Baxterbred Cavaliers is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Puppy and Dog show kennel, located in Concord, Michigan, which is in the Jackson / Lansing Area of Mid-Michigan. Our cavaliers are raised "under foot" with our family and are pets first. Our three children, Isaac (10), Rachel (8), and Seth (5) are all involved with our cavaliers both in care and simple pure enjoyment.
Our cavalier story began in 2001, when we were researching what type of dog would fit our family's lifestyle. Several breeds worked for us, but only one made all of us excited at the thought of having them. At that point we started looking for a puppy. And as you may experience yourself, the price of a new puppy was above our pay grade. So we looked at other options. We finally came upon a seven (7) year old male and female that were for sale at a pretty cheap price, $500 each. We contacted the seller and he agreed to meet us at a "neutral location." This seemed a bit odd to us, but what did we know? Upon meeting the seller, we knew something was wrong. He pulled up in his truck and opened the hatch to reveal the two dogs, caged together, in a cage that was maybe big enough for one of them. He opened the cage and they cowered in the corner furthest from us. I picked up the girl and she was shaking. We asked, "What's her name?" He said, she didn't have one. Her hair was cut, her markings were odd, her nose long, she barely resembled the pictures we had seen on the internet of what a cavalier was suppose to look like. After talking with the seller for awhile we asked for a few minutes to discuss things amongst ourselves. We looked at each other, hearts broken over these two sad souls. We had brought our "cash only" but only enough for one. We wanted to save both, but knew we just didn't have the money. After much thought, we chose the girl, paid him his money, and watched him drive away. We were sick.
After that weekend, we took her to the vet. She was as shocked as we were. Various signs of abuse, neglect, and over breeding, typical for a dog from a puppy mill. She was only 7, but was aged well beyond her years. We named her Lola. We struggled with Lola. She didn't play, she didn't cuddle, she didn't smile. She hid. She wet everywhere. She lived in constant fear.
Lola didn't last the winter. Three months after we rescued her, she was gone. It took some time to get over that. But the more we thought about it, the more sick we became. We had to do something. We finally decided the best way to make a difference was to get involved. We loved the breed and wanted to help it for the better. But we had no experience in dogs, or really cavaliers for that matter. So we decided that we would get one and see what it was all about.
In 2003 we purchased our very first pet puppy cavalier. We did a lot of research on the breed before the day we brought Belle home. We not only wanted to know as much as we could about cavaliers, but also about who we were buying from. We learned a lot with Belle. What cavaliers were really like, how much care they needed, what to feed them, and how to train them. We fell in love with Belle, but more importantly, we fell in love with cavaliers.
After much thought we made a life changing decision. We wanted to help the breed, improve the breed, and something even more important: We wanted to provide quality cavaliers at a price "normal people" could afford. We knew we weren't going to make any money, we had talked to enough breeders to know that wasn't going to happen. But we thought that this was the best way for us to make a measurable difference to the breed. So we sought out the perfect pup to begin our kennel.
This is where we ran into the problem everyone runs into that wants to get into the cavalier world of showing a breeding. The problem was simple, but almost impossible to overcome. Simply put, no reputable breeder would sell us an "unrestricted" registered dog. We tried co-owned, a trainee program, signing our name in blood. No one would touch us. Our character and intentions were questioned. Most breeders knew, if done inhumanely, cavaliers could be a great money maker. Understandably no one wanted one of their pups placed in the wrong hands. Now of course anyone, who has the time, money, and will to stoop low enough, can find a breeder that will sell them an unrestricted dog, but they will all tend to fall into one or more of the following categories: They don't show, they are only looking to make money, their pedigrees are as black as the night sky (champion dogs are typically red on pedigrees), or their dogs look more like another breed than a cavalier. To say the least, we were frustrated, depressed, and almost gave up.
During this time we were learning more and more about the breed. And more than anything else we became students of pedigrees. Really understanding pedigrees teaches one a lot about a breed. The most important thing it taught us was what the "ancestry" kennels and dogs were. Such things like, "From what kennel did many of the champions lines come from?" There are a few, but there are very few that are still actively breeding. So we made the decision that if we were really going to improve the breed, especially here in the "states," we had draw from the best ancestry lines we could find. Now we are not saying our method is the only method to "truly" produce quality cavaliers. There are many breeders that have already proved otherwise. But for us, this was the best way we knew we could produce the best cavaliers possible. So we decided to start at the top, and hoped we could get as close to it as possible.
In the cavalier world there are few kennels that would put themselves in the same league as Homerbrent. Molly Coaker and her kennel, Homerbrent, are known throughout the cavalier world. She has bred with the best, produced some of the best, and one would be hard pressed to find a good lined cavalier without at least one, if not more, Homerbrents in its lineage. We found Molly's number from some odd article we were reading. We called Molly not expected anything really, but couldn't pass up the opportunity to not only talk to her but at least try to get something from her. We quickly learned that Molly is a wonderful person. Understanding, caring, and quick to listen. But she's no dummy either. After a lengthily conversation, she kindly told us to keep in touch. If we really were interested in doing what we said we wanted to do, we would wait whatever time it took to get the perfect pup from her. We were honored that she would even consider us.
In the fall of 2006 (if you're counting, yes that's about 3 years), after many phone calls and emails we were blessed with Homerbrent Badger from Molly Coaker herself. He has been a blessing to not only our kennel, but as a wonderful addition to our family.
Since that day we have worked hard to establish ourselves as a reputable and quality show kennel. All our dogs have yearly health clearances for their eyes, heart, and hips.
In May of 2008 we were blessed with the second addition to our family, Homerbrent Trixie. We traveled to England to both meet Molly Coaker ourselves and pick up Trixie. It was a great trip and we were honored to be welcomed into Molly's home. To see some of the pictures of our trip you can click here.
In July of 2008 we added the first non-Homerbrent to our kennel. While she's not a Homerbrent, she has Homerbrent in her lines and comes from a great kennel. Mary Madaan from Madaan's 24K Gold Kennels blessed our family with Madaan's 24K Gold Filigree of Baxterbred (Filigree is fine ornamental art with gold). She comes from Ch. Lovejoy Cheers and Homerbrent Mimosa. Beyond being a beautiful pup, she has a great temperament and will be a great addition to our family and kennel. With a great lively attitude - always wanting to show off and be the center of attention, we believe she will make a great show dog and a joy to show.
Our plans for the future include mating Trixie (to an unnamed stud at this point) in late 08, adding one or two more girls to our kennel, finishing all of our cavaliers, and raising our very first bred Baxterbred dog to his/her champion title.
We hope you enjoy our website.
We welcome any comments or suggestions you may have. We add content regularly, so please check back with us on a regular basis.
Baxterbred Cavaliers
Owned and loved by Rick & Erica Baxter.
