ThankYou

Thank You

Thank You
December 25th 2011

As we embark unto our 42nd year with Labrador Retrievers, I want to say "thank you" to all who have ever owned a Chambray Labrador. You have all made it possible for me to enjoy to the fullest these last 41 years with Labradors. Without each and everyone of you the joy ride that I have had in these 4+ decades certainly would have not have been as joyous.

The collective successes that Chambray Labradors has had would have been a mere blip on the lifeline radar had there not been the great collaboration of ownership and participation from the many along the way that made it possible for me to implement the novel and avant garde owner’s program.

Nowhere has it been more obvious and apparent of our success as this past weekend at the 2011 Eukanuba National Championships. The entire Herzon family walked into the most exulted arena for showing dogs, each with a Chambray-bred dog…………….owned by several of those owners that I am now thanking!

Participation in this year’s event was the pinnacle of achievement of the long quest for producing the best, placing the best and then providing the one-of-a kind owner’s amenities which makes it all possible for us to be able to continue on with a dog even though it is owned by someone else.

A total of 5 Chambray-bred dogs were among the 56 Labrador Retrievers from all over the US and the world that qualified for this supreme celebration of the top dogs on the planet. That was a record for Labradors from 1 breeder!

Included in the who’s who roster of a lineup were the #1 Labrador in the USA, the #1 Labrador from China, the #1 Labrador from South America, the #1 Labrador from Mexico, the #1 Labrador from Canada and other notable #1’s from other countries which receive and automatic invitation by virtue of their top ranking from that country.

For us to have close to 10% of the total entries was an extreme accomplishment and I now share that immense and prestigious privilege and honor with each of you that has been or now is a Chambray owner.

Thank you again.

In 2009 our/your dogs set an amazing winning record here in Florida that exceeded the wins for 1 year by all the other Florida breeders put together! The culmination of the steadfast breeding program of only breeding the best to the best and then taking the best puppies from each litter and placing them in the best possible situation……………with you as part of the owner’s program……paid off to the fullest with such an overwhelming validation of success.

Well that phenomenal winning year’s record only lasted to the very next year because 2010 was to provide Chambray Labradors with almost twice as many wins!!!!!!!! Almost triple what all the other Florida Labrador breeders were able to garner together!!!!!!!!!

That was 51 wins in Florida alone…………..at least 1 win at every single weekend of dog shows that we traveled to, so we go from 27 wins in 2009 to 51 wins in 2010!

“Insurmountable!” was the quote by one of our own owners!

“What are you going to do next year to beat that?” again was the query by our awestruck ally.

What followed for 2011 was amazingly awesome………………..as 2011 raised the bar once again to another record setting year with 53 wins and extended the weekend winning streak to 51 straight dog show weekends! That’s 104 wins in 2 years!

Putting those numbers in an appreciable box to fully understand and realize, for most successful show breeders it would take a lifetime of showing, 15 years or more to accomplish those same century-mark digits that we collectively accomplished and then repeated and upped the ante the following year!

There were other benchmarks set as well and a very detailed page at the website documents for posterity those epic numbers. See http://www.chambraylabradors.com/ChambrayWinningStreak.htm.

Winning is the stamp of approval for a show breeder. It is the fuel that powers the engine to continue striving for the best. Winning provides the right path to continue on and to not accept second best along the way. It is what ignites the senses to strive forward and not become complacent with the top billing status.

However, winning at the dog shows is only half of the total picture equation, the other half is less observed by the masses, but it is the one that is more heartfelt by those who own those wonderful dogs that comprise Chambray Labradors.

This is where each and every one of you all come in as the keepers of those dogs that are setting the bar higher and higher at the dog show venues. Without the collective contributions by each and every one of our owners there won’t be amazing successes year after year.

Although the dog shows act as the large neon sign in the sky for our successes, there are many more success stories that I receive yearly from individual owners whose dogs never set foot at any dog show event.

The hundreds and hundreds of emails I receive in a year’s time extolling the great virtues of their Chambray dog contributing to the well-being of the family structure with love and devotion. Although the vast majorities are indeed show quality dogs, they might never be seen by a show judge at any venue, yet they provide each of their owners a lifetime of love and unwavering loyalty.

The dozens of emails that are sent from those who partake in hunting and field trials where a Chambray dog has become proficient in the area that makes them the best retrieving dogs of all the Retrievers, those other communications that come from our dog owners that are participating in Therapy and Service work, those others that compete in obedience, rally and agility with a Chambray dog, over and over again I read and hear the accolades of our dogs in every imaginable endeavor.

My cup runneth over indeed! I have each and every one of our owners to thank for that.

Will we set records again for 2012? Does it really matter anymore? Because how does anyone measure the amount of joy that all of our dogs provide the hundreds that own them now and to those that have owned a Chambray-bred dog in the last 41 years? Without even stepping into the show arena, we are all winners already.

Thank you all again for it truly has been a joyous ride, one which I would have never taken had it not been for all of you all, the owners of those Chambray Labradors!