Copyright 2021 Heart of Gold Boxers and Bassets
Fast forward to 2006/2007.
We had careers, a brand new house and a fenced in yard! What more could you ask for?! Ummm, a Basset Hound, honey?! This time it was Jeff's turn...."aren't they little dogs?" was his response.
We had discovered dog shows back when they were held at the convention center in Pittsburgh. It was there that we got to meet & talk with Basset breeders/exhibitors. The first Basset Jeff met almost knocked him over as he squatted down to engage in a Basset hug!
Most do not realize the weight and heavy bone structure of the breed! They are not little dogs. They are full-size dogs with dwarf legs.
We laughed at the howling, how friendly all the dogs were, the bands of drool we had on our pants, and even joked as we heard dog show speak for the first time. "There must be a bitch in season around here!" became our new quip.
Soon after, we embarked into the world of all things Basset and brought home our Schroeder. We were totally smitten. I don't need to tell you where I got his name (that's an obession too)! But needless to say, Schroeder was not left to be an only Basset.
It has been a BLAST to be part of this amazing breed.
If there is one thing we have in common, it's our love of animals. All animals, but mostly dogs and cats. From the time we met, we were were sneaking our cats, Kiki and Jazz, into the various apartments we called home as I was starting my first job out of college and he was finishing his bachelors degree.
Fall 1999. We were aspiring grad students, living in a pet-friendly apartment complex. While studying one day, Jeff looks at me and says "I want a Boxer." My reply..."What's a Boxer?" And well, the rest is history, as they say.
Our first Boxer was a very special little fawn girl named Maya. It was love at first sight. We named her Maya after a prior vacation to Chitzenitza. We read everything we could about the breed, but in the end, it was Maya who taught us!
A year later, we met 2 very special ladies who would teach us even more about the breed, and helped us pick out Cassie after one of their first litters. It was our first experience with reputable breeders who competed in various AKC competitions.
These two girls were the loves of our life, and began our joureny with the Boxer breed.
