It's hard to think of exactly the right words to describe Pluto... I took a bit of a gamble when I did this breeding as it was a pretty big outcross, but his parents cross faulted so well that I couldn't imagine a better match for Pluto's dam. As luck would have it, Pluto exceeded all of my expectations for the best possible outcome for what this cross could produce...

As a young puppy, Pluto was one of the smaller boys in his litter, "not enough" is how a fellow breeder described him... But my son picked him out and begged to keep him and raise him into his next show dog. Pluto pretty much came out of the womb one of the happiest dogs on the planet, so eventually the two boys won me over together. Some of my fondest memories will forever be watching Sam and Pluto grow up together...

When Pluto was old enough to hit the ring, we were unfortunately in the midst of COVID lockdown so he wasn't able to begin his show career until the fall of 2020. At his first shows he brought home a 5pt specialty major reserve from highly respected breeder judge Nioma Coen and the next day went Winners Dog and Best of Winners for a 5 point specialty major under breeder judge Jerry Parisek. Needless to say, Pluto stepped in the ring like he owned it and never quite looked back...

I gave Pluto some time to grow into himself in the beginning of 2021, but he came back out to show at the ASSA National with Sam at the end of his lead... My son was only six years old at the time and in spite of getting a little "lost" on the down and back, they were both awarded 4th place in the Open Black Dogs class that year. I could not have been prouder of both my son and this dog for how well they did that day... Pluto took the summer off to grow some coat, but was back out in August of 2021 and brought home another 4 point specialty major under breeder judge Yvonne Samuelson. The next weekend out he was awarded another major from judge Brian Meyer by going Winners Dog and Best of Winners and finished his AKC Championship in short order on 10/17/2021. His very next weekend out, Pluto was awarded Best in Specialty Show by breeder judge Amy Massey for a 5pt GCH major. Within a month Pluto had finished his AKC Grand Championship...

I will be the first to tell you that there is no such thing as a perfect dog, but I've always tried to select for dogs with exceptional virtues in my breeding program and Pluto has several... He has a beautiful DARK, very pretty eye, a lovely clean skull, even planes, a correct stop, and excellent finish. Pluto has the rare quality of having a lovely fill of muzzle without being overdone or losing his lightness of head. He also has a lovely ear set, sweeping outline, and correct coat texture. And even though one of the biggest challenges with showing Pluto is to contain his excitement, he has excellent drive and covers ground effortlessly. In his litters here so far, he has *consistently* passed on his beautiful eye, lovely head, long lines, and his puppies have nonstop show temperaments...