2007 KAELYN RAE BASTYR MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP WINNER

Congratulations to the 2007 Kaelyn Rae Bastyr Memorial Scholarship Winner, Stacy Pfeiffer!
Read more about Kaelyn here.

2007 SCHOLARSHIP WINNER: STACY PFEIFFER and RAVEN

By Stacy Pfeiffer

Rottweilers have literally been a part of my life since I was born. My mother has been breeding Rottweilers for over twenty years, so naturally I grew up with them. Throughout these nineteen years I have had much involvement and experience with Rottweilers, the world of purebred dogs as a whole, and all aspects of owning a purebred companion animal. These aspects being of course the emotions of winning and losing in the show ring; the joys of the animal’s life and the pains of it’s death; and the privilege for having helped raised most of the dogs I have shown and owned since their first breath.

My involvement in the show ring began at age six with a Shiba Inu. I also started showing Rottweiler puppies in matches for my mother. I then trained my first Rottweiler when I was eight years old. It was at this age that I learned and utilized food-motivation obedience. It was this particular female’s daughter that I began showing in the juniors ring at age ten. She was the first Rottweiler that I officially owned. I enjoyed showing her, yet it was a somewhat frustrating experience. I say this because the Juniors’ judges approached her with fear due to her dark face and her occasional snorting noises that were mistaken for growling. I showed her for a few months, but then retired her from the show ring after she was found to be moderately dysplastic in one hip. She became a family house pet, and lived in my room. I also attempted novice obedience with her. It was then determined that I should show a smaller breed for a while, which is when I began seriously showing a cream Shiba Inu. My teamwork with this dog got me to Westminster, and ranked me number one Shiba Junior nationally for four years. It was at age thirteen that I started showing a Rottweiler part time in juniors as well as in the breed ring, and then full time in juniors at age fifteen.

The bitch I began showing in Juniors at age 15 is the bitch that I currently own now. I personally put both of her current AKC breed points on her. I also showed my mother’s veteran bitch in juniors as well. I have participated with both these bitches in the breed ring, as the list of my past 2 years of participation indicates. These two helped me rank in the ARC top 10 Rottweiler juniors for 3 years. Although I didn’t place as often in Juniors with the Rottweilers, it was still a rewarding experience. My most satisfying and memorable moment of my juniors career was actually not Westminster, but the one and only time I got a first place with my Rottweiler, followed by a Best Junior. I would personally like to see more Rottweilers in the Juniors ring. Throughout my entire Juniors experience, there was never another Rottweiler entered in my class or any of the other classes.

Over the past two years I have participated with a Rottweiler in over 60 shows, also as my list indicates. While at these shows I occasionally showed other breeds, including Great Pyrenees and Petit Basset Griffon Vendeens. My overall experience in the dog world includes the grooming and/or handling of the following breeds: Rottweiler, Shiba Inu, PBGV, Great Pyrenees, Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Bernese Mountain Dog, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, English Cocker, English Foxhound, Giant Schnauzer, Doberman Pinscher, Papillion, Bullmastiff, Mini Bull Terrier, Brussels Griffon, Puli, and Whippet.

The experience with Rottweilers that I am most moved by is that of whelping litters. I have been involved with the whelping of about 18 litters since I was around 5 years old. When being involved with litters there is nothing more gratifying to me than knowing that I had a part in helping those little pups survive. I’ve helped bottle feed, raise, and handle puppies with my mother. There is of course the saddening factor of death that is dealt with during this life process, but it is unfortunately a natural happening. However, the joys of raising puppies outweigh the sadness it may temporarily bring. I have learned a lot from it; many ‘hands on’ experiences that cannot be simply taught in a classroom.

I am currently a second semester Junior at the State University of New York College at Oneonta. I am majoring in Environmental Science with a concentration in Biology. As of last semester, I also took up two academic minors: Meteorology and Earth Science. Unfortunately, being three and a half hours away from my home and my dogs and also living in the tight budget of a college student, I have not been able to participate in as many shows as I had prior to college. I show as often as I can, mostly on my term breaks. Due to this fact as well as the fact of me being twenty years old, I have supplied show data from January 2003 to January 2007 to show my involvement in juniors as well. With my future degree I hope to enter into some area of the Department of Environmental Conservation, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Fish and Wildlife Service, or maybe even an area of Environmental Law. I would like to also work in wildlife rehabilitation and/or animal rescue.

This past summer I began working with a year old Rottweiler bitch that I have become pretty attached to. I started her in obedience. She is quite intelligent to say the least. I am seriously considering beginning agility and rally in the spring with her. She has a lot of energy and drive, as well as potential. I showed her for the first time in conformation as well in January 2007. She has a very showy attitude and I am very excited and optimistic on her showing future in both obedience and conformation.

In the future, I plan to become an AKC judge. I have already started judging juniors at matches, and I hope to start the application process to be a judge within the next two years. I would like to one day become a Rottweiler judge, and offer my input into preserving the breed. I plan to continue showing Rottweilers after college. Being a Rottweiler junior handler taught me a lot about patience, healthy competition, and about teamwork. It is safe to assume that Rottweilers will always be a part of my life.

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