The year was 1989, and it was a year of great change for our family. My mother and father were divorcing after 30 years of marriage, and my sister and I decided that our mom needed another outlet for the affection she had lavished on our dad for all those years. Enter Whitley, a small ball of white Maltese fluff we purchased from a puppymill. Despite Whitley’s obvious faults, she was just what the doctor ordered, and very quickly wormed her way into my mom’s heart – a heart that had never been open to loving a dog, particularly one that lived in the house! It wasn’t long before mom talked me into purchasing a Maltese puppy for myself. By then, we had learned our lesson – stay away, FAR away from puppymill dogs. So, with Whitley in tow, on Memorial Day 1989, mom and I went to the dog show in Shawnee, Oklahoma. We thought our lives had been changed two years prior. We had no idea the effect that meeting our good friend, Tammy Simon (Ta-Jon Maltese), would have on our lives. We purchased a little girl from Tammy, and Abbey (Ta-Jon’s Moonlight Abbey) very quickly wormed her way into my mom’s heart. That’s right. My puppy was really my mom’s puppy, but that was OK with me since mom was smiling once again. Our smiles turned to tears in 1991 when Abbey became ill and was diagnosed with vonWillebrand’s disease as well as autoimmune hemolytic anemia. Abbey had just had her shots and been spayed, and her little system could not take it. She crossed Rainbow Bridge within two months of her diagnosis. Tammy entrusted us with yet another puppy, and we named him Samson, our little giant. Samson was one wiggly energetic ball of fur, and Whitley hated him! His life ended tragically at just four months of age when he wriggled from my arms and fell onto the kitchen floor, breaking his neck. It was almost more than we could take, but once again, I called Tammy. And once again, she told me to come and look at Samson’s mother, who was available for adoption. It wasn’t long before I brought that baby girl (Ch. Barbarella’s Boo Berry Muffin) aka Boo, Boo Berry and Merry Muffins, home with me. I finally had MY Maltese. For 11 years this angel blessed my life. She crossed Rainbow Bridge on Dec. 18, 2004.

I added another retiree to my home in 2000 – a girl who would change my life forever – Ch. Ta-Jon’s Kay Sara Sara (Kate). I have often said that Kate is my "dream dog." She is certainly every breeder and handler’s dream. A beautiful topline, a to-die-for coat, and attitude deluxe made her a wonderful show dog, and a wonderful teaching tool for someone who decided late in life that she needed to learn what this dog show business was all about. Or was it Tammy who decided this? Desperate for help at a dog show, she asked me to take a dog back in the ring. I can still remember her exact words. "Don’t worry about it. Just pretend you’re taking Merry Muffins for a walk!" OK, I could handle that. Only one problem. I walked Boo on my right side. I couldn’t figure out why the girl I had taken back into the ring wouldn’t budge for me. It wasn’t until the last walk around the ring and Tammy pointing and saying "Other side, other side!" that I figured it out. Dogs are shown on the left – the judge’s side. It was this single incident that convinced me to start conformation classes so that I would never again be embarrassed by not really knowing what to do. Well, who better than to teach an old dog new tricks than an old dog that had been there-done that? My Kate seemed the obvious choice. It didn’t seem to matter that she was now almost 7 years old and hadn’t been in the ring herself in more than six years! Kate and I began learning (and re-learning) together, and it certainly was a wild ride. After a few months of conformation classes in Oklahoma City, I entered Kate in a match. We left the building that day with a Best in Match trophy. When I called Tammy to tell her the news, her comment was "Oh, no, you’ve been bitten by the show bug!" I certainly had been. I began traveling with Tammy to watch and learn. How blessed I am to not only have a wonderful breeder as a friend, but now she also was my mentor. Within two months, I entered Kate, who was now 7, in a REAL show in Lawrence, Kansas. We left that show with a Best of Breed ribbon. Kate’s winning, despite me being her groomer and handler, continued over the next few months, and our first year in the ring together, Kate had enough breed points to qualify her for the Eukanuba Invitational, ranked as the #17 Maltese. No mom could ever be prouder of her child than I am of my Kate. At the age of 9, Kate officially retired for the second time. At the age of 11, she continues to be my best bed buddy and dog show travel companion.

The death of my grandfather in 1999 meant that his loving companion (and previously my grandmother’s cherished companion before her death three years prior) named Chelsey would also become a member of our family. Chelsey is a sweet old girl now, and still likes it when we call her "my little pal," my grandfather’s term of endearment for her.

And along came Bitsy (Ta-Jon’s Little Bit of Heaven) after she retired from motherhood and went to live (overnight) with a neighbor. She didn’t last long because Bitsy had already determined that my mom was HER mom, too. She got her way, and she has been mom’s "angel" and "sweetheart, sweetheart" ever since. After a few brief runs around the ring with me, Bitsy decided that showing was NOT for her – she would much rather be on mom’s lap at home, so she is now spayed and officially retired from everything except giving lots of sweet kisses.

Not long after I retired Kate, I obtained Henry (Ch. Ta-Jon’s Oh Henry). Henry was given to my niece, Casey Miller of Kansas, to show in junior showmanship and conformation. Casey, her sister, Jordan (who owns and showed in juniors Kate’s son,
Clue – Ch. Ta-Jon’s Without A Doubt), and brother, Samuel, raised Henry to be a wonderful, loving outgoing little dog. I brought Henry home with me in March 2002 to begin growing his somewhat damaged, somewhat cutoff hair. Busy social/family life did not agree with Henry’s fragile coat! But, within months, Henry was in the ring working his way toward his championship. He earned back-to-back four point majors his second weekend out with me (Kansas City). His next two points came the following weekend in Oklahoma City, and another four-point major followed in Amarillo, Texas, in December. He completed his last single in Wichita Falls, Texas, in February. Less than one year after I brought Henry to live with me, I had my first owner-handled champion. Henry returned to live with my niece in Kansas in order for me to pursue my next champion.