As the saying goes, "Once Eurasier, Always Eurasier", that's me since 2003!
~ ~ How did I get into Eurasiers? ~ ~
I have had canine companions my entire life. I couldn't imagine life without at least one 4-pawed best friend. Growing up I dreamt of a spitz-type dog. When I was a teen, my family came upon a puppy needing a home. This puppy had prick-ears, a double coat, and a tail that curled over her back. She was mine! She was perfect.
As the years went on and Lady aged and left this world, I began my search for another 'Lady'. Lady was a chow-mix, as much as I could determine. One day I came across a magazine with a dog on the cover that looked so much like Lady that I stopped, grabbed it, saw that it said "Eurasier" and as soon as I went home I began an internet search. That search led me to two US based breeders, resulting in me bringing home my first Eurasier in 2003, North River's Darling Diva Nixie (USA)...
When I brought Nixie home back in 2003, little did I know how much that decision would change my life and be the beginning of a life long passion.
~ ~ The Education ~ ~
I've spent many years immersing myself into the Eurasier world. I have served on the board for the United States Eurasier Club since 2006. My roles have varied from database administrator, international relations, to president. During that time I have learned so much from our US breeders that have been here since the beginning, our friends in Germany that have so graciously traveled abroad to teach us on several occasions, our Canadian Eurasier friends, and of course reading every book I could find about Eurasiers.
I have attended two Eurasier breeding seminars (2009, 2023), several virtual webinars by well known reproduction vets on canine pregnancy, whelping and raising a litter. I'm always trying to keep myself educated in the world of Eurasiers but also canine reproduction and health.
~ ~ Our Activities ~ ~
Living in the beautiful Black Hills National Forest allows us to spend a lot of time hiking with our dogs. We also like to try different activities such as agility, rally, obedience, scent work and tricks classes. We tend to stick mostly with tricks and agility classes, following what our dogs seem to enjoy the most.
* * 2019 marks the year that we welcomed our first Eurasier litter! * *
This was an exciting adventure that we plunged into and we couldn't have done it without our support system of several US Eurasier Club breeders and a special thanks to North River Eurasiers for traveling all the way to South Dakota to be hands-on help for our first whelping & answering their phone in the wee hours. Another special thanks to: Heartland Eurasiers who have always answered our calls during the whelping process and helped us remain calm; Shenandoah Eurasiers for always provided us with well researched answers to our questions and always offering great advice; and EverEndeavor Eurasiers in Canada for answering our questions in the wee hours and helping us remain calm. You know the saying, "it takes a village", well it is 100% true.
Since 2019 we have learned a lot, cried a lot, laughed a lot and loved a whole lot.
Why "Wiskota"?
It's simple really, I have roots in Wisconsin but have called South Dakota home for an almost equal length of time. After several weeks of discussing 'kennel' names, "Wiskota" was suggested...it took a while but it grew on me and well, here we are! Our logo is the silhouette of Yara, with imagery of the Black Hills. I wanted our logo to portray our love of the breed and the natural world.
~ ~ Lady ~ ~
My first 'heart' dog. As best as I could tell, Lady was a chow mix. Growing up I had always admired the prick eared, curled tailed breeds. When the opportunity came to take on this little girl, I dove in. My parents knew this was what I had dreamed of for a dog. Thank you Mom and Dad for realizing that dream and saying 'yes' when someone knocked on our door with a puppy in tow.
Lady was all I could have asked for. She was with me through high school and most of college. After her passing I scoured the local rescue organizations for chow mix puppies. I came to find the Eurasier breed simply by accident. I walked past a magazine rack with a dog magazine and what was on the cover? A Eurasier! As you can see Lady had some similar traits to the Eurasier, which is why the breed caught my eye.
~ ~ North River's Darlin Diva Nixie ~ ~
Nixie was my first Eurasier (2003). She hailed from North River Eurasiers in Massachusetts. Nixie was exactly what I needed at that time in my life. I was wrapping up my college years and moving into the real world. She taught me so much about being a good dog owner, trainer, and Eurasier enthusiast. When I made the decision to share my life with Nixie, I had no idea what door that would open. Through her, I gained lifelong friendships, developed a strong love and desire to protect the Eurasier breed, and learned more than I knew there was to learn about dogs, people, relationships, and breed clubs!
Nixie and I stepped into the world of obedience training, tricks training, agility training, and conformation showing. Living in northern Wisconsin, our options were limited but we found a few conformation shows to attend under the United Kennel Club (UKC).
~ ~ Carlo vom Niederrhein ~ ~
Carlo was my second Eurasier (2006). I imported him from the Kynologische Zuchtgemeinschaft Eurasier e.V. (KZG Eurasier Club) in Germany. A special thanks to the KZG club for entrusting me with such a special soul, and a special thanks to Josee Dessouroux for helping that happen. My intentions were to import a new bloodline to the USA, it was my way to help out our very small breeding population of Eurasiers here in this country. Unfortunately Carlo had autoimmune thyroiditis, causing him to need medication every day for the rest of his life. This disease meant that Carlo could not be bred. Its unfortunate because he was a stunning dog, had the best temperament, and overall was put together quite well and represented the breed standard.
After learning about his thyroid disease I was on a quest to learn as much as I could about it. What do we do about it when it comes to a small breeding population and how can we test or prevent it. I connected with Dr. Jean Dodds, HemoPet, and she helped educate me on the disease. As I learned more I shared that info with the US Eurasier Club which prompted more importance on thyroid testing in our breed. Through testing it was discovered that approximately 20-24% of Eurasiers have thyroid disease. Through this endeavor I helped solidify an agreement with HemoPet to work with the US Eurasier Club for discounted testing.
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