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Grooming, Health Care and Other Schnauzer Facts
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Who We Are...
pictured above, Sterling' Syndicate CGC, "Cindy" our first Miniature Schanuzer (February 24, 1989 to July 19, 2004). Boy do we miss her!
Now that you are familiar with our purpose, let's find out "who we are"…
Thomas R. LaSalle and Santos A. Diaz, founders of Sterling' Miniature Schnauzers in Bow, New Hampshire.
A brief history, Santos and I began our dog show endeavors in 1988, while living in Puerto Rico we purchased a Labrador retriever from a local pet store. She was the only "pure bred" dog in our home of several Caribbean "street dogs" or Sato's as they are known on the island. Eager to be responsible dog owners, we enrolled her in obedience classes held at a shopping mall parking lot, over an hour away from where we lived. She excelled and graduated 1st in her class, with a sound basic first step, we intended to continue and perhaps begin raising Labs. Our 7 acre "Ranchito" was ideal for this as the closest neighbor was several miles away.
Mother nature and the cosmic forces had other plans for us, arriving home from work one day, we were shocked to find that a brush fire had taken our home and all of our pets, including Stormy, our beloved Lab. We knew we had to rebuild, and we knew that the opportunities to find work would be better in the states, so we packed up the few things we had left, moved to New Hampshire and started new.
Being apartment dwellers, we knew we could not survive with out a dog, but could not confine a large dog like a Lab in a small apartment. Fate stepped in again, as thumbing through a local paper we found an ad for Miniature Schnauzer puppies, remembering that there was a Mini in the advanced obedience class back in Puerto Rico, and the owner telling us that she was "a BIG dog in a small body", we thought it would be a great way to start in dog-dom again. Hence Cindy, Sterling Syndicate CGC, found her way into our home and our hearts. One little dog, who in her own right, was quite UN-remarkable. She never completed an obedience class, got a show point, produced a champion or even learned a cute trick. What she did do was display all the characteristics, in spite of her questionable pedigree, that make the Miniature Schnauzer such a great companion. We fell in love!
Cindy made us ultimately contact breeders who show dog. She was bred and produced some wonderful puppies that made their families happy. All of these puppies have since passed away from congestive heart failure or Cushing's disease. Thankfully, we had good direction and strong convictions, Cindy was spayed, we never kept one of her off spring. We recently lost Cindy, she had a beautiful, long and happy life! It was a privledge to have the time we did with her.
Who we are today, Though, by some standards we are a fairly new name in Miniature Schnauzers, having bred our first litter of puppies in 1991, we have enjoyed quite a high level of success in the AKC dog show ring. Having bred, owned and/or handled Nearly 40 AKC champion Miniature Schnauzers, and breeder handling some top winning dogs. In addition to conformation shows, we have also watched puppies that we have placed with others enjoying success in both the obedience and agility rings.
Our greatest joy, however, comes from helping these wonderful little dogs find their own families and a place to call home. We attribute our success, to having met the right people with knowledge to share, maintaining a realistic and attainable goal and acquiring the very best possible foundation very early on in our endeavor.
Our greatest source of pride and accomplishment comes from seeing the many people who have approached us for help and a start, excel in all aspects of dog ownership and dog show venues. Staying involved and sharing the knowledge that we have acquired is our biggest reward.
Sterling' Miniature Schnauzers is truly a small hobby kennel, we rarely have more than 1 or 2 litters of puppies a year and we breed with the intention of keeping and showing dogs from all of our litter when ever possible. But many folks around the country and even in Canada have bred to our champion males, and many of our dog show friends may have quality puppies available if we do not, we would love to help you find the next member of your family. Because sharing these great companions with the rest of you are what make our efforts seem so worth while.