More than
thirty years ago I bred and showed Irish Setters. I loved the breed so
much and my last dog so much, CH. Carasan King of Hearts, that after his
death, I could not bear to have another dog again for almost seventeen
years. Over those years I had Persian cats and looked longingly at
every dog I saw! Then I waited until I knew I had the time to give to a new
pup and until I had researched breeds to determine what breed of dog I
wanted.
I decided
to pick a toy breed, something smaller to carry with me everywhere. I
wanted a little dog with a "big-dog-attitude". It would be
relatively quiet, easy to train, very loveable without being over-dependent.
A dog that would be wonderful with my grandchildren but calm enough to be on
it's own if I'm busy. Sounds like too much to hope for? Well,
these little dogs are all that and much more!
I went to
the AKC website and browsed through the breeds. I happened upon a
picture of a little dog that was shaggy and cute and looked like a
Disney-dog! It was a Havanese and had only recently been entered in
the Toy Group in AKC. Later I went to shows and looked at toy breeds,
Cavalier spaniels, Chinese Crested, Havanese. I just kept coming back
to Havanese. Once I decided to buy a Havanese then my search began in
California and took me across the country by websites, and even to Canada
and Germany. I wanted a particular color and type and it was quite a
search to find it. Then I found Mollie at a kennel in South Dakota.
She was dark sable which I later determined to be a brindle-sable. She
was a tiny two pounds when she was shipped ot me on October 5th, 2003, and
bounced out of her crate in unrestrained delight!
Since
Mollie and I have lived most of our time together at California beaches from
Santa Cruz to Monterey County, and since she and I both have an affinity for
beach walks, I decided to name our kennel, SandCastle Havanese. I will
always associate Mollie with the beach at Carmel, running to chase birds and
her ball and delighting passersby's with her charm and exhuberance.
This site was built to showcase Mollie and her first litter, which has been
named the Heart litter after her registered name, CH. Shelley's Havana Queen
of Hearts. Mollie's name was lovingly chosen in tribute to that
beautiful Irish Setter of long ago, CH. Carasan King of Hearts (Patrick).
I dedicate this site to Mollie and Patrick, the blessed Heart litter, and
all the beautiful new SandCastle dogs to come.
