OUR STORY

As a young girl, in the rural, cider mill, town of Lake Orion, Michigan, I grew up near a small, family farm with working Bouviers.

In the 80s and 90s, I went through a "Bouv drought" - adopting several different breeds: two Rhodesian Ridgebacks, a Ridgeback mix, a Bassett Hound, an Irish Setter, a Lab mix, a Chocolate Lab, a Lhasa Apso, a red Chow, a Springer Spaniel, a Dachshund mix, a Jack Russell Terrier, an English Mastiff, an Old English Sheepdog, and I was a "student" of many other forgettable dogs that were a poor fit for my lifestyle.

In 2001, I met two, shiny, black, Bouvs in Austin, Texas. They were beautiful, well-groomed, gentle giants who served as both companions and protectors for a female, photographer who worked alone in her studio late at night. The sight of these Bouviers, calmly laying ying-and-yang in circle at the photographer's feet, ignited passionate interest in the breed.

I had "Bouvs on my brain," and I began to see for Bouvier's everywhere. After inadvertently "rescuing" a wandering Bouv in San Marcos, Texas, only to discover it's owner was heartsick and afraid their old farm dog was dead, it was time to get my first Bouvier des Flandres. Immediately, I contacted my regional rescue and adopted, Beau, the product of a puppy mill that was recently shut-down in Arkansas.

Poor Beau had suffered emotional trauma and, although he was a large, sturdy, pup, he was the product of thoughtless breeding practices and suffered many, costly, and painful, health issues. The rescue soon realized Beau was not an affordable or positive experience for me: he bit me from the first moment they handed him to me and never relented his trust. Thankfully, the rescue was able to find the right forever home where Beau was able to have his needs met and live his life with great care and comfort.

In the years that followed, I helped rescue Bouviers. I transported pups and adults from one breeder to another or to their adoptive homes. I met many new Bouv lovers and breeders: seeing many good and bad training, breeding, and show operations. I did all of this while working as a teacher, or college administrator, as my children were growing up. My "me-time" was spent with Bouvs.

Along the way, I met a Belgian breeder, near Collegeville, Pennsylvania, a contemporary of the infamous, founding-mother, Emdee Bowles. Both of these European immigrant breeders built their lines with imported stock. I spent five years learning her best practices, breed club, and AKC guidelines for raising and breeding Bouviers. It became an informal "internship."

In 2015, I adopted my first Bouvier from an American breeder. In 2017, I had my first litter and realized the ruthlessness of the human element of the dog breeding community. I have Asperger's Syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder. Navigating the unwritten social rules of the dog world was not only difficult and treacherous, but emotionally overwhelming for me. Like everything else I did in life, I wanted to raise and breed (share) Bouviers with excellence and ethics. I wanted to "do no harm," and educate myself sufficiently to actually try to leave the bread a little better (one thin breed line) than I found it. After seeing the underside of breeding, it began to steel my resolve to create The House of Bouvs: a clean, safe, honest, Bouvier breeder - with extraordinary Bouvs for ordinary people.

About this time, the catch phrase "you do you" was very popular. I thought, "That's what I'm going to do!" I'll be who I am - the best version of me. I am passionate learning, doing the right thing, helping others, and talking about Bouvs! So, I began calling the top professionals in the world of Bouvs, American and European, gleaning their best practices, finding a new mentor who aligns with my vision and ethics, and binding myself to these like-minded partnerships in the AKC show world, European, breeding circles, and working Bouv arena.

I cannot be the expert in all things, and I can't make up for not having 50 years of experience, but I can have top-quality relationships (Bouv friends) and resources to guide me. "You do you," is probably great advice for most people - but especially if you are on the autism spectrum. We have to lean into our super powers and recognize our Achilles' heels to compensate. We have to do things, almost with blinders on, rewriting the operations manual, the way it works best for us. For me, House Of Bouvs is built on a the "it takes a village" concept of what it means to find your niche -- and your happiness in life.

In 2021, during COVID, when stud fees and puppy prices skyrocketed to meet the demand of quarantined families, I imported my first male pup from Europe: House Of Bouvs' Here Comes George from Poland, and put a deposit on a female pup in The Czech Republic (Empress Emilia).

By bringing George and Emilia to America, I added strong, healthy, show-quality genes and traditional, "nanny" temperaments to The House of Bouvs. In 2024, I am expanding my lines to support law enforcement officers (active and retired LEOs) with traditional, European, van Dafzicht semen (imported) and a very motivated and driven American dam. Before the end of 2025, I plan to add one final, imported, European Bouvier to complete my pack.

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