BEANARA

On the suggestion of her breeder, I had started showing a Cocker Spaniel (Saleima Tuneful Melody, aka Penny) from the last litter bred by Mrs Pat Bretherton (Saleima) when she changed breeds, taking over her sisters 'Dengarse' Miniature Schnauzers. From her first litter I aquired Lottie, Dengarse Special Edition. That was in 1984 and schnauzers have been a part of my life ever since, they still charm me.

 

House guest Katie, Penny and Lottie

 

Lottie and I at an agricultural show, Penny is in the background.

Lottie was a very good example of the breed, you can see her pedigree below

 

Excuse the roached back, she ran out of room on the table as my arm was to short!

 Lottie was a great dog to start showing competitively with at the championship shows, her highlights included a 3rd place in Puppy Of The Year qualifying class, her stud book number (5315BT) and a VHC at Crufts from limit bitch. She was retired after this to have her first litter.

 

Lottie with her first litter, sired by Saleima Black Knight (who is also the sire of the 2nd post war black bitch champion in 1989, Ch Saleima Imperial Black at Sybray)

 

This is Lottie with her daughter Beana, otherwise known as Hesketh Page Three. Beana grew a bit to tall to be shown, at 14 inches she towered over the other dogs in the ring, so she was kept as a pet. There was no-way such a special dog was going anywhere and the house was then to full to buy in a new dog to show so I had to take time away from the show ring (which also allowed time away to get through the A levels and degree!). Incase you are wondering about her name, when Lottie was pregnant there was one pup who did a lot of kicking and got the nickname 'Rambo'. When the litter was born it was quite clear that Beana had been the one doing all the kicking, she was off exploring the whelping box at an hour old and was the first in the litter to do anything. We couldn't call her Rambo so it got feminised to Rambina and the Beana bit stuck, just with a different spelling!

 

This is Beana when she was about 7 or 8 years old.

You can see her pedigree below.

 

This may be the appropriate place to explain my affix/kennel name - BEANARA is a merging of the names of Beana and my Giant Schnauzer Tara. It is pronounced BEAN - AR - A

In 1998 I decided I wanted a larger breed with whom I could try other dog sports as well as showing. My Giant Schnauzer - Riesenheim Xena, aka Tara joined the family and she has proven herself to be good in the show,obedience and agility rings, winning trophies in all 3 disciplines. Tara has won 4 RCC's under breed specialists Dominique Brixey, Jenny Harrison-Smith and all rounders Zena Thorn-Andrews & Dagmar Kenis-Pordham (this one won at 10.5 years old), she has life qualification to Crufts dog show and she has many other wins you can read about else where. On top of this she is a lovely character to have around the place and an excellent guard dog! Tara is now retired from showing (a very sad decision to have made), she still enjoys keeping active especially if you have a ball in your hand!

Not forgetting the Miniatures Lichstone Midnight Riva at Beanara, aka Riva and her daughters Beanara Amy March, aka Amy and Beanara Jo March, aka Indy. Riva is always on guard, nothing misses her attention but she will only bark when it's necessary (she doesn't yap for nothing!). Rivas favourite place is on the sofa with her belly in the air ready for a tummy rub, she loves her cuddles and having a 'raspberry' blown on her belly! Everyone loves watching how quick she does her sendaway at obedience club! She is certainly a clever girl. Amy is the cheeky one of the bunch, she loves to trot about with a toy in her mouth while 'speaking' to get your attention. A day never passes without Amy making me laugh, she is such a character. Where Amy jumps before she thinks, Indy will think and then act, she has a quick intelligence and picks up everything going on around her. Indy got her name because even as a tiny puppy she was the independant one of the bunch, always watching the silly antics of her sisters and probably rolling her eyes at them from underneath her long eyebrows!! I'm often surprised to find Indy curled up on my knee as she sneaks up without a fuss. These 3 minis are the foundation of my future breeding and showing hopes. Amy is the founder of my pepper and salt line ( see Amber on the bitch page) and Indy will be the future of the black and silvers.

All the older adults have been trained and passed the Kennel Club Good Citizen GOLD  award which is the highest level a dog can get. The other dogs as they join the family will also follow the same training.

You can find out where the story goes from here by looking at the other pages of this website.