Oscar and the Chocodiva

Online home for Oscar and the ChocoDiva or, to be precise, the online home for Morrigan's Cu mac Shimidh and Morrigan's Godiva.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Long Overdue Amara Pictures




Taken this evening, two days before her 7 week birthday.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Family

Oscar has a littermate brother named Tug. He lives waaaaay up north in Wisconsin. This picture was taken a few years ago at Jim's old house during Mastiffpalooza. The two brothers posed beautifully for a this picture-having not seen one another since they were 8 weeks old.Tug lives with Heather Boggs and Tank and Gretchen, too :) And they all had the following article in their local paper:

Lake Geneva's top dog --- Mastiff spends past year as a champion
By Kayla Bunge/Janesville Gazette

For the past year, 2 1/2-year-old Tank has been the nation's No. 1-ranked mastiff puppy.Tank kept his title until a week ago when the new Grand Sweepstakes winner of the Mastiff Club of America National Specialty Show was named.

"He's very mellow, very laid back," said owner Heather Boggs of Lake Geneva, "He has to lay by someone. If you sit on the floor, he'll come over and put his head on you."

Tank, otherwise known by his AKC name of Fireside's Monster of the Midway, hasn't let his success go to his head.

An American Kennel Club champion, Tank is one of three mastiffs in Terry and Heather Boggs' house. Tug, also an AKC champion, and Gretchen lumber through the house, too."

Our dogs are treated like our children," Heather said. "I have five kids, not two."

Terry always wanted a big dog, and when he first saw a mastiff a few years ago, he fell in love. And so did Heather. But neither of them knew what they were getting into."

I thought we were going to get a dog," Heather said. "I didn't know we were going to get into showing and breeding."

The couple got Tug in February 2004 from a reputable breeder in Georgia. Tug comes from a champion bloodline, and in order to maintain the success, Terry and Heather decided to show him and found a handler in Illinois.

Tug became an AKC champion in six shows. To become a champion, a dog must acquire 15 points, including two major wins (a major win is worth three points or more). Points are awarded based on the number of dogs competing.

The couple planned to get a second mastiff from Tug's handler, who was breeding his first litter. They wanted a female so they could breed her with Tug.

Heather traveled to Illinois to watch the birth of the puppies. She spent six weekends with the puppies, poised to bring home the next addition to her family."

And I just fell in love with Tank," she said.

The couple began working with Tank in February 2006, teaching him first to stand properly for judging. When he was 5 1/2 months old, they sent him back to the handler in Illinois for more formal dog show training, and at 6 months, he was ready to enter the ring.

Tank became an AKC champion in seven shows.

Despite their crowning achievements, the mastiffs are just normal dogs, Heather said, although passersby would disagree. When Terry and Heather take their three mastiffs for what is supposed to be a leisurely walk downtown, the two-mile jaunt takes nearly two hours because people constantly stop them to ask how tall the dogs are, how much they weigh and how much they eat.

Saturday, September 06, 2008

Mirra Sweeps Atlanta!

Little Mirra isn't so little any more! Oscar's daugher (and there can be no mistake with her muzzle!) won three straight in Atlanta. On Saturday and Sunday, she threw in Best of Winners, too. The following is Saturday's picture. She was expertly handled by Wendi Cowell.