So much has happened this year and we have so much to be grateful for, we decided to have a quick look back at our year.
January
We met Piff the Magic Dragon and Jade when this top Las Vegas act came to Christchurch for the World Busker's festival. Not only did Nikita nail it as the NZ “Mr Piffles” and feature on TV, but we made some great new friends. Can’t wait to welcome them back to NZ soon.
February
Team Kitaco dogs cleaned up in nearly every show in the South Island, from Gore to Dunedin to Nelson.
March
Wow, what a month March was. Emma the Pom joined us for the first time, we cleaned up in Oamaru and Geraldine, Bubbles took Reserve of Group on the West Coast, Tracey started the Massey University Masters Program, Nikita was featured in the NZ Dog World Magazine and the little breeder in Greece nobody in NZ had heard of before we imported Narci, won Best of Breed at Crufts. Talk about knowing how to pick ‘em!
April
The Kitaco dogs were back doing media work, this time being photography models for the Barkzealand Photography Conference in Queenstown. They followed this up with more wins in Dunedin and North Canterbury and our delightful smooth coat, Delilah, became an NZ Champion.
May
With the show season winding down, we had Bubbles, our 3rd NZ Champion made up, and welcomed Distripets as one of our official partners.
June
Emma the Pom joined Team Kitaco on a permanent basis and Spencer took Reserve Best in Show, Tara took Junior in Show and Poco took Best Veteran in Show at the Chihuahua Speciality Show in Christchurch.
July
Kyrie took Best Junior in Show at the Judges Exam Open Show and we welcomed the Flying Taco Litter
August
Kitaco took the entire toy group at the Geraldine Open Show and Spencer took another Reserve Best in Show, this time at the Auckland Speciality Show. We also welcomed our El=Toro kids, Toby and Kaley to the team.
September
Emma the Pom earned her NZ Champion title despite exploding cars at the CKA grounds.
October
We joined forces with Team El-Toro for the National Dog Show and kicked serious butt. Kyrie took Best Open in Show at the Christchurch speciality show while our darling Andre made the big journey across the ditch to Australia where he took out Best of Breed as a Baby Puppy in his very first show. Oh, and Aussie import, Chiquito the Pom, joined Team Kitaco.
November
Chiquito and Andre continue to lead Team Kitaco to victory on both sides of the Tasman and Chiquito became a NZ Champion. Better yet, a call came from Greece to confirm another Mystic Legion dog was heading our way (still waiting for the commission cheque for the referral, George… LOL).
Best news, though, that after years of campaigning for more Chihuahua breeders to join the Accredited Breeder scheme, 3 of them finally jumped onboard with us. We are no longer alone. It’s a great feeling to be vindicated by so many following our lead. Can’t wait for their fully health tested and DNA profiled puppies to arrive.
December
Alice, Toby and Kaley, under the watchful eye and exceptional handling of Amba Waghorn, take wins in both the North and the South Island, finishing off a great year. Auntie Amba's Toy Dog Finishing School is born
Phew... and that was just the highlights!
There has been some sadness, too. Losing little Wicket was heart breaking.
Being booed by another competitor when Narci won Best of Breed during the National Dog Show Week was... enlightening
Dealing with the bullies whose attacks on us have become so ridiculous, we had to get lawyers involved, had a happy ending, though. It resulted in an unequivocql apology from their lawyers, a retraction, our costs paid, and their is a lawyer now facing a hearing at the Law Society, but it was a time consuming waste of money and energy, although fortunatey not ours.
Learning who our real friends are, and how many opprtunists were faking friendship because they thought there was something in it for them, was probably the most interesting thing of all.
2020 is set to be a great year. We have puppies on the way, with a couple more headed to Australia, some exciting new imported lines being introduced into our kennels and hopefully our first Pomeranian litter, if Emma ever decides to come into season.
On the Dogs NZ Accredited Breeder front, our quest to see every breeder health testing their dogs is doing better than we ever imagined. We now have 2 who are accredited for Long Coats, one for Long and Smooths in addition to our kennel, which is accredited, of course, for Long Coats, Smooth Coats and Poms. There are another 2 kennels about to come onboard that we know of, who will also be accredited for both Chihuahua varieties. The scheme needs work to refine it, but it is such a good feeling to know that other Chihuahua breeders are following our lead. Healthier dogs is what eveyone should aspire to.
We’d like to thank the many people who have made our year so memorable. Rest assured we know and appreciate all the amazing support we have received this year from so many wonderful people., both publiclly and behind the scenes. We’d list them here, but fear leaving someone out might offend so we’ll pass on our thanks in person. Thanks also to our wonderful Kitaco puppy owners who are doing such a wonderful job with our fur babies. We love that you love them as much as you do, and are so glad to have you in the Kitaco family.
Happy Holidays and a have a great 2020
Tracey and Jenny
Kitaco Kennels
