Page 74 - ShowSight, November 2020

Liz Tobin and her longtime partner, Joe Vaudo
ELIZABETH TOBIN
BLUESTONE SMOOTH FOX TERRIERS
BREEDER INTERVIEW BY ALLAN REZNIK
Where did you grow up?
I grew up outside of Chicago. In my early twenties, I moved to Texas where I lived in both Houston and then Austin, where I spent many years. Do you come from a doggy family? If not, how did the interest in breeding
and showing purebred dogs begin?
My interest in dogs did not start with dogs, it began with horses. My close grade school friend had two sisters who both rode, and also showed West Highland White Terriers at all the local shows. I tagged along to the stable and started a few lessons, but lessons were expensive and I was not able to continue. My parents vowed to purchase a dog, hoping to quell the horse enthusiasm. My father wanted a Sporting breed, and many folks don’t know that Irish Setters were my first breed. My mother found an article in the local paper about a breeder who had a huge litter, and a few weeks later, my new puppy came home. Once “Shamrock” was old enough, the sisters took me to a fun match where we placed third in a class of six. Then we were off to the Western Irish Setter Club specialty where he was RWD to a five-point major from the American-Bred Class, under Dick Renihan. I was hooked on showing dogs, and horses were on the back burner!
There was a bunch of kids in the neighborhood who showed dogs: Afghans, Alaskan Malamutes, Westies, and one baby Irish Setter. Some of them were successful breeders. We would hold our own fun matches in a two-car garage after school, using recycled trophies and ribbons. That prac- tice paid off! My first time in Juniors netted me a first place out of 25-plus kids in the Novice Junior Class with Shamrock, my Irish. My mother still has the trophy!
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