Nice to meet you.
I spent my childhood on my family's 40-acre ranch where I had many opportunities in furthering my education of animals of all kinds. As a teenager, my sister and I developed breeding programs of our own in French Alpine dairy goats, New Zealand white rabbits, and Labrador Retrievers. We also competed successfully with livestock and market projects through the 4-H program. All this has lead me to find a true love and interest in the breeding aspects of dogs--and Beagles in particular.
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When I was 13 years old, my parents allowed me to purchase my first "very own dog" with the money earned from selling my herd of show goats. Being accustom to Labradors, I selected one to be my first dog whom I competed in Junior Showmanship with. Not long after, I became interested in Beagles, which I believed was a smaller and feistier version of the Labrador.
After a two-year course of breed-specific study and observation, I developed a deep love for the Beagle breed. In 2008, I was fortunate to obtain two lovely bitches from the kennels of Lanbur and Just-Wright who became the foundation for Van-Mar Beagles. From there I focused on breeding and showing the best Beagles I could get my hands on and, more importantly, I focused on learning from some of the best and most-respected breeders in the country.
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I have since bred or owned several AKC Champions, Grand Champions, National (2x Winners Bitch, 1x Reserve Winners Bitch, 1x Reserve Winners Dog with 4 different dogs), Best of Variety winners, multi group placers, and Best in Specialty Show winners. The efforts of my breeding program can already be seen in many countries, including the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Venezuela, Ecuador, China, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Though I am very proud of my dogs and program, I will always consider myself a student of the breed and am constantly searching for improvement in all aspects of dog breeding, rearing, and exhibiting. I owe everything to my mentors and those that had enough faith in me to allow some of the dogs to be a part of Van-Mar. My intent is to carry on the work they have done in a way they would be proud of.
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-Chelsea Metteer
Owner of Van-Mar Beagles
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