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Introduction

Welcome to my homepages! I am a thirty-year-old dog owner from southern Finland. Originally I am from Lapland, Posio. Posio is infamous for the Pentik pottery factory, Korouoma canyon and lake Livo’s sand ridges. In our family up north, we’ve had dogs ever since I was born. I got my first memories in the late seventies from ”Jekku”, which was a playful Finnish Spitz. After Jekku my father has owned several Karelian Bear Dogs mainly for hunting purposes. The first dog owned by me alone was Tibetan Spaniel ”Nassu”. He was a strong-willed ”gentleman”, who lived as a house pet and reached almost 15 years of age.

Currently I live in Southern Finland, Turku. I have graduated from University of Turku and I’m working as a scientist in a laboratory for Molecular Biology - planning to complete my doctoral thesis in 2010. I own three Havaneses. The oldest of my dogs, ”Suvi” (Silkkipään Fabiola), was born in 2005. I fell in love with her playful and friendly character and 1.5 years later I got ”Talvi” (Torcedore’s Alegre Nenita) from the kennel’s first litter (2007). Talvi was co-owned with the breeder until Talvi produced her first litter (2008). My third dog ”Elvi” (Tiziana Eye of the Lion) came to me in spring 2008 as Virve, whom I had befriended during this time, decided to make a pairing that felt perfect for me at the time. Elvi’s ownership is under similar contract as Talvi’s was. All my own dogs live freely indoors and are very dear to me - almost like family members!

In 2007, I was elected to the Breeding Committee of our national Bichon Havanais Club for a three-year period. During this period I have put forward many motions, f. ex. launching of the first national health survey, creation of the committee’s health database and updating of breeding guidelines. In addition, I prepared the official Breeding Agenda 2009-2013. In 2009 I was also elected to the position of secretary in the Breeding Committee, as well as to TSKK’s Show Committee, which organized a large puppy show in Turku Congress Center in winter 2009. In 2007 and 2008 I completed Breeding Adviser’s basic and follow-up courses, which were organized by the Finnish Kennel Club.

My goals as a breeder

I applied for a kennel name in late 2007. My kennel name ”Madrina’s” is derived from Spanish and it translates to ”Godmother”. I think this name suites very well my purposes as a breeder because my interest in breeding is fuelled by the love I have for the breed. The ultimate motive for my breeding work is genuine interest and admiration for the breed. I aim at healthy and good-natured Havanese, which are typical for the breed. I plan each pairing carefully to avoid risks for known and examined illnesses or disorders and I will use only healthy, eye and patella-checked dogs for breeding. All in all, I will keep my breeding work simple, home-based and small-scaled. By these means my goal is to offer Havanese puppies for people that are genuinely interested in the breed. The first Madrina’s litter was born in september 2009.

Challenges of the breeding work

I approach breeding with an open attitude. I am very interested in the development taking place in the level of the whole population, and I will keep that in mind as I continue my own breeding work. Due to my background I have good knowledge on biology, such as genetics and population ecology. In my opinion co-operation is the key to a healthy and sound breed and, thus, I consider sincerity and openness of breeders as one of the key issues in breeding. Sharing of knowledge is beneficial for the breeding work in general and eventually it will also be for the best of those who buy puppies.

Thank you for reading through this introduction. In case you have any further questions, feel free to contact me!

Memberships:

Finnish Bichon Havanais Club (Havannalaiset ry) (in english)

The Finnish Toy Dog Association (SKKY) (in english)

Finnish Kennel Club (SKL) (in english)

Finnish Dog Breeders Club (SuKoKa) (only briefly in english)

Swedish Bichon Havanais Club (BBHC) (in swedish)

Toy Dog Association in Turku area (TSKK) (in finnish)

Finnish Kennel Club’s Breeding database (currently in finnish)

Swedish Kennel Club’s Breeding database (in swedish)

Koira-kissaklinikka Oy

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