10/22/2025
Hi Everyone,
Ozzy and I earned an invitation to attend the 5th Annual UKC Total Dog Invitational in Lexington, KY. I am thrilled to be able to accept and attend the Invitational with Ozzy this year. This is the third time Ozzy has earned an invite and the first year we will be able to attend!
This year, UKC has introduced a “UKC Ambassador of the Year Award” .
The purpose of this award is:
The Ambassador of the Year award will be given to a handler who best embodies the United Kennel Club spirit and the values of the Total Dog philosophy, which has been upheld by UKC since its inception in 1898. A Total Dog displays equal parts Function, Temperament, and Structure, and the Total Dog Invitational was created in 2021 to showcase those dogs who perform equally well in the show ring as in performance sports, and to represent the pinnacle of Dogs That Do More.
I kindly ask all of you who know me to consider me for this award and vote accordingly. Voting is open to anyone, with one vote per person
Why do I think I am worthy of this award and your vote:
- From my initial involvement with UKC over 20 years ago, I have embraced the Total Dog philosophy and have strived to not only obtain breed and performance titles for each of my dogs, but to earn a Total Dog Award at shows/trials where they were offered.
o To date, 7 out of the 9 dogs I have owned/trained have earned at least 1 Total Dog Award, many have earned several Total Dog Awards
- It is very important to me to have breed and performance titles on any dog that I use in my breeding program. I believe the ability to obtain both is indicative of the temperament of the dog and is a testament to the ‘Total Dog’
- I have encouraged owners of dogs I have bred and dogs that have been sired by my dogs to seek and obtain a Total Dog Award.
o I am thrilled to state that out of the 16 White Shepherds who earned an Invitation to the 2025 Total Dog Invitational, 5 of those dogs were bred by myself and 1 was sired by a Thornvalley dog.
- I am an active advocate of the UKC, the United White Shepherd Club (UWSC) and my breed, the White Shepherd
o Along with other members of the United White Shepherd Club, have reintroduced UKC Obedience to the western PA area and have been hosting UKC obedience trials since 2021
o Active club member of UWSC
o Encourage membership with UWSC
o Strive to make my personal dogs excellent Total Dog representatives of the White Shepherd breed.
About the award:
https://www.ukcdogs.com/article/announcing-the-2025-ukc-ambassador-of-the-year-program-?news_id=3&view=recent
Link to Vote:
https://www.ukcdogs.com/article/ambassador-of-the-year-2025?news_id=3&view=recent
Thank you, Melanie
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