog shows. The dog show bug had bitten me, and Reba quickly earned all her minor points.

Sadly, however, Reba’s show career was cut short as I went through a divorce and took some time to readjust my life. Due to my unskilled handling and poor timing, Champion was never added to the front of Reba’s registered name, but I felt she was deserving of it. As Reba turned 4yrs old, I took her in to have her health checks done to see if she was as beautiful inside as she was outside. Her heart checks, hip x-rays and thyroid test results said that she was, so I decided to have her bred with the hopes of getting another puppy to take back into the dog show world. Eileen McClintock very kindly agreed to allow me to breed Reba to CH Holly Lane’s Irish Coffee.

Keltor Boxers (“Kel”sie + Vic”tor”) officially began the summer of 1999 with my first whelping experience and 3 beautiful puppies. The 2 females from this first litter became another dream come true for me. I proudly showed them myself and the cute flashy, fawn bitch became Am/Can Ch Keltor’s Irish Promise (Tess), the pretty plain brindle bitch became Can. Ch Keltor’s Midnight Promise (Niki).

Today, I continue to enjoy my crazy addiction to my Boxers and I continue showing the newest additions of Keltor Boxers in the conformation rings. I am even beginning to be found making my return to the obedience and agility training classes, perhaps Keltor Boxers will be expanding our horizons in the future.

Jane Strommen

Keltor Boxers

St. Louis Park, Minnesota

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