Page 126 - ShowSight - September 2019

Breeder Interview
BY ALLAN REZNIK
CHRISTINE NETHERY, BOXWOOD POODLES
Where did you grow up?
I am the oldest of four girls, born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia.
Do you come from a doggy family? If not, how did the interest in breeding and show- ing purebred dogs begin?
As I began to become aware of animals, I wanted a horse, like most little girls. My parents signed me up for riding lessons at an Arabian/ Lipizzan farm to appease my passion. However, the rid- ing lessons did not curb my appetite to own a horse, they
only made the desire that much stronger. Now, my parents were not going to let me own a horse, since we lived in a suburban neighbor- hood with no land. However, my father is a photographer and owned a direct mail advertising company. One of his accounts was Coca Cola and the head of Coca Cola’s Advertising Department just happened to breed and show English Springer Spaniels. My dad got the bright idea that maybe showing dogs would replace my desire to have a horse. Well, it did! We immediately put a deposit down on a puppy from their next litter and started to get excited about our new adventure! I was about eight-years-old at the time that we went to check out our first dog show, the Atlanta Kennel Club. I could not get over how much there was to see there! Everyone grooming their dogs, laughing,
enjoying themselves, tailgating, playing with their dogs, and the now all-too-familiar running in circles, showing their pride and joy. I was hooked!
From here on out my life was consumed with everything dog and dog show! I practiced in my backyard and awarded myself many Best in Shows!
When we finally got our puppy, we started going to train- ing classes and matches to learn our new craft. We also joined the English Springer Spaniel club to learn more about our new dog plus learning to groom her from all the knowledgeable people who already belonged to this club. My father was going to be the handler for conformation and he got my sister and me involved in Junior Showmanship. My sister Jennifer didn’t really care for all of this but I did! I even found a Junior Show- manship club in the Atlanta area. We had many great times in our Juniors club, with slumber parties and meetings, and I met great kids who enjoyed dogs as much as I did. Some of those members like Linda Pitts and Susan Wise still successfully show dogs today.
As our dog show life progressed, my parents lost interest. I was too hooked to just stop, so at 14-years-old I started hitching rides with anyone who would take me. I realized I needed to learn more about dogs and their care. I decided to start work- ing for a professional handler. Since I was only fourteen, no one would actually hire me, but Houston and Toddie Clark let me hang around and help. What a great idea! I was so excited and happy to do whatever they let me do. If they didn’t need me, I would work for anyone and everyone who would take me to dog shows.
124 • ShowSight Magazine, SepteMber 2019
“FROM HERE ON OUT
MY LIFE WAS CONSUMED WITH EVERYTHING
DOG AND DOG SHOW!”