The name Mcintosh Terriers comes from my mother's ancestor, Chief William Mcintosh, the son of a Scottish miltary officer who married a Creek Indian woman in Savannah in the late 1700's. I enjoyed studying the history of the Scottish/Creek Indian link with all the intrigue and betrayal. Chief Mcintosh had roots in both the Indian world and the white man's world and tried to perform a delicate balancing act; but in the end, he was murdered by the west Georgia Creeks. I really immersed myself in the Scottish activities, events, and country dancing and bought a kilt with all the accessories. For fun, I dressed my twin mixed breed terriers up to match and we won several contests in the "most like owner" category. Those dogs didn't seem to mind being embarressed in their little hats and scarves but my current terriers will have none of it-even for a photo.
I always had dogs while growing up even though my mother didn't like it. When I was in high school, I started breeding cocker spaniels but had to quit during college. Then there was a period of almost 15 years that I didn't have a dog. Then my boyfriend at the time rescued a pretty reddish blond terrier mix from the humane society and it soon became obvious that she was pregnant. He couldn't have puppies where he lived; so I took her and whelped the puppies. She had four, a male and 2 females who looked just like her and a black female. I kept a blond female (Sasha) and the black female (Samantha). Six years later the other blond female (Taffy) was returned to me because the owner couldn't keep her after a move. These were not purebred dogs, but they were wonderful dogs and everyone loved to see the blond twins. My vet always worried that I would have a problem because they were the same age and would die close together. Indeed, they died about one year apart at ages 15, 16, and 17.
When Sasha was 16 and I knew she would be leaving me, I decided I wanted a red Cairn terrier. My friend who breeds Cairns told me that would be difficult to find; but I found a lady who had a red dam and a red sire and most of her puppies turned out red. I got a 3 month old female (Katie) and from the moment I brought her home, she was the alpha dog. I wanted another dog that would accept a subservient position to Katie and I thought I wanted a mini red wire haired Dachshund. In the summer of 1995, I went to a dog show in Atlanta to research doxies and discovered Norfolk terriers for the first time. I met Carl and Faith Schrader who were showing Rosebud. I spent a lot of time talking about Norfolks with him and it seemed the Norfolk terrier would be the perfect complementary breed for a Cairn. I went home and researched the breed and Carl gave me the names of breeders; and by the best of luck within 3 months Ann Erricker (Seneca Valley) of Virginia was shipping Megan to me.
Megan accepted her position in the clan of Taffy, Bonnie and Katie and got along great with them. In 1996 Taffy died at 17. Megan was great buddies with Carl's male, Oliver (CH Bliss Creek Oliver) and we decided to breed them. They both have a lot of Nanfan in their lineage. Megan's father was CH Tickatee Moby Duck from Sweden and mother Chidley Victoria. In early 1999, she showed 3 live puppies on sonogram and I was thrilled. Then disaster struck in late January. She had a bad accident which resulted in a proptosed left eye. The vet at the emergency clinic had to put her to sleep to do the surgery and repair the eye. We were all afraid the general anesthesia would cause harm to the fetuses. She got the stitches out of her eyelid just in time for the birth of one female puppy on valentine's day. I named her Mcintosh Megan's Miracle Valentine because she was a miracle. I called her Piper and I wanted to keep her; but because of some family medical events, it wasn't possible. She went to live with her father, Oliver, and became Carl's dog. She is in very good hands.
Megan's eye healed to the point that it looks normal but she lost her sight in that eye. This year we bred Oliver and Megan again and the sonogram again showed 3 live puppies; but just as in the last pregnancy when she reabsorbed two of the fetuses, she did the same this time and only had one live puppy on May 16, 2000. This puppy, Mcintosh Highlands Flower (Heather), has from week one looked like Piper's twin. I learned just after she was born about how important littermate socialization is at age 7-8 weeks. I didn't know that when I had Piper; but I decided to try to find a surrogate littermate for Heather. As it happened, my cousin who raises and trains hunting dogs had a litter of Beagles 3 weeks older and a litter of Bassett hounds the same age. He said he would loan me one of each and they were both males. The Bassett hound only lasted a couple of days because I quickly determined he would be too big for our puppy area; so we kept the Beagle who was named Toby by my cousin's son. Megan immediately adopted the 2 puppies and came to love Toby very much. Toby was the best thing I could have done for Megan and Heather. They played wildly and Toby provided Heather with engaging stimulation and socialization skills. He lived with us for 6 weeks (age 5-11 weeks for Heather); and when he went back to my cousin's home, it was a big let down. Megan seemed depressed and Heather missed the rough puppy play. I would highly recommend the surrogate littermate plan for singleton puppies if it is at all possible. I would certainly do it again. She is a very confident puppy who seems unfazed by new situations, people, and dogs. She enjoys meeting people and other dogs, big and small. She is smart, very trainable, and has an easy-going personality. She is definitely a keeper. We are now a clan consisting of me and 4 dogs, Bonnie(age 16), Katie(6), Megan(5), and Heather (4 months).
January 1,2001:It's hard to believe the new year is here. Piper (Mcintosh Megan's Valentine) earned her championship in November,2000 due to the expert handling of Patsy Wade and Judi Hartell and Carl Schrader's training. Heather (Mcintosh Highland's Flower) is almost 8 months old and is a digging terror. She tries to pull up roots and is a sight to watch as she throws dirt in the air and tugs at roots. She gets so dirty and then her favorite part of the digging is getting in the bathtub to get washed off. We have a vicious cycle of dig/dirty/bathtub/play with mud/get clean/ get dried off/outside to dig and start it all over again. Arrrgh! I hope she outgrows it. We look forward to a new year of joy with our terrier girls.