History

My first border collie I got from Eileen Stone (Gemond Border Collies, this name came from her first dogs: Damally Gem and Diamond of Burnthouse), who was a head teacher of small country school. Miss Stone and I met at the dog training club, where I trained competitive obedience with my German Shepherds. As Miss Stone could not take a day off work to look after her pregnant bitch, when the bitch was due to give birth, I sat in her living room all day to make sure the bitch was fine. Unfortunately the puppies were born at night and I only got to see them on the sunday evening when I had the opportunity to visit Eileen. This first puppy that I got from Eileen, Gemond Amethyst, was going to be my foundation bitch.

The Affix DETANIA

In about 1963 I received a long awaited letter from the Kennel Club. Inside a strip of paper measuring five inches by two inches with the typed message: YOUR APPLICATION FOR THE AFFIX DETANIA HAS BEEN GRANTED. No signature, no fanfare of trumpets, no Kennel Club loge and the word Kennel Club wasn't there either.

The maintenance fee was one pound a year and times in farming weren't easy then so it didn't get paid for three years. With mutual consent of husband Tony I invested the price of one precious poodle puppy in paying three years back maintenance and seven pounds in compounding the title for life - the wisest ten pounds I have ever spent in my life.

How did I arrive at "Detania"? David, Anthony, Tony, Angela: all the letters jumbled up and sorted into words. I don't like to confess it - I can't remember the other five names we chose and Detania was the third choice. Laura and Samantha didn't get a look in because they weren't even born then. The affix was first used for Border Collies when I bred my first litter from Gemond Amethyst in 1970. Everything I have I owe to her and her progeny; without her there wouldn't be a large number of famous kennels either.

One of the kennels that have started with Detania stock is Pondeboys Border Collies of my dear friend Angela Robinson. More about her and her dogs you can read on the Pondeboys page.