Peggy’s Story

I began my lifelong love affair with dogs and my canine ‘career’ very young.  First there was Lassie and Rin Tin Tin.  By age 9, I had a dog-walking and poop-scooping service in our neighborhood in the Midwest.  I got one dollar per walk and fifty cents for each time I ‘scooped’ a yard.  High finance, doing something I absolutely LOVED!!!  Since we were not allowed a dog at home as yet (I hadn’t given up hope!) it filled a need.  But I quickly became tired of being dragged around the block, repeatedly, by client dogs and thus began my obedience ‘training’, kid-style.  It was all rather funny, looking back, but I never got tired of it and had some very happy customers.  One year later, in 1964, I met Buster.  My very first, personal connection with a German Shepherd Dog!  Love of the breed hit me at first sight, and has never let me out of its grip.  There were a lot of things wrong about him, but I never knew that and neither did he.  While he scared everyone in the neighborhood, I never was afraid of him.  It was very odd really, considering I had been badly bitten at age 4 by a German Shepherd mixed-breed.  I never blamed the dog, but rather the child that caused him to bite me.  Especially when I got out of the hospital and learned that they had shot the dog.

All of the early years created the desire to own a German Shepherd of my own.  Honey was purchased in 1974. She was a beautiful bitch, but as was common in our neck of the woods, she had no papers.  I took her through an obedience class, got her an ILP number and showed her a couple of times.  I was hooked.  I bred her and had a litter of 11 puppies. I cried as each puppy went to their new home.  I then proceeded to buy two AKC bitches and an AKC male in 1976. Duchess turned out NOT to be a show dog as she was way to masculine-looking with a roach, and Bo had temperament issues and was very aggressive which turned out to be a fear-biting problem.  Both of these dogs had been purchased as adults.  Pride, the male, I bought as a puppy.  He turned out to be severely dysplastic by age 14 mos.  He was neutered, and given to my little sister as she couldn’t bear the thought of having him put to sleep.  My uncle paid to have both hips replaced.  A few months later he was hit by a car while crossing the street.  You would think this would have put me off having dogs, wanting to show or breed.  You would have been wrong.  I had no guarantees, no contracts, and no protection in my purchases.  Through poor breeding practices and ignorance, I got taken.

I didn’t want that to happen to others.  I wanted to breed a better dog; one that would be as healthy and genetically sound as I could get.  I wanted to protect the buyer, and that meant educating them as well.  I wanted to protect us as breeders and that meant having ethics and contracts.  I believed that whatever life we created, we were always responsible for it.  These beliefs created the foundation for my kennel.

As business developed so did my family.  I met and married my husband, Michael in 1981, who became the kennel business manager and the driving force behind our paperwork.  He was my sounding board, my inspiration to do my best; he was my best friend and partner, he was the “Mi” in Mi-Peg.   My son and two of our daughters joined us and became our helpers in the physical, day to day care of the dogs and equipment when they were old enough to show an interest.  Then they learned about training and joined 4-H to show and exhibit.  Creating another need, as in our area there were no clubs that did dogs, I became a 4-H leader and served as Canine group leader for over 17 years, in California, Iowa, Minnesota and Idaho.  I have worked with a lot of different breeds with obedience and behavior modifications, as well as a number of children and their families with becoming responsible pet owners who now enjoy the sport of dogs.  As our children got older they became involved in leadership and showing and my daughter, Jennifer, has joined me as an active partner in what is a family business.   My daughter, Michelle, plays a more passive part in providing support and housing some of the dogs. My son, Joe, moved on to other fields and now only helps part-time.  Sadly, we lost Mike in 2007.  His last wish for me, and his greatest gift, was to keep on with the dogs. Even when faced with his final challenge, he wanted me to have the solace of my beloved breed. He has gone over the Rainbow Bridge to find special friends that preceded him; Honey, Ranger, Duchess, Bo. Ninja, and our first sire, Falcor.