LINDA SOUZA — LIMERICK IRISH WOLFHOUNDS
Wyoming. I have good semen stored for Jamie from all of our best dogs and from some fantastic out-blood. She will be set to do some great breedings down the road. She is 27 years younger than me, so she and her daughters who are coming up behind her have many more years to con- tinue our line. I never had any interest in becoming a judge, but Jamie loves judg- ing. She is already AKC approved for Irish Wolfhounds, Whippets, Afghans, Salu- kis, and Junior Showmanship. She has already judged in several countries besides the US, including Australia, Wales, and Italy. Also, my beautiful granddaughters, Ella and Tatum, are handling dogs when- ever they get a chance and are becoming quite proficient presenting many different breeds, including Wolfhounds, at 16 and 13 years old. Finally, tell us a little about Linda out- side of dogs… your profession, your hobbies. I have very little life outside of my dogs, my family, my dog friends, and my wonderful husband, Cliff. He takes fan- tastic care of the dogs when I’m on the road for dog shows. I retired in 2008 from a family business, owned by my sister and her husband. I was VP of Operations in their wholesale import company of deco- rative accessories, furniture, and lighting. My hobbies are mentoring my village of enthusiastic and passionate Wolf- hound people, and following football. I will always be a 49er faithful. They were the only wildcard team to advance this year! Woohoo! It is a joy to see my protégés having suc- cess with their breedings in the whelping box and in the show ring from my breed- ing guidance. One of the couples I have been mentoring over the last eight years whelped their first litter in 2017 and pro- duced the Number One IW in the coun- try, breed and all-breed competition, for the past three years. There were only three puppies in the litter and he was the only male. This was just as thrilling and gratify- ing for me as it was for them. I will contin- ue my mentoring until I am unable. Hope- fully that will be way off in the future. We have given our lives to promoting, protecting, and improving the quality and health of our magnificent breed. In return, they have given us love, devotion, and joy beyond all description. We could not imagine life without them.
of integrity. I have not bred a litter in nine years, but I mentor a wonderful village of people who are passionate about our breed and are willing to listen, learn, and take my suggestions in order to breed bet- ter Wolfhounds. I even share my frozen semen with them to their benefit. This is how I’m trying to help continue to bring our breed forward even though I am no longer breeding under my roof. My fear is that we are all aging, and I don’t feel we have enough new people coming up with the passion and finances it takes to advance our breed. Too many people can’t wait for quality puppies and end up purchasing online. It has been a serious concern of mine ever since the Internet and social media have come into the picture. The Internet can be very good for sharing information, but it is not good because of the ease of selling puppies indis- criminately and not taking responsibility. Where do you see your breeding program in the next decade or two? Our breeding program is with my daughter, Jamie, who has plans to start breeding under her roof in the years to come when she is permanently living in
passion, patience, and finances to breed IWs. I’m fortunate to have a daughter and two granddaughters who are committed to carrying on the Limerick legacy, but these situations are few and far between. We need to nurture and mentor young people who have passion for our breed, and help them in any way we can. This is why the all-breed shows are so important, because the public often attends these shows. We have spent thousands of hours over the years answering questions from the pub- lic. ANYONE showing genuine interest in our breed should be welcomed with open arms. No question should be considered ignorant. Treat new people with respect and kindness. ENCOURAGE them! My biggest concern for our breed is that we have too many Internet breeders who have a negative impact on some of the poor people getting their first hounds. Some are not doing preliminary health checks or supporting the new owners properly when issues arise with their puppies. Also, we have a lot of foreign dogs being exported to the US with no vetting of the homes here. These are not acceptable practices if you are representing yourself as a breeder
68 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, MARCH 2022
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