My first dog was a
Pembroke Welsh Corgi, which I acquired at age 11. In my teens, during
school holidays I worked for three famous GSD kennels to gain
experience. I bought my first GSD in l969. I have only bred three GSD
litters, but they included a CC (Challenge Certificate)
and BOB winner, Nellbern Diana.
I saw my first
Bernese, Ch Carlacot Bracken, in l982 and joined the GB Club the
following year. I admired the dogs from the Forgeman kennels and Brenda
Griffiths was instrumental in finding me my foundation bitch, Redinka
Rose. Soon afterwards I purchased a dog puppy, Carlacot Genesis who won
his title in l992 when he went Best of Breed at Crufts. I have bred 19
BMD litters, on average about one per year, a total of 80 plus
puppies. These include Champions Nellsbern Elsa, (Best in Show at the
GB Club show in l998) and her half sister Champion Nellsbern Ilsa. I
have bred a further four CC winners, and a further two reserve CC
winners. All my homebred stock, trace back to the CC winning Nellsbern
Casablanca who produced three champions and we are now in the fifth
generation from my foundation pair.
I have awarded CCs
in Bernese since l992 and have judged in Denmark (twice) and in Hungary
where in both locations I judged the National BMD shows. I am judge
elect for the Finnish National BMD show (dogs) in 2004 as well as the GB
Club (bitches) in the same year. I have experience of judging other
breeds at Open show level, in particular GSD and Leonbergers. I
attended the Swiss Club show in l987 and the World Show in Brussels. I
work for the weekly dog paper OUR DOGS for whom I write the Bernese
breed notes each week and have done so for more than a decade.
I served for about
seven years on the BMDC of GB Committee, where I produced the magazine
three times a year and their annual handbook. I am the Liaison Officer
to the Northern BMD Club for whom I have also produced a thrice-yearly
magazine. I am married to Dr Malcolm B Willis, the well-known canine
geneticist who is to judge the American National in Texas 2004.
Although we have a large kennel, we tend to breed a litter when we want
to continue the line and not for commercial reasons. We both take an
interest in what is happening in the breed world wide, through magazines
etc., and in this country have given seminars to assist trainee
judges.