ABOUT US
Our Family...........
This is me, Yvonne Bullivant, and i live in the heart of Robin Hood Country with my Husband, Paul, our children, our Italian Spinoni and our Grand Basset Griffon Vendeen. We also have an array of other pets including a Bearded and a Painted Dragon.......there is always something going on here.
This is me.......
I remember my dad buying me my first dog when i was 4 years old. I guess he finally gave in when, as a toddler, i used to crawl through the fence to play with the next door neighbours, Standard Smooth- Coated Dachshund, Ansell and when the hunt came through the woods behind our house and one of the foxhounds got lost, i took care of him. This was till my mum found me taking my dinner into the woodshed for him, so dogs have always been a big part of my life.
My love for the beauty and the brains of Gundogs started at about the age of 7, when i first met my granddad who was a retired farmer in Lincolnshire. I will always remember him sitting by the fire with a black lab one side and a yellow the other , thinking how faithful and loving they were and to watch them working in the field bringing home the Sunday dinner.
At 16, I was lucky enough to become the proud owner of a working yellow lab whom i called "Rocky". We had many wonderful years together and when he reached the grand age of 14, he wandered up our garden and layed down and passed away, he was truly a dog in a million. I felt that no dog could ever replace him but later in my life that was all about to change.......
Italian Spinone......
Meeting Paul, my husband, was a turning point in my life for a number of reasons, We made the decision to look for a new dog for our family which were all now growing up and started the search for a gundog, to join our family and our lifestyle in the country. We had looked through books and researched breeds on the net, we did a little test with inputing your requirements from a dog, it came back with "ITALIAN SPINONE", a HPR Gundog breed that we had never heard of! I still think it was fate when we were shopping a few days after that whilst looking around a local petshop, Steve the owner, suggested we contact a Linda Collins, a breeder of Italian Spinoni, in the nearby village of Pleasley...wow what a coincidence! We went home and phoned her up straightaway making an appointment to visit her and her "spins" at her farm.
On our visit, it was love at first site.....Brody,KC name Brody Dal Podere At Antico, a beautiful male Spinone, met us at the half open stable back door and we knew from that moment the Spinoni was the perfect dog for us and we wanted a Brody baby.
Montecani......
After a long 14 month wait, we were lucky enough to find the right litter for us, which were sired by Brody. Tracy Davies of Montecani Spinoni had just had a litter with Nova.....Montecani Its a Love Thing. We fell in love with the Montecani line and just how chilled out all the dogs were.
After visiting Tracy and meeting all her Spinoni’s, we were so happy when she thought that we were good enough to be owned by one of her spins and at 6 weeks old, we were the proud owner of "Phanta".
The big change......
Little did we ever release what an impact one little puppy would have in altering our whole life. When Phanta was nearly one, we entered the world of showing, what a big change this was......we have made so many new friends in the show world, occasionally helping out stewarding at open shows at Newark, our local Show Venue and generally assisting our friends of local dog show societies.
The biggest one thing is being part of the committee and helping out at Yew Tree Canine Society, which was formed 1st November 2008. We felt that in this day and age, there was a great need for a friendly and supportive club where people who share the love of dogs and showing can meet up for an evening of fun whilst training their dogs in a kind and caring environment. We have got so much out of our dogs and the dog world that we just wanted to put something back in to like minded people and so helped create YTCS, now the largest and best Ringcraft and Show training venues in the East Midlands.
Off to Ireland......
For anyone thats ever owned one you will find that Spinone are very addictive and one soon becomes two. After visiting a Game Fair, we started talking to Steve and Coshy Kimberley, owners of an excellent working "spin" called Dublin. We told them that we were looking for another spin to be a playmate for our Phanta and to hopefully work for my husband Paul, out in the woods. We were looking for a brown roan but , at that time , there were none in this country. He told us that a breeder, Heather Timmins ( Colheath ) in Ireland was having a litter. 14 months after having Phanta we travelled to Ireland to pick up our brown roan little girl "Maya" ( Colheath Highflyer ) the cheekiest, cleverest and by far, the naughtiest, Spinoni that has ever lived.
And then there were 3......
Our dogs are very much a big part of our whole family life and our youngest 3 children all junior handlers, So it was at Bakewell Show in 2005 that our son, Grant, who had been looking round the rest of the dog show, came back to our little camp to say that he had seen a “Basset with eyebrows and a beard“, so off we went to track down this dog and wow! we met Bobby ( Debaucher Utopie at Wilmit ) and Barbara Milton of "Wilmit" Grand Basset Griffon Vendeen's. Hounds with long bodies have always be a favourite of mine ever since Ansell the dachsy and watching Smoky and the Bandit with the Basset in it. I have long be facinated with hounds and the way they work and i must say that personally i find the baying of a hound the most beautiful sound, i suppose the rest is history and in March 2006, the much awaited daughter of Bobby arrived home, our Lulu ( Wilmit Celeste).
Our first Litter.......
Now we have took our loves for our breeds to another step and after much research for a dog that would must suit Phanta in conformation, genetics and temperament, we mated Phanta to Tracy Davies' new Italian import into the country, Rio (Ciro' del Mongioie at Montecani) and on 19th September 2008 Brody’s birthday, Phanta gave birth to 8 beautiful puppies.......... 7 girls and 1 boy.
And the story continues.........
Now you have a little insight into our lives we hope you enjoy the rest of your visit to our site and we hope to see you again soon.................
Best Wishes
Paul and Yvonne Bullivant