In 1996 my partner and I decided that we would like to get a dog. I hadn’t owned a dog of my own, (we always has dogs at home when I was a child). Ian (my partner) had owned a few dogs, one that stole his heart was a Rottweiler bitch called Heidi.
Through the Kennel club the search began. It was not long before we were in contact with someone that had pups and on 24th May 1996 Boadicea (Bodie for short) became part of our family. Her KC name was "An accomplice in the dark" (Knobwedge Prince of Thieves X The Welsh Witch of Potterspride bred by Mrs A. Ball). Bodie was only shown a few times, as I had no previous experience of showing but we certainly had some fun.
Our most memorable accomplishment being at Diggswell Exemption show, where Bodie won the title of Champion sausage eater!
I the meantime we registered for an affix with the UK Kennel club trying for some variation of Boadicea we submitted our choices. Eight different ways of saying the same thing and the ninth option was an anagram of my partners name and mine. On 30th November 1997 Tomain became the Kennel club accepted affix for us.
Bodie had a few health problems, pyometra at eighteen months, then devastatingly she developed a tumour that led to her passing at just over two years old. Boo was with us for such a short time yet I can’t remember what life was like before she came. When she left us she left behind such a hole in our hearts. It was not long before we needed to look for another dog. Our home wasn’t complete without her.
By this time I had been introduced to breed clubs, dog press and the like. It was after seeing a picture in one of the clubs newsletters of a six month old puppy that I picked up the phone and called Joanna Johnson of the Pendley kennels who put me in contact with someone that had a litter sired by a dog of her breeding.
A new chapter was to open in our history; on 28th August 1998 Tassie came to live with us. She has just produced her third litter and is a fit and healthy five and a half year old puppy. Tass was shown as a puppy and adolescent achieving her Kennel Club studbook number in Limit at Crufts 2001 under a breed specialist. There have been other Rotts come in and very sadly out of our lives each one loved and very sadly missed.
I watched with interest the arrival of a new breed into the country, the Russian Black Terrier. Never more than an interest I admired the smart noble breed from a spectator’s viewpoint. Seeing the pictures in the papers and reading a few articles to get to know what little there was to know about them. Little did I know that silently they were invading my heart!
It was in July 2000 that I made the fatal mistake of going to see a litter. I never dreamt that another breed could compare with my cherished Rottweilers! But Zara came to us on 25th August 2000. Her Kennel club name is Potterspride Night Pearl at Tomain. (Cherni Lev Berendey Bartovich at Potterspirde X Cleyra Momart of Potterspride). Zara has been shown lightly achieving Best Bitch and Reserve Best Imported Register at Bournmouth Championship show 2003.
After some thought we decided to increase the family and get a male Russian, on 30th April 2002 my beloved Balloo came to join the crew. Shadlian Blackjack at Tomain (Hibeck Domenico X Lisander Zingara with Shadlian). He was shown throughout 2002 and 2003 and achieved Reserve Best Dog at the Welsh Kennel club show in 2003 beaten only by the Top Imported Register all breeds for ’03. My world was shattered when we lost Balloo to gastric torsion (bloat) late in 2003. Luckily for me Balloo is immortalised as during the filming of a television program he was filmed at the Welsh Kennel club show.
Prior to getting Balloo we had tried to import a bitch from Poland, at the last minute we were told, "due to an outbreak of Rabies it would not be possible to receive the puppy" we were devastated, but later we found a breeder in Russia that had a litter planned, and so we imported Polly, her registered name being Poljushka S Zolotogo Grada Tomain Imp (WW Int CH Vsevolod Iz Zolotogo Grada X Rus CH Anisja Iz Zolotogo Grada). Polly came into the UK and serve her time in Quarantine, she was released on the 25th March 03.
Shown throughout 2003 she is the most successful dog to date, that we have owned, finishing the year as Top Puppy Import register and receiving her first Reserve Best Bitch at just nine months of age.
Now as we explode into 2004 and as I type this out we are awaiting our first litter of Russians from Zara and Pippo (Esstilees Joker Arbat Roz at Robroyd Imp) .
We also have two new imports planned in 2004.
The future looks bright at Tomain.