​Nami was my very first Kishu Ken, and my constant companion, and as of February 23rd, 2019, she is officially retired from my breeding program. Nami is still in good health, and remains as active as ever, but she is advancing in age and she deserves to retire to life as a happy companion, with no other expectations.

So I wanted to talk a little about Nami, and my start in Kishu Ken.

I am back from my sunny California road trip to the Nihon Ken Invitational. Driving for a week with 4 dogs is not an easy task, and I am immensely thankful to my friends in California who helped me along my journey - which had many ups and downs and surprises. You are the kindest, most welcoming people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, and always so accommodating to my hectic road-life.

I couldn't have done this trip without you, and I only hope that I can do even a fraction of what was done for me, for others when they are in need.

But that said, there's a lot of thinking you can do when mostly driving for a week or two, and this time around, I thought about the future of my kennel quite a lot, and where I am going as a breeder, and where I want to be when I'm twice as established.