Articles Index/Meet Your ANTA Officers
Posted 06/13/10
I am a high school teacher. I run a canine science program in an agricultural high school. I happen to work for Norfolk County, Massachusetts. You can say my life is all about Norfolks.
I breed both Norfolk and Norwich Terriers. Though if anyone is keeping track, the drop ears way out number the prick ears in my house. I obtained my first Norfolk in 1994. Ch. Yarrow’s First Lady, AKA “Martha.”
Thanks to Mrs. Joan Read, I was able to bring Martha into my home. I made many trips to Long Island to ‘talk dogs’ with Mrs. Read. She encouraged me to attend Norfolk events that this group she referred to as ANTA was hosting. So I packed the car and made several trips. The first was to Warrenton, VA, then another to Newburyport, MA, and another one to Mystic, CT, and so on. All of these were wonderful trips but none of them turned up a Norfolk Terrier. So I continued to make phone calls and answer questions and it was not until another trip out to Long Island to see more of Mrs. Read’s dogs that I saw a beautiful red female puppy out on the porch.
That puppy was Martha. Mrs. Read told me she belonged to Beth Sweigart and that she was not for sale. I returned home and the next time I talked to Mrs. Read I inquired about Martha again. She spoke to Beth and finally Beth agreed to sell me Martha.
This little red dog was the beginning of my Norfolk Terrier obsession and possibly the best thing that has ever happened to me in my life. Through Martha and all those ANTA gatherings, I have been able to meet a lot of great people and have made many lifelong friends.
After not being able to even put a single point on Martha, I decided to learn how to properly groom and show my own dogs. I did this by a lot of question asking and observing. The Norfolk Community was very generous to me and I learned a lot.
All of this has led me to my current status in the breed. I have been able to return the favor to some of the people that helped me out in the early days by grooming or showing dogs for them. I have enjoyed many successes in the breed ring and in my breeding program all of which stem from the early support I received from other Norfolk breeders.
All of this has led me to being ANTA president. When asked about running for this office, it felt only natural to me to say yes. If it were not for all those ANTA gatherings, I am not sure I would have ever gotten a Norfolk Terrier. ANTA holds a special place in my heart and I look forward to leading this club forward and offering the ANTA experience to all who attend our gatherings.
Lori Pelletier
ANTIC, March, 2009
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