Merry Jeanne and Tommy with Siddalee, Martini, and Thunder photo courtesy of Kerrin Winter-Churchill-DogPhoto
MERRY JEANNE MILLNER SENDERO BRIARDS
BREEDER INTERVIEW BY ALLAN REZNIK
Where did you grow up? I was born in Monticello, Georgia, and then my family moved to Atlanta when I was a young child. I graduated from high school in Atlanta and then attended the Uni- versity of Mississippi. Tommy was born and raised in Newport News, Virginia, and he graduated from Randolph Macon College. We are hardcore Southerners through and through! Do you come from a doggy family? If not, how did the interest in breeding and showing purebred dogs begin? We always had dogs as a family. I grew up with a wonderful Chow and a Toy Poodle. We showed American Saddle Horses. My mother drove fine harness, and my sister and I rode walk-trot horses. As a family, we were all very involved in the world of showing horses. Tommy also grew up in a dog family with a blend of mutts, a Poodle, and a Beagle he took to college. When Tommy and I purchased our first Briard, I took the dog to an obedience class and our instructor happened to be very involved in showing, both in obedience and conformation. Shirley Probert was a huge, positive influence in our early days. Who were your mentors in the sport? Please elaborate on their influence. Kathy Fitzpatrick and Meg Weitz helped us so much in the beginning. Kathy was my first contact in starting my journey into the world of Briards and the Briard Club of America. She was very kind and patient, and did not laugh out loud at some of my most ridiculous questions. I am very proud to say that Kathy has several of our Briards and has put championships on them, including Master Agility Champions! We pur- chased our first show dog from Meg and she was a strong influence on my breeding program. She helped us tremendously in making those first breeding decisions. A bitch we got from her, Gillian, gave us our first homebred champions as well as our first Best in Show bitches. These girls were the first gray or black Briards to win Bests in Show.
132 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, AUGUST 2021
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