“It takes a village”
Canterbury Poodles came to existence in 1995, when as a teenage boy I purchased my first lovely bitch, Cloudspin’s Courtney. It was my love, passion and keen eye for beautiful animals that led me to Cloudspin poodles in New York and breeder Marjorie McCarthy. I owe a lot to Marjorie, for supporting and being patient with me as I navigated through coat care, conditioning and training. It was this relationship and trust that Marjorie had in me, that resulted in my first Poodle becoming both a Champion and top producer.
As I quickly found myself spending my weekends and summers attending shows, I was drawn to the exquisitely presented poodles being shown by Allison Alexander. I knew I needed her to be the one to show my “Courtney”. Allison became more than just my handler. She was someone who took the time to invest in teaching me and became a mentor who not only invited me in to her home but on to the show circuit. Here she taught me the techniques to properly care and grow out a show coat. The time she spent with me, provided me with the knowledge I needed to ensure I felt both welcome and engaged into the exciting world of show dogs that has resulted in some life long friendships.
One such friend is Joseph Vergnetti of Dassin Farms. Joseph was another key person who welcomed me into the sport with open arms. I was so fortunate to have met him and to this day consider him to be both a mentor and a friend. When first researching kennels I viewed Joseph as a “Rock Star” of poodle breeders, whose life long commitment to poodles has fine tuned the breed and has bred 100’s of champions . Over the years I had the opportunity to own and breed to several Dassin dogs and everything “Canterbury” has always been traced back to this influential breeder.
As you navigate through the website, you will get to know some of the dogs that have brought so much joy in to my life over the past 28 years. None of this would have been possible without the supportive, patient and dedicated individuals listed above.
Hence, it takes a village.