Since the day I was born, I have had a golden retriever in my house and I wouldn't have it any other way. I started out with pet goldens but for as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to own “show dogs” and I always envisioned that they would be blonde, beautiful golden retrievers like the ones I fell in love with when taking our family pet to obedience classes at Tejas Golden Retrievers. I started with Lacey, who went back to Tejas lines; however, she ended up being a redhead like me. She was a fabulous dog and I adored her until I lost her at 9.5 to hemangio in 2014. After losing Lacey so suddenly, I learned the hard way that goldens face a lot of health issues and I went on a search across the United States to find a golden that I could show, love as a family member and that would also be healthy and hopefully long lived. After searching the entire country, I called my vet, also a golden breeder and founder of the Greater Houston Golden Retriever Club, for advice. Her assistant called back and said he knew my vet would recommend Ellen Schultz of Apollo Goldens and she had a litter on the ground that was about two weeks old. Perfection! I hunted Ellen down, got her cell phone number from her friend and after many calls and emails, her friend convinced her to give me a chance and I finally ended up on her list for Cooper. Cooper has been everything I could hope for in a golden. Cooper made my childhood dreams come true when he became an AKC Champion over Memorial Day Weekend 2018. Not long after, Cooper earned his AKC Grand Championship which we finished on Easter Sunday 2019, completely owner handled.
On the same day that Cooper won his first major at the show I grew up attending as a child, Harper was born in California. I wanted to get a female that would be compatible with Cooper’s pedigree. I happened across the perfect combination of some of my favorite goldens and immediately fired off an email to Robin Baker of Aubridge Goldens. The more I dug into her dogs, the more convinced I became that Harper would be perfect for me. Harper’s grandmother had even won under the same judge that put up Cooper-it certainly seemed like a good sign. In September of 2017, Harper, Aubridge Gorilla My Dreams, joined our family. Her name fit her perfectly-she truly is the girl of my dreams. Harper earned several points owner handled and even went Best of Opposite Sex to Cooper’s Best of Breed several times with my husband handling her. She was lots of fun in the show ring and managed to finish her AKC Championship with back to back majors in August of 2020, despite the pandemic shutting down dog shows. I couldn’t have dreamed of a better mother and she made the puppy whelping and rearing process easy. There’s nothing she loves more than puppies and she has shined in the whelping box, producing beautiful puppies with exceptional temperaments.
In 2019, Cooper sired his first litter of puppies and I couldn’t stand the idea of other people having Cooper puppies before I did. Deep down, I guess my husband couldn’t either and he decided that he was okay with me bringing Minnie home. Her breeder couldn’t have done a better job with the litter and I always liked the puppy’s grandfather, Blue. In the summer of 2019, we welcomed home Minnie (as in Minnie Cooper) and she’s aptly named “Calvarys Briarcrest One Too Minnie.” My husband fell for her as soon as I walked in the door with her and we’ve both been smitten ever since. She has an ideal temperament and is a cute, fun, athletic girl.
In January of 2021, we welcomed Reese into the family. She is the puppy from our long awaited GCH Cooper x CH Harper litter and my pick from day 1 when I gave her the color lavender. She is the perfect combination of sweet, cuddly and biddable and has my ideal temperament. She loves birds and is an outstanding, eager retriever. She is a beautifully balanced girl with a pretty head and effortless movement. We showed her for a while in bred by and garnered AKC CH points and a bred by group 2. After she received all of her clearances, Janice Hayes began showing her in California and she finished her AKC Championship easily, becoming our first bred by champion. We’re excited about the next chapters with Reese and in the mean time, delighted to have her as our sweet pet and resident puppysitter.
In February of 2023, we welcomed Twiggy, Briarcrest’s You’re Just Jealous, from our CH Harper and GCH CH Arson litter. Twiggy was everything we hoped for in the breeding and constantly keeps us entertained. We are looking forward to getting her into the show ring.
While not part of our breeding program, we also have Ryleigh, a 13.5 year old golden. She was the first golden that I titled and she earned her CGC as a puppy. Once I lost Lacey, I learned about the Shine On Study and have had Ryleigh enrolled in their hemangio marker study for about 9 years.
All of our goldens are OFA certified for hearts, eyes, hips and elbows and we also perform genetic testing. I have been a member of the Golden Retriever Club of America for almost 9 years and I have also the Greater Houston Golden Retriever Club for about 9 years. I have served as the Well Dog Clinic Secretary for the last 8 years and served as President for 8 years. I have also been our specialty show chair for several of our golden retriever specialties. My husband and I reside in Houston, TX.