Hello fellow Pom Lovers, we are Junior & Jennifer Munn of Achilles Pomeranians. Together we have built a small but very dedicated breed program that concentrates on consistency in quality in each of the one to three litters we produce yearly. Our story is one of partnership, mutual respect, and love, both for this breed and each other. Being involved in the sport of purebred dogs has enriched our lives in countless ways. We both enjoy immensely having the Poms be part of our home and family. They never cease to amaze us in their ability to give boundless love and affection, while always having the uncanny knack of doing that funny little something, that brings a smile to our faces, and makes the stresses of everyday life just fade away.

We love showing together, and both enjoy watching each other shine in our perspective roles. I concentrate on the breeding, whelping, and grooming. While Junior takes the lead, no pun intended, when it comes to handling, training, and daily care. It has only been in recent years that Junior has taken over the role as handler. However, it’s a role I gladly relinquished, as I have found great personal satisfaction in watching the Poms I work so hard to produce, being shown by someone who loves and appreciates them as much as I do. Some of my proudest moments as a breeder and a wife have come through standing ringside, and seeing first hand the respect Junior has for our breeding program come to fruition through the time and effort he puts into showing our Poms as well as any professional handler could.

Junior and I strive to live life to the fullest, and each have careers that are very meaningful to us. Junior is in the construction field, and I work as the charge nurse at an assisted living facility. We enjoy spending time with our daughter Tawny who will be nineteen this year, as well as close friends, and are blessed to work with such remarkably caring people they have become like family to us. We both are very grateful to have colleagues who encourage and support us in our pursuit of producing and showing outstanding Poms. And I would be remiss in not acknowledging Tom Mares, Luke Shanks, Curtis & Daniel Carr, Rudy Heinatz, Lynn Smith, Pat Pierce, Linda Overbay, Rachel Brown, Elaine Freim, Betty Setteholm, Emily McAllister, Maureen Richardson, Goldie Rowe, Sarah Miller, and Tracey Sears along with the rest of our co-workers and my residents who cheer us on week after week. We hope we have been able to give a little something back through our work in Pet Therapy. I really can’t express how much it has meant to me, to have the ability to combine the two things I am most passionate about in life, Nursing and Poms. I have spent the last 19 years in the nursing profession, and at this stage in my career to have the opportunity to provide top notch care for my residents, while simultaneously sharing my Poms with them, is both personally and professionally extremely gratifying.

As the two of us get older our love of travel continues to play an important role in our lives. We find it a wonderful way to experience new things together, and especially enjoy the opportunity to observe the Poms being produced in different parts of the country. The ability to see varying types of Poms from one show to the next, helps us continue to learn and grow in our knowledge of this breed. Thereby allowing us to make the best choices for the future of our breed program in order to improve the quality of our Poms with each breeding we do. In short, we are as devoted to this breed, as we are to each other, and see ourselves spending the rest of our lives, working together toward our goal of consistently producing Poms we can both be proud of.

Currently we are showing several dogs from our own breedings, as well as some obtained from other breeders who we respect and admire. They include our Chad and CC son Achilles Macon The Cut, who is pointed and a BOB winner. At three and a half pounds he has more personality than our other 9 dogs combined, which is saying a lot, as we definitely have some characters. Macon is very much my type of dog, but my favorite thing about him, is the reach and drive he has that enables him to keep up with dogs twice his size in the show ring. His half brother, a Chad and China son, U Ch Achilles Phoenix Afire, whom we co-own with Susie Zemo-Letchworth, is our little wonder dog. He shares his time between my house and Susie’s. While with us he does conformation, and at Susie’s he works in obedience and agility. Phoenix transitions between the two homes and three disciplines seamlessly, and we are constantly in awe of his stamina, intelligence, and positive outlook regarding everything we ask of him. Our third male show prospect is our Paris and Stetson son Achilles Houston We Hava Prblm, who is pointed and also a BOB winner. Houston is not a natural showman, but we love his type and quality, and think he will be a wonderful producer for us, and are hopeful he will achieve his championship in the near future.

Our current crop of girls include Achilles Kenya Hear Me Now, a Chad and Paris daughter, who is pointed and went over specials on her first weekend out. Also our two west coast transplants, from the breed programs of Celeste Solano and Cheri McDonald, CR N Bachman’s Viva Las Vegas and CR Queen of Gossip, otherwise known as Salem. Salem has been a blast to handle and is half way to her championship in very limited showing. She has consistently taken BOW over the boys, and recently went BOB over male specials, then made the cut in Group. Superb quality girls are near and dear to my heart, so wins like this are doubly special to me. Not to be out done by Salem, our other female showoff Ragdoll’s Dazed ‘N Confused, who is owned and bred by Mike and Shalon Parrott, and co-owned and handled by Junior and I. Followed Salem’s lead at the very next show by also going WB,BOW,BOB and then making the cut in the Group ring as well. Daisy is only eight months old and has 4 points and a reserve in only 5 shows with Junior and I. She is a special treat for us to handle, as she is the first born daughter of our breeder, owner, handled Ch Achilles Fit To Be Thai’d who finished with three 4 point majors, breed over specials, and a Group Three from the classes himself. So to see his daughter following in his footsteps at such a young age makes us very proud.

Shalon and Mike have done a wonderful job with Thai in the whelping box and have two more prospects from him that will begin their show careers very soon. We wish them all the best with Thai, and congratulate them on the quality pups they have produced by paring him with their lovely girls. They have been very generous with us, and as a symbol of the friendship the four of us share, together we co-own the youngest of the Thai daughters, Ragdoll’s Thai’d Up In Ribbons. Lacey is now 4 months old and a pleasure to have as part of our family. We hope she, along with our Crocket and China daughter Achilles Nothing To Peru’ve, will comprise our 2009 show prospects, and hope for great things from both girls.

Junior and I have taken a break from breeding, and have not had a litter of puppies in well over a year. However, later in 2008 we hope to turn our attention back to the whelping box, and look forward to having the first litter out of our Stetson and Paris daughter Ch Achilles Pardon My French. We also hope to see Chad, better known as BPIS Am & Can Ch Chriscendo Communicado, bred by Chris and John Heartz, owned my myself and Liz Heckert, handled in the states by Liz and Junior, and in Canada by Chris and John, achieve his ROM. We also anticipate having our first litters out of Houston and Macon sometime in late 2008 as well.

We have found the key ingredient to success in this sport, is the ability to correctly evaluate our dogs, avoid kennel blindness at all costs, and be honest with ourselves as to what positive qualities and shortcomings exist within each Pom we breed. As a newcomer to the sport of pure bred dogs, I was fortunate to read Pat Hastings book “Tricks Of The Trade” which had a profound impact on how my eye for a dog developed. We have used her methods of evaluation on every litter we have bred, and feel it has been essential in enabling us to continue to teach ourselves about the dogs we are working with, and what they produce.

A phrase commonly used in the dog game is “every dog has faults“. This is of course true, and certainly applies to our own dogs. However, I believe the more important part of the equation lies in the merits a dog possesses. Over time, we have come to learn the lack of fault does not necessarily equal the presence of merit. Breeding is complicated on so many levels, but one of the things that has become increasingly clear to me, is the indispensable role a dog with merits plays in moving a breed program forward. This seems such a simple concept, but in fact, it is not. As often times a dog who has those unusual, or even outstanding qualities that set him apart, will also have qualities that prevent him from being a big winner in the show ring.

A prime example of this, is the two best litters we have bred to date. Each were sired by dogs with less than stellar show records. And for different reasons, could even be said to struggle in achieving their championships. Both dogs produced for me, and several others, puppies who had many of their wonderful qualities and none of the issues that prevented them from being big winners in the ring. They may not have lit the show ring on fire, but their kids sure did. I took away from that experience the knowledge that show records are not the litmus test I can use in determining the place a dog should hold in my breed program. Instead I concentrate on diversifying the faults in my breeding stock, while working towards developing that keen sense that a breeder must have, to recognize dogs who have the ability to produce those qualities that can be difficult to attain.

Another philosophy Junior and I have adopted, is the importance we place on using only good quality females as the dams of our litters. We found through experience the pups we produce tend to favor their mother’s heavily in both type and structure. Therefore using only those girls who have positive qualities to pass along to their offspring is an absolute must for us. We look for females who have the same traits as their male counterparts, including good structure and movement, correct outlines, nice bone, pleasing heads, short backs, and are in our preferred four to five pound size range. When planning a breeding we do not employ the thought process of finding a boy who can fix the faults of our girl. Instead we take the perspective of trying to find a pairing that will permit both the male and female to play off each others strong points, while not doubling on either of the pairs faults. This in turn will enable their offspring to inherit positive qualities from both their parents that they can then carry through to the next generation. That ideal of maintaining the quality on both sides of the pedigree we believe will serve our breed program well for future generations, while not limiting us on line breeding on our males as well as our females. It also has the added bonus of stacking the gene pool in our favor, which we hope will allow us to continue to produce Poms generation after generation of which we can be excited to exhibit as well as breed.

In our search for the kind of Poms we wish to work with, we have been fortunate to befriend what in my opinion are some of the top breeders in the Pom world today. They include Chris & John Heartz, Pam Dodsworth & Larry Fox, Mike & Shalon Parrott. Robert & Celeste Solano, Cheri McDonald, David & Carlene Gilstrap, Judy Green, and Margaret McKee. Each of you have shared with us your beautiful Poms, and in doing so have enriched our lives with your friendship and support. Junior and I are honored to work with the bloodlines you have developed, and are constantly inspired by your work in this breed. We hope in the years to come, as you see the fruits of our labor, that you will share in that success with us in knowing each of you played an integral part.

In conclusion I’d like to thank Brenda for honoring us with a kennel visit. I’d also like to express my gratitude to her, the entire Pom Review staff, the APC Board, and all the committee chairs and members, for the wonderful job they do. We all know Pomeranians are currently faced with many obstacles to overcome, such as ever constant anti-breeder legislation, questions on how to improve the overall health and soundness in our breeding stock, the ongoing debate over merle and it’s place in our breed, and last but certainly not least in finding a marker for coat loss, so we can begin to turn the tide of this ever increasing problem. However I would strongly urge us towards working together on solutions to these issues, instead of using them as a way to further divide us. Our generation of breeders did not create these dilemmas, so blaming one another, and using them as a weapon with which to attack your fellow breeder, is not only a waste of energy, but it discourages us from being honest with one another. And at the end of the day that only serves to hold us back from the solutions, we owe it to our breed to find.

I believe, being a breeder, is one of the most challenging things any of us will do in our lifetime. The commitment, time, heartache, and joy is unlike anything else I have experienced. However, I know I speak for all of you when I say, I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. Many of you reading this have touched us through your sound advice, late night phone calls, shoulder to cry on, and supportive words about the Poms we have produced. Though there are too many of you to name individually, I just want to take a moment to say your kindness is much appreciated, and you will always hold a special place in our hearts.