How We Fell in Love With Frenchies and More!
Building Our Frenchie Foundation
Our first show dogs were Golden Retrievers. We fell in love with their sunny, sweet personalities and their classic good looks. While we so enjoyed our time breeding and showing Golden Retrievers, after a short time, we were ready to downsize. Goldens are active, fun dogs, but neither of us was volunteering to run with them for the exercise they craved or commit to the grooming involved. There is more hair than you might think!
We were lucky enough to see a Frenchie at the local dog shows. In the mid-1990s there were very few French Bulldogs to be seen even at dog shows. We were smitten! Their endearing faces that hinted at the mischief to come enchanted us at first sight.
So our search began!
Boomer Our First Frenchie Love
After a bit of discussion, we began the search for our first Frenchie. We met a breeder who had a litter, and before we knew it, we were off to visit them. Although we committed to each other that we would not buy the first puppy, we saw all bets were off when we saw the little Pied puppy sitting on the other side of the yard.
Originally, we planned for our first Frenchie to be Fawn to match our Goldens, which we were showing at that time. When we saw Boomer, all of those plans flew out the window! He was brindle and white (not even close to golden). But he had a heart on the top of his head, and that was it. We were in love (see the picture above for Boomer’s heart on his head).
Boomer was our first Frenchie and our first attempt in the show ring with Frenchies. He was far from perfect (as per the breed standard), but perfect for us! We managed to get some wins, and to us, he was incredible. There was no looking back. We were officially hooked on Frenchies! Little did we know they would change and enrich our lives in so many ways.
Jackpot! Exacta at Jackpot! aka Wager
In time, we were lucky enough to meet Kathy Dannel Vitcak. At that point, we began to truly learn about the breed and what we needed to look for in a show dog. Kathy became our mentor and friend. Every new person in the breed should be as lucky as we have been to have a mentor/friend like Kathy.
We got our first real show dog, Jackpot Exacta At Encore, Wager, from Kathy. Wager also had the first litter we ever bred…we were officially French Bulldog breeders in 2000!
Getting a start in dogs for showing and breeding is not as easy as walking up to someone with a dog you like and handing them a blank check. At least not for the majority of us!
CH. Jackpot! For The Love Of Money
Lover Boy certainly lived up to his name. He was one of those self-confident, low-key dogs that are a pleasure to live with. Kathy had not planned to have Lover Boy leave her home. Then she decided to get married, move to northern Minnesota, start a new business, etc. We were the lucky recipients of her harried life as Lover Boy was welcomed with open arms and hearts. As stated above, Lover Boy was the very FIRST French Bulldog to have hips certified as Excellent by the OFA (Orthopedic Foundation Association).
Monte Carlo led of life adventure! He was bred by Sue Everett of Tidewater French Bulldogs on Guemes Island, Washington. Sue saw his potential and sent him to Kathy, Jackpot! French Bulldogs, in Minnesota. He attained his champion title easily and won several Best in Specialty Show honors and the Pedigree award in 2002. Ready to retire, Monte Carlo headed east to Michigan and lived a full happy life as a couch warmer and stud dog.
French Bulldogs Who Impacted Encore French Bulldogs
- CH Clovers Sable Baby – This little Black Masked Red brought not only stunning litters, but added colors we had never had in our breeding program. She was a small stunning, powerful package.
- Encore’ Ain’t Misbehaven – Bea is a very typey brindle girl who did a great deal to lock in the Encore look
- Encore’s Blue Plate Special
- CH Encore’s Homemade Pied
- CH Encore’s It Ain’t Over Yet – Murphy is the beautiful girl who kept us from retiring. She was too stunning not to keep and show.
- Encore’s Mojo Magic – Magic was a little brindle girl who loved being a mother and produced a number of beautiful puppies
- Encore’s Queen Sugar – Charley, like her mother Ms B, has imprinted her movement and headpiece into the Encore look. This continuation of mother to daughter has imprinted the look, structure, movement and health the Encore dogs have been known for.
- CH Jackpot for the Love of Money – This boy came to us from Kathy Dannel Vitcak and was the first French Bulldog with registered OFA Excellent Hips in the United States. Lover Boy was a showman at heart and loved to be in the show ring. His health, movement and personality made him a top choice for many breedings both in our program and in many other breeders programs
- CH Petty Thief of My Heart – Crook came to us from Pettybulls in Texas. He was a stunning brindle pied who stole the hearts of any pied lover who saw him. His striking looks made him stand out in the ring and in many breeding programs
- GCH Suirac Encore Our Little Rascal of Airos – Petey is currently at stud, His movement and personality made him not only a success in the ring but an up-and-comer in our breeding program
- CH Tidewater’s Monte Carlo Jackpot – Monte Carlo made his mark in the French Bulldog world by being #1 French Bulldog in Breed Points, in the County in 2001. He also won several Best in Specialty Show honors and Group First honors in all-breed AKC shows. We were blessed to have him join our family after he retired from the ring. His impact on our program was beyond measure. He was able to produce puppies of any color, depending on the girl he was bred to. He was a once-in-a-lifetime dog.
- CH Encore’s Keeping The Faith – Deacon was a handsome brindle boy who was 2 points short of his Grand Championship
- Ch Encore’s Love and Kisses – Smooch was a sweet brindle girl who had the personality of her father Lover Boy
- CH Encore’s Love Bug – Stunning brindle girl who produced several group-winning dogs
- CH Encore’s Medicine Man – Doc was a beefy fawn boy whose movement was outstanding and caught the eye of everyone as he went around the ring
- CH Encore’s Prime Rib
- CH Encore’s Second Helping – Butter Bean was one of the silliest dogs we ever had. She was so much fun to show and always made the judges laugh at her antics.
- Touchstone Blast of Eva-Han – Boomer was our first Frenchie and the reason we are here. We fell in love with him instantly and never looked back. Our hearts were forever lost to the breed due to our love for this boy. Thank you, Boomer.
