With gratitude to the judges who awarded him each and every win along the way (Winners Dog, Bests of Winners, and Bests of Breed), we are thrilled to announce that JoJo is now . . .

AKC   Champion DarkStar Po'okela!

At the Lizard Butte Kennel Club show in Boise, Idaho, Judge Alan L. Harper gave JoJo the nod for Winners Dog to finish with his third major.   We did this completely breeder/owner handled from the Bred By Exhibitor class!

(and this is in spite of those once-beautiful long ears having been shortened by the puppy, apparently she thinks ears are dental floss!)

R.I.P. Alan Harper

For some reason the family thought "Cujo" was a good name for my darling baby puppy - however I sure didn't care for that! After objecting to that choice, I started calling the puppy "JoJo"; which quickly morphed into some variation thereof, including "Joe",   "Joseph"   (you know, like when your mother used your full name, whoops!),   "Joseph the Amazing Technicolor Dog",   and even "Potato Boy" (those seasoned potato wedges are called jojos!).

JoJo and his friend Daisy the Pug girl were interviewed (okay, so my Pug breeder friend Deb and I were interviewed, but the puppies helped) for an article printed in the January 17th 2006 issue of The Oregonian. It was for Deborah Wood's wonderful Pet Talk Column, which had some great information on attending a Dog Show and talking to Breeders!! Sadly, because of space limitations, the editor cut out a paragraph and the photo, so neither of the puppies got to be in the paper. Dang, and the photos were sooo cute!

That's one really cool cigar - okay, actually, it was a giant ice cube he carried around until it melted. That hanging pink thing is actually a very frozen tongue!   We've told him to stop smoking those thangs...

People have asked us if he's a miniature Golden Retriever! Not really that much of a stretch (save for his size), as he loves to retrieve, and always seems to have something in his mouth. This softball is his favorite toy!

The Golden Gate Kennel Club's benched show at the Cow Palace is a lot of fun! The shopping opportunities were awesome, and it was fun to meet up with friends from the area. Plus, I was able to bench with the Bay Area Cavalier Club, needing only to add my carved wooden Hawaiian flowers and a mini coconut to the club's rich green fabric draping the bench area.       He didn't stay in his crate all that much, he was too busy greeting people on the table next to our bench - all that visiting took its toll, he was a very tired boy!

That's JoJo and Koni depicted on the shirt, painted by Diane Wat, an artist I've long admired for her fun and whimsical designs. I have thoroughly enjoyed the responses from people who have to ask about it when I wear this shirt!

JoJo models the St. Patrick's Day finery he wore during our walk on a sunny St. Pat's day in San Diego.
       (eye doctors tell us to protect our eyes!)

When we went to the family farm in Washington JoJo met some really, REALLY big dogs, that smelled kinda funny... He was brave enough to get within a few feet of them, after a while of careful observation!

The "fly-by" visitation was awfully fun, he did this even after he'd decided these funny beasts weren't so scary after all.