PLAYING TO WIN
Bosque Farms woman’s ‘toy terriers’ make a mark at Westminster
BOSQUE FARMS — A knock at the front door sets them off — four small dogs doing their best to sound big announce visitors at Sherri Sollars’ home.
Listening to the clamor from inside, echoed by the other dogs in the neighborhood, you wouldn’t suspect the tidy brick home is the residence of two tiny canine powerhouses of the dog show world.
Silky terriers Joie de Vivre Winddancer Stoli My Heart and Tawny Misty Joie de Vivre Victoria’s Secret are taking a break after winning accolades at the world-famous Westminster Kennel Club show last month.
Stoli, a male, brought home the prize for Best of Breed; and Tori, as she’s better known, won Select Bitch.
Showing the silkies is primarily a hobby for Sollars, since there really isn’t money to be made at events. She says the biggest prize she has earned in the past 12 years has been $100, which covered the cost to transport Tori from New Mexico to California, one way.
“This is really about prestige for the dogs,” Sollars said. “It also brings recognition for New Mexico. We have some excellent silkies in our state.”
Owning and showing silkies is something relatively new to Sollars. She and her husband owned several long-haired dachshunds but the constant shedding got to be a bit much, she confessed. Sollars began looking for a small dog that would be essentially shed-less and came across the single-coat silky terrier breed. With no undercoat, the toy breed has hair similar to that of a person, she said.
With two male dachshunds already, Sollars wanted to find a female silky to add to the mix. After a lot of networking and waiting, she finally found a breeder in California who had a female. Matti arrived on Nov. 3, 2005.
“I remember the date because that’s my birthday,” she said. “We got her as a pet.”
When the two went to obedience school, Matti caught the eye of Albuquerque silky breeder Terianne Terrazas.
“She said ‘The dog just can’t stand wrong.’ Well ... she has four legs and she uses them, I told her,” Sollars recalled.
Terrazas encouraged her to show Matti. At 9 months old, Matti entered the ring and took home the title of Reserve Bitch at an Albuquerque show.
Sollars began traveling to shows in Roswell, Amarillo and Lubbock, many of which Terrazas was at as well. One trip to Amarillo allowed Matti to be bred with one of Terrazas’ males and the result was Chrissy, Christmas Jewel, who in turn had three male pups, one of which was Stoli.
Seeking another female, Sollars found Tori through a longtime breeder in Oregon. Initially, she didn’t have any females available, but when she did, not one but two puppies showed up at Sollars’ home.
“Like I was going to send one back,” she said.
Tori and her sister, Pearls and Lace, more commonly known around the house as Lacy, were a package deal for Sollars.
At 4 years old and at the peak of her career, Sollars has decided to retire Tori and is considering breeding her.
“If I want to breed her, now is the time,” she said. “She’s done a lot. Now she’s just going to be a dog.”
According to the Westminster Kennel Club website, the silky terrier is a toy with the heart of a terrier, a true “toy terrier.”