OUR MALES
THE 2018 AND 2019 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA COTON DE TULEAR CLUB NATIONAL SPECIALTY SHOW WINNER
MULTIPLE GROUP WINNING and PLACING
2019 AKC NATIONAL CHAMPION COTON DE TULEAR
and
THE NUMBER ONE ALL-SYSTEMS COTON DE TULEAR
CANINE GOOD CITIZEN ADVANCED TITLEHOLDER
HAMILTON
MNBISS GCHS CH Morninglow's New York Man CGCA TKN
(retired)
HAMILTON is the product of our very own breeding, from our 2016 "Hamilton Litter" born to GCH CH Sugar Bay's Beringer CM and our Ruby, in March of that year. Please check the "Puppies" page for several early photos of Hammie. We evaluated our two beautiful puppies closely and decided that we would keep Hammie and grow him out to see how he would do in the show ring. We were NOT disappointed! We put Hammie into the show ring for the first time in December 2016, just as he was about to turn nine months old, and he started to pick up points in his first competitive outing. I don't think Hammie looks too much like his momma, Ruby, but I think he is a beautiful, very masculine-looking male (like his daddy, Beringer) and he just gets cuter and sweeter every day! Look at that beautiful coat!! Hammie completed his AKC Championship on 9.10.17 under Judge Patricia Lanctot in Kenosha, WI. He completed his AKC Grand Championship on 01.26.18 in Grayslake, IL under Judge Debbie Campbell-Freeman. Once he finished that Grand Championship, Hammie started to soar...On September 1, 2018, Hamilton won the 2018 Coton National Specialty in Lexington, KY, sponsored by the United States of America Coton de Tulear Club (USACTC), replacing his best friend, our Nina, who was the 2017 winner! A thrill of a lifetime that you can read about on my "News" tab. Hammie completed and passed all of his health testing and was been granted a "CHIC" certification from the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals. You can click HERE to see the extensive testing we have performed on Hamilton. Hamilton went on to also win the 2019 USACTC National Specialty Show, making him a two-time back to back National BISS winner. He matured into a beautiful show dog and finished his career as the No. 1 Coton de Tulear all-systems in the USA for the year 2019 and a Silver Level Grand Champion. Best of all, he remains a sweet, happy, exuberant dog who loves belly rubs and kisses. He is always first in my lap when I sit down on the family room sofa! He has also gone on since retirement from the show ring to sire a substantial number of beautiful puppies, four of whom have also become AKC champions, two of those becoming Grand Champions and one of whom has earned a Bronze Level Grand Championship (GCHB). He has also gone on post-retirement to earn an AKC Novice Trick Dog Title (TKN) and an AKC Canine Good Citizen Adanced title (CGCA). I'm really proud to have bred and to own this wonderful little dog. <3
ABOVE RIGHT, Hamilton's 3-generation pedigree.
RIGHT, Hammie just after his grooming session at about 8 months of age.
ABOVE LEFT, Hammie in the show ring with me in September, 2017 in St. Louis, the very first time he went in as a "special" (dog show speak for "Champion"). He was awarded his first major win towards his AKC Grand Championship that day.
ABOVE RIGHT, Hammie in the ring in August, 2017, as captured by an outstanding photographer friend of mine who came to see him in the show. I love how this photo shows off his beautiful soulful eyes, one of many things I really like about him.
HAMILTON IN THE SHOW RING
LEFT, Hammie's win photo from the day in St. Louis pictured just above, where I piloted him myself to his first Grand Champion major, September 2017. RIGHT, Hammie in the 2017 AKC National Championship Royal Canin cluster, December 2017. Hammie placed every day of that three-day cluster, in the biggest coton entries of the year, taking two Bests of Opposite Sex, and the Select Dog win pictured here. This was his third Grand Champion major win in as many days, and his fourth overall at that point.
LEFT, Hamilton's AKC Grand Championship title certificate; RIGHT, win photo from his Grand Champion finish.
HAMMIE IN GROUP COMPETITION
Making a name for himself!!
ABOVE, an early but beautiful Hamilton win photo from June 2018, a Group Fourth under Judge Jeff Bazell
ABOVE, Hammie gets a Group Second from Judge Raymond Filburn in July, 2019. You can see how much he has grown and matured.. What a difference a year makes!
PICKING UP GROUP FIRSTS!!
ABOVE LEFT and RIGHT, just a couple of Hammie's multiple Group First win photos, at left, in Clinton IA in March 2019,and at right, in Canfield, OH at the beginning of August, 2019. Our thanks to Judges Thomas Alexander and John Wade for these wins, as well as to all the other judges who have recognized Hammie with these awards in the group ring!
CAPPING OFF A GREAT CAREER
AS THE 2019 AKC NATIONAL CHAMPION COTON!
Hammie went out on top at the end of 2019 during AKC National Championship Week, winning three of the four shows held annually in Orlando, FL, to cap off the dog show year, including the United States of America Coton de Tulear Club (USACTC) National Specialty Show (the "National") and the American Kennel Club National Championship Dog Show Presented by Royal Canin ("Royal Canin"), the grand finale! These last wins assured us that Hamilton would end the year and his career as the NUMBER ONE COTON DE TULEAR ALL-SYSTEMS, in addition to his 60 regular career group placements, including five group firsts! Hamilton is a back-to-back National winner as he also won the 2018 USACTC National in Lexington, KY in August 2018. So much to be proud of! Winning the Royal Canin show was a dream come true for me, a day I won't ever forget. Such a joy to watch him under the TV lights in group competition. And such a joy to take him to sleep with us after such a special ending <3
ABOVE, Hammie's win shot from the AKC National Championship, the show commonly known as "Royal Canin". Our thanks to Judge Allen Odom for the honor of a lifetime! I floated back to Chicago on Cloud Nine after this victory, the perfect way to end a show career :-)
ABOVE, just two days before Royal Canin, Hamilton also took top honors at the USACTC 2019 National Specialty Show, his second National win in two years! Again our deepest thanks to Judge Doris Cozart for recognizing our boy in a big group of high quality dogs!
AKC BRONZE GRAND CHAMPION
SUNNY
GCHB CH Morninglow's My Best Friend at Seistan
SUNNY is our own breeding, from our 2020 "Bohemian Rhapsody Litter" (see "Puppies" tab). Sunny was our pick puppy from the litter, but one can only keep so many male dogs in a house and keep their sanity, so I decided to place him with my dear friend Marilyn, a retired show breeder of Afghan Hounds and a really talented groomer, who wanted to move down to a smaller companion breed. I could not have possibly made a better decision! Marilyn has done a superb job of raising Sunny, growing him and his coat out, and training him for the show ring. Sunny did a lot of practice showing in 2021 out in California where he lives, but since there is almost no Coton competition out there in the show ring, we made the joint decision to bring him back to the Midwest with the intention of bringing him down to the AKC National Championship in Orlando in December. He arrived just prior to Thanksgiving, racked up a few initial points, and then won a big Group 3 at Council Bluffs, IA, straight from the Open Dog class! We were thrilled to say the least. During Orlando week, Sunny was awarded Winners Dog/Best of Winners for 5 point majors each of the first three days of the show, and the third win finished off his AKC Championship. He the quickly finished his Grand Championship in March of 2022 with the assistance of our friend and pro handler, Lisa Bettis. Sunny was also awarded Best of Breed at the 2022 AKC National Owner-Handled Series Finals competition, with ME as his handler, down in Orlando in December 2022. There are a couple of photos from that event on the "News" tab, it was very exciting for me to win a NOHS finals! Sunny is sired by our Hamilton out of our Nina, a full sibling to our Sophie, but from the next litter. He has the same wonderful sweet, stable temperament that she has, just in a somewhat bigger package. Could not be happier with how he has turned out and I also think I picked him a pretty sweet call name! Sunny is also CHIC-certified with the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals with all of his health testing completed, you can check it out HERE . Very proud of both of our Hammie x Nina kids, and just thrilled with our co-ownership with Marilyn! I am sure there will be more to see from Sunny in the future <3. Photo above is a pro shot taken in December 2022, in Orlando during AKC National Championship Week, right after we won the breed in the NOHS finals!
SUNNY IN THE SHOW RING!
ABOVE LEFT, Sunny won the non-sporting group (Group 1) in Henderson, NV in April 2023 with his handler and good buddy Mark Stephens. RIGHT, a Group 2 placement from the show in Ventura, CA in early June, 2023.
BELOW LEFT, Sunny and Mark took a Group 3 placement in fall of 2022 in Henderson, Nevada. RIGHT, just a great photo of Sunny on the move in the show ring in Grayslake, IL in early 2022.
AKC's No. 1 COTON DE TULEAR ALL-SYSTEMS 2020
ARTIE
GCHS Multi-CH Morninglow's Arthurian Legend
(retired)
REMEMBER those three little puppies in my 2018 "Camelot" Litter? We were so in love and had such a hard time choosing among them that we ended up keeping two of the three, the boy, Artie, and one of the girls, Ava. Raising them, loving them and showing them has been such an amazingly rewarding and exhausting experience, but I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. They were both incredibly special puppies. But THIS blurb is about Artie, so let's go! :-)
Artie is a sweet, loving affectionate boy, first-born out of our Ruby x Icon litter. He is blessed with beautiful, jet-black pigment, lovely eye halos, and abundance of gorgeous white cottony coat, and an eager to please attitude. He loves to to sit in your lap and cover you in kisses; next-best option while he lived with me was the chance to race around the yard and wrestle with Ava! I really wanted to show Artie myself, and we started him out the weekend after he turned six months old, showing him to his first point in Joliet, IL, first weekend in October, 2018 under Judge Brian Meyer. That first point was the only point I did not put on Artie myself, as I had to attend a bridal shower that day, and left the work to my husband and a professional handler. But all the rest of Artie's points and every trip through the ring until he finished his championship in Orlando, Florida on Thursday of AKC National Championship Week in December 2018 (see "News' tab) was done with me as his handler. Artie finished his championship by going Winners Dog/Best of Winners at the Central Florida Kennel Club show on 12/13/18 under Judge Jason Hoke, for a 5-point major, his second in two days in the biggest coton entries of the entire year. I couldn't have been prouder of my little 8 month old puppy with a big heart! Making the whole thing even more special was the fact that later that same afternoon, his littermate, Ava, also handled by me, finished HER AKC championship as well. Two littermates, shown by their breeder-owner, finishing AKC championships on the same day. A huge thrill, I was over the moon! Don't know how often that happens, but I can't think it's all that much. Artie also scored a Group 3 NOHS placement with me at the tender age of 7 months, in just his second show cluster and second time in a group ring of any kind, in Kalamazoo, MI in November, 2018. After Artie finished his championship at such a young age, I just let him and Ava hang out at home, showing occasionally to collect their first few points towards their Grand Championships and generally having a good time with the pack. In June 2019, I made the difficult decision to place Artie in a co-ownership with another Coton fancier, and he is now living in her home, and she continued his show career through Westminster 2021, where he took Best of Opposite Sex to Best of Breed. It can be difficult to keep multiple male show dogs in a single family home, and this way Artie gets to be the king of his own little castle, out from underneath the other boys here, and still be a part of our Morninglow family and breeding program. Artie has been thoroughly health-tested, like all my other dogs, and has also received a CHIC certification from OFA. You can check out his extensive health testing HERE. I'm very blessed to have had the opportunity to have shown Artie to his championship essentially on my own. He is a great little guy and I am very proud to have bred him. After Artie left my house, he has continued to accomplish some amazing things. He took a trip to Puerto Rico (see my "News" tab) in November, 2019, and completed not one, but four FCI Championships! He now also has a Puerto Rican CH and GCH, a Latin American CH and a PanAmerican CH to add to his resume. Artie started his specials career in January 2020 after Hamilton finished up, and finished his AKC Grand Championship in September of that year, despite all the COVID-related interruptions in the dog show world! Artie finished 2020 as the No. 1 Coton de Tulear in both breed and all-breed rankings, marking the third year in a row that one of my dogs (following housemate Nina and big brother Hamilton) has achieved top honors, a huge thrill! The photo above was taken in Oklahoma City in October, 2020, where Artie took major Best of Breed wins in 5 of the 7 shows he participated in, and looked absolutely smashing while doing it! Artie is also the sire of our last two most recent litters (September 2021, and April 2023, see "puppies" tab), 3 boys and 3 girls total. Artie ended his career with Silver Grand Championship status, like his older half-brother Hamilton.
Artie earning his AKC Championship with me in 2018!
LEFT, Artie's first 5-point major win down in Orlando, on Wednesday of AKC Championship Week. Many thanks to Judge Jan Paulk, who awarded him Winners Dog/Best of Winners/Best Puppy in the USACTC Specialty show that afternoon. She also awarded Ava Winners Bitch for her first 5-point major in the very same show, also with me handling. I was so excited when it ended, that I just picked up and ran to the photo stand with the dog in my arms (Artie) and completely forgot to yell to someone, anyone, to grab Ava out of her crate and follow me. So unfortunately I have no photo of Ava's first major win. :-( Too much excitement for one dog mom to handle!
RIGHT, Artie's second 5-point major win in as many days, finishing his AKC Championship going Winners Dog/Best of Winners under Judge Jason Hoke, Central Florida Kennel Club on Thursday of AKC Championship Week. A thrill of a lifetime :-)
LEFT, a candid of Artie at 11 months old, end of January, 2019.
ABOVE. Artie's AKC Championship Certificate.
ARTIE ALL GROWN UP!
ABOVE, Artie in a formal portrait taken Spring of 2021 shortly before we retired him from the show ring.
ABOVE, Artie's brand-new AKC Grand Championship certificate. His final points to finish this title were awarded to him by Judge Dana Cline in Tampa, FL in September
RIGHT, quick iphone snap of Artie after earning a Best of Breed and a Group 3 placement last August (2020) in Waukesha, WI. The group placement also came from Judge Cline!
Just a little more about Artie...
The day after he finished his championship, Artie participated in a newer competition that AKC and Royal Canin began in 2017, called the National Junior and Puppy Stakes, for dogs 6 months to 18 months. It became a huge hit instantly with a big participation in the first year and an even larger one this past year. Artie won Best of Breed with me as his handler on Friday in the National Stakes, and now can also unofficially refer to himself as the "2018 AKC Royal Canin National Stakes Coton de Tulear Puppy of the Year". Long moniker for a little guy! Photo below of Artie relaxing back in the hotel room after the National Stakes with his rosette (he himself was much more interested in his bully stick) and the certificate we were sent by AKC after the event. He also won a nice bright red Royal Canin table towel.
