WORLDCHOW MEMBER INTERVIEW..Catherine Crooks
Our Featured Worldchow member for this week is my good friend Catherine Crooks . Cathy and her hubby Ryan and their adorable daughter Ave live in Iowa in the USA
How many years have you been owned by Chows? How many chows do you have today and their names?
1o years Roses- 7 Kozmo- 5 Rowdy- 2
How many years have you been owned by Chows? How many chows do you have today and their names?
1o years Roses- 7 Kozmo- 5 Rowdy- 2
Cathy, when did you acquire your FIRST chow…tell me a little bit about him/her?
In 1999 my husband and I starting looking for a Chow puppy. We were newlyweds, had just purchased a house and wanted to add a dog to our life. I had always loved the look of the Chow and did lots of research on the breed before deciding I had to have one. We knew nothing about “breeders” and had no idea where to start.
My Mother just happened to meet a former Chow breeder/handler at a natural foods co-op. She just happened to have a litter of puppies on the way- the last litter she was ever going to breed. It was all by chance that Teddy came into our lives, and what an impact she would have. She wasn’t a show dog, that’s not what we were looking for at the time. She was beautiful, loving, and funny and we fell in love with her immediately.
At 6 months of age Teddy had a siezure, we hoped it was an isolated occurance. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case. She turned out to be a severe epileptic. We researched and tried many different types of things to treat her. At one time I was driving an hour, one way, 3 times a week for accupuncture. Her seizures were never able to be completely controlled. She spent 4 short years with us, before her body could take no more. I am so greatful to have had her in our life, she taught us so much. She gave us the best gift of all- our deep love of the Chow.
What are your favorite qualities that only a Chow Chow can possess?
I love their intelligence, graceful movement, and outstanding beauty. I love that if you have a room full of Chows each one is unique. They may have similar features, but I don’t think 2 Chows are ever identical in appearance. I feel that way about their personalities also. All my Chows have different personalities, each one unique.
Favorite activities that you and your family share with your chow(s)
Our Chows are family members first, show dogs second. They do almost eveything we do. I’m lucky to work from home so I’m with my dogs all day. Rowdy and my 3 year old daughter have a strong bond. He participates in “tea parties” and playing “Doctor” on a regular basis.
What would you like to see WORLDCHOW MAGAZINE offer to the Chow fancy?
I think World Chow is a great place for people to come together and share this love we all have in common.
Our dogs have wonderful way of bringing humanimals together. List up to 3 close friends you have met via your chows and dog interests. Tell me a little bit about the connections
Chows brought me to Diana Hillygus and Sandra Miller, two of my best friends. I met Diana at a dog show I attended and she invited me to come to her home and meet all her other dogs. I was so impressed by the beauty and temperament her dogs. I started traveling to dog shows with her learning so much along the way.
Diana introduced me to Sandra and the three of us all have so much in common. They have been great mentors to me, and we’ve developed a life-long freindship. I also met my wonderful Vet because of my epileptic Chow. My former Vet turned me away because he really didn’t know how to treat her when the medication wasn’t working. It turned out to be a blessing in disquise because I found my current Vet, Dr. Phyllis Frost, who is amazing. I can’t say enough good things about her. It is such a good feeling to have a Vet that you can trust and rely on 100%
What do you feel the true essence of our breed is …in 2009?
I think people are more aware of genetic issues and utilizing the tools such as OFA and CERF for healthier future generations. We are lucky to have these tools available and I hope people continue to use them. I have a concern about so many long bodied and short legged dogs in the show ring. Balance is sometimes lost. We need to respect the standard with square dogs and stilted gaits.
What are your 3 biggest concerns regarding the state of the Chow breed right now
* Health Issues
* Loss of overall breed type and balance
* Lack of public education regarding “dangerous breeds”
——————————
Cathy …THANK YOU SO MUCH for taking the time to do this interview!!! I realized just as I was getting ready to publish it , that I don’t have a photo of YOUR beautiful face in here!!!! We would love to see a photo of you , with our without the chows. Also there is one you sent that said is a MUST HAVE ……but the file didn’t come thru. Just send that one along too and I’ll add them to the interview!!
Nice to meet you, Catherine
Chow Greetings
from the other side of the Atlantic
Thank you, Catherine, for sharing so much information about your life, your chows and your family with us. I especially love the photos of “dangerous” chows with your children. The love and affection both types of kids have for each other is readily apparent to anyone who really knows a chow. I also appreciate the point you raised about the work we have to do to educate the public about the continuing reputation of our beloved chows as a dangerous breed. Anyone who looks in your chows’ eyes can see that they are cherished members of your family. Thanks again for sharing all of this with us!
Hey there Cathy!!! You put up some pictures that I haven’t seen. The one of Ryan, Ava and Rowdy in the purple house is adorable. Great way for people to meet!! See you soon, girlfriend.
Thanks everyone for your comments!
Barbara- When I was pregnant people were constantly asking me what I was going to do with my dogs since I was having a baby. What? My dogs aren’t going anywhere! It made me sad and angry. I had a woman in town that told my I was being irresponsible and I could never have Chows in a house with children. It’s amazing how uneducated people still are.
Thank you for sharing your Chow story
I love the pictures of your babies together (your chows and your daughter).
I would like to have the same bond between our babies when my husband and I already have kids running around the house with our chows
Thank you too Sandra, for making this meeting with other chows and chow owners around the world possible!
- John & Orange (from the Philippines)
wow! wonderful interview and Cathy, you really show us the beauty of how a Chow can fit into a family structure and be wonderful with everyone, if you do the research and take the time to integrate everyone. those pics of the chows with Ava are precious……and you can see the love between the dogs and the child. i love the playhouse pic. you sure have learned alot and are wise beyond most in your time with chows. this is what is needed. truly, your mentors have helped and thats so important. People need to know that when buying from a good breeder, they also gain a wonderful lifelong teacher. my heart broke reading about your chow with epilepsy. heartbreaking. thanks for sharing your wonderful words. love, kathleen
Catherine,
I’m sorry you had to deal with such ignorant people during your pregnancy. When bred and nurtured well, chows are such delightful companions (as we all know or we wouldn’t belong to this group), it seems only natural that they would get along with children in their families. It is obvious from looking at your photos how much your dogs love your children. When my dog, Chelsea, and the other puppies in her litter were born, my friends who bred her had a three month old son. Chelsea’s mom, Nikko, her brother Ajax and Chelsea all considered him part of their pack and just loved being with him. Frankly, I’ve had many more aggressive encounters with small lap dogs (including being bitten in the nose) than I have any of our “protective” breeds.
I also had lots of people (including police officers) tell me how aggressive chows are, how Chelsea would eventually turn on me, etc., etc. from the time she was just a five pound puppy. She was the friendliest, most gentle dog I’ve ever known throughout her entire 15 1/2 years on this planet and just absolutely adored children. She was a total social butterfly and loved meeting everyone but was especially thrilled when there was a child she could meet.
There is one positive aspect of our chows’ reputation and that is that it’s a great crime deterrent. I even had hardcore gang members cross the street to avoid my 40 pound chow. So, your children have their own home security system: no way is anyone getting to a chow’s kids.