Q&A: Cavalier King Charles spaniel
STEPHANIE ABRAHAM
National Specialty and Juniors at the 2016 American Cavalier King Charles Spaniel National Specialty. I write our Breed Column for the AKC Gazette , am a guest writer for our breed magazines and have been the AKC Delegate for the Southern Adirondack Dog Club since 1982. ERICA VENIER
My husband, David, and I live in rural north-eastern Connecticut. I am a real estate broker specializing in the sale of antique homes. I began showing in 1970 and judging in 1982 (Boxers). I have judged Cavaliers since 1996. CINDY HUGGINS I live in Santa Ynez, California. Outside of dogs, I am a weaver. I enjoy creating fabrics and clothing on one of my four looms. I’ve owned, shown and bred Cavalier King Charles Spaniels since 1971. I acquired my AKC judging license three years ago. DR. JOHN V. IOIA (MD, PhD) from SUNY Downstate Medical Center and my MD from the Albany Medical College. I am involved in a number of activi- ties outside of dogs. I started in karate in 1968 and I am a 5th Degree Black Belt Master instructor in a Korean form called Tang Soo Do. In addition to that, I still enjoy playing guitar, primarily blues or rock, fishing for striped bass and playing with our grandson, Zachary. Barbara and I got started in AKC activities when we acquired our first Shih Tzu in 1971, shortly after the breed was recognized. We were fortunate to get our first show pup Sassy, which I owner-handled to her championship and also her CD. Ch Kee-Lee’s Om Tzo Tza-Tzi CD (Sassy) became our foundation. She began Bar- Jon Shih Tzu. We have had Shih Tzu, Lhasa Apso and now Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. We are actively breeding and showing Cavaliers; I most enjoy doing Rally competition and Therapy Dog work with our dogs. I became an AKC licensed judge in 1982, beginning with Shih Tzu. I now judge all Toys, all Non-Sporting, most Terrier Breeds, Jr. Showmanship and Best in Show. I judged the 2016 American Shih Tzu Club I am honored to be asked my opin- ions on the Cavalier King Charles Span- iel, a breed I have come to love. My wife, Barbara, and I reside in New York’s Hudson Valley and have been in the same home for about 33 years. I am an Orthopedic Surgeon practicing General Orthopedics and Joint Replacement Sur- gery. I received my PhD in Biochemistry
Originally from Philadelphia and New Jersey, I now live near Reading, Pennsylvania. My interests are inter-relat- ed in that I am from a family of artists and have had life-long interests in fine art and also in animals. Breeding dogs has been a form of artistic expression for me. I finished my first dog, a Sheltie, in 1976. As my Shelties aged I gradually became
involved with Cavaliers. Over the last 20 years my daughter, Rachel Venier, and I have bred National Specialty winners and top producers which are nicely made as well as pretty. I began judging in 2014. LAMONT M. YODER I live in Scottsdale, Arizona and work for Banner Health, a health system headquartered in Phoenix, operating 29 hos- pitals across seven states in the Western US. I am fortunate to have had a fulfilling career as a registered nurse of 30 years from caring for patients in the ICU to my current role as CEO of Banner Gateway Medical Center and Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center in Arizona. But the best part of my life outside of dogs is seeing the world from the perspective of my eight-year-old daughter and nine-year-old son, and doing what I can to shape their lives. My first Cavalier was in 1989 and I was immediately smitten with the breed, within months getting a second and started showing. I have had many Toy and Sporting breeds. Looking back over the past 27 years in Cavaliers, I realize I focused more on the experience, learn- ings and relationships with people than tracking the accom- plishments that would have allowed me to judge many years ago. Life happens, but I have continued to learn so much and have no regrets with just beginning to judge in the last year. I was honored to have seven specialty invitations within weeks of being approved to judge and was apprecia- tive of two recent short notice international invitations that, unfortunately, would not work out with my work schedule this time. I look forward to judging abroad in the future,
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