If you ever loved a dog, if you ever lost a dog, regardless of
breed, you must read one of the most beautiful books ever written about dogs.
Read the first chapter
Read reviews
Find out how to buy it
written by Rhoda Lerman,
owner of Blue Heaven Kennels
2007's
Week of Puppies
Where did Celeste, Elsa and Bumper's 2007 puppies go?
They've
moved over
here...
More family resemblance. Katie's Great
Granddaughter, Rosie at 8 months.
Instructions from the Newfie
manual: Keep mouth & eyes shut tightly
when getting a smooch
Tribute to Rhoda in Newf Tide 45th Anniversary Issue
Deepest thanks to everyone who helped make this beautiful tribute
come about. Pass the kleenex! :'(
Blue Heaven Family Gathering
The Blue Heaven Family is more than our dogs, it is all of you
who have brought our beloved dogs into your families. It brings
us such joy to see that the humans also feel like family. This
spring, Kate Kuharic, part of the east coast Blue Heaven Family,
was in California and met some of the west coast contingent. We
received an email from Moby's mom, Barbara Berkowitz, titled
"Blue Heaven West welcomes Kate Kurahic!" Here are Moby, Owen and
Siri with Kate, Sahaja, Alex and Rob.
Blizzard of 2016
Mabel is enjoying the blizzard.
And because our babies look like panda bears, check out Tian
Tian the panda at the National Zoo enjoying the snow.
Rhoda Awarded AKC Breeder of Merit
We were happy to get a letter from the AKC at the end of 2015
recognizing Rhoda as a Breeder of Merit. Here is how the AKC
describes the program:
AKC Breeder of Merit Participants demonstrate a commitment to the
AKC Community, dedication to their breed(s), and actively promote
the sport of purebred dogs. The AKC is proud to recognize AKC
Breeders who are dedicated to breeding beautiful purebred dogs whose
appearance, temperament, and ability are true to their breed. These breeders are the heart of AKC.
There are a bunch of Blue Heaven
dogs living in Southern California. From Moby's mom, Barbara
Berkowitz, we got this note and pics. Omen, Freya, Moby,
Siri, Apollo and Hermes love getting together. Yesterday, Omen,
Siri and Moby played. Last week Omen, Freya, Apollo, Siri and
Hermes got together, and the week before, dog mums Sahaja, Alex and
I were together. We are all grateful to Bob and Rhoda! A
picture of all 6 will be included in the Southern California
Newfoundland directory which comes out later this month.
Our Saddest News, August 30, 2015
Rhoda has suffered from Thyroid cancer for some time. After
spending much time in the hospital, she finally came home in hospice
several weeks ago. The main purpose of hospice is comfort
care. It functions to make her as comfortable as possible and
as pain free as possible. I believe we accomplished that.
Last night she went to sleep and passed away overnight. We
hope and believe that she did not suffer since it happened while she
slept.
She was dearly loved by many people, but mostly by you people who
had her dogs. The quilt and pillows are a sign of that deep
love.
This lovely email came from Kate Kuharic.
While Kate was on sabbatical, Cicero and Annie were doing a show
circuit with Mark Desrosiers. Before Kate left home a few months
ago, neither dog had ever shown before. Cicero just finished and
Annie is oh-so-close already! We are all so proud.
Blue Heavens Madame du Barry (aka Annie) Best
of Breed, Oct 12 2015
Visits!
Caleb (Elsa/Solomon 2007 litter -that big litter) came to visit with his family,
Michael and Marcy Partnow and his older brother, Zeke!
From The Archives
Cheryl Smagala is
the mom of Loki, who came from Elsa's famous litter of 17. She sent
us this pic recently.
New Newfie News Summer 2015
Ben is living in Vermont now with Helen and Paul Huyffer. Our
daughter Julie is only 25 miles away. We were also so happy to
see Ben (and the Huyffers) at Rhoda's funeral. Ben is among
giants, living with a young Irish Wolfound named Mac, and a 10
year old Leonberger who keeps both boys in line.
Annie and Cicero are living the dream at a college campus with 1800
students who *all* want to pet them. If that is not enough, these
two just points at their first show.
Cicero was Winner Dog: 1point. Annie was Winner Bitch, Best of
Winners & Best of Opposite: 1point.
The incredible quilt given to Bob & Rhoda by so many of their "puppy
owners". We love it and we love you all. Thank you so very much.
(Click on the quilt & pillows photos for full size so you can read
it all)
& pillows, too!
Annie with her new boyfriend, Cicero
Violet Loving Ohio Residency
Violet holds court!
A few pics from our own back yard.
Solomon could get a job as a photo stylist! He picked the spot.
If there is a couch or chair, Katie will be there!
Good old Theo. There is nothing like a roll in the grass. Smiley
boy.
Boomer guarding His Flock
Mommy-To-Be
Here is Lulu before we knew she was pregnant (probably she did).
She went around the house, collected all of her toys, one by
one, took them outside and set them up in a semi-circle.
Then she positioned herself so she could watch all of her
"babies" at once. This is absolutely the sweetest thing.
We have a website dedicated to the book
BornADog.com
Mother's Day 2014
Rhoda with Moby (Moby lives in
California)
Clark (left) thinks that Izzy is a
pretty good mother, too!
_____________A great honor for Rhoda's
New Book____________
On Sunday night, February 9th, at the Westminster dog show, my
book Elsa Was Born a Dog, I Was Born a Human…Things Have Changed
received the Merial Special Award for the best work on
Human-Animal Bond. Merial is a large company that manufactures
veterinarian pharmaceuticals. The award was for “the work that
best highlights the unique relationship between a dog and its
owner and best brings to life the concept of the human-animal
bond”. There were 700 entries and I was told that there was
strong competition. It was presented by theDog
Writers Association of America.
Rhoda says, "I am very pleased that my book has been honored by
other writers."
So many November litters!
____________And we have
2013 Birthday pics____________ 2007: Year of the mega-litters from Elsa, Bumper &
Celest. Now they are 6! 2011: Juno/Sailor's pups are now
2 years old (pics coming soon) 2011:
Rosie/Sailor's pups are now 2 years old 2012: Rosie & Ben's puppies are
One!
________________________Chef at 6________________________ Providing Comfort to so
many as a Certified Pet Therapy Dog
Although, she was not destined for the
show ring, Chef is in service as a certified pet therapy dog with The Good Dog
Foundation. Every week we see children in psychiatric hospitals, visit
autistic and bipolar school children and participate in Reading with Rover.
One seven year old asked me why I had a dog that looked like a cow!
We were
also invited to the Newtown Elementary School where the Sandy
Hook teachers and kids
went after the re-opening. The kids swarmed Chef and the
teachers put their heads
in her big fuzz-head and cried. She was so amazing -
sweet and calm - and a
favorite of the principal. I'm so thankful for her.
She's the queen bee of my
Newf family and Mr. Blue and the puppy Oso adore her as we do.
Excuse me, this is Georgia. Why is there ice in
my pool? (Beth, a Ben and Rosie puppy)
Muddy Elsa thought this was a much better
option than going downstairs for a bath.
Moby Out Hiking with his buds, while his
Cousin Enjoys the Book
Happy Birthday Lily!
Bobo Gets the Points!
Because they are all just lap dogs
Boomer, son of Rosie and Sailor just 22 mo. beginning his career
in Atlanta mid October. We're dying to watch his big moment
Summer Fun!
Squee! Cash is in Vogue Magazine! Cash
poses with Jennifer Lawrence in the Sept 2013 issue.
More here Thanks to Cornelia Guest for giving him such a
glamourous life.
Elijah's First Point
Chenango Valley Kennel Club, June 29 2013
Eli is l5 months old. He's the son of Watchbear's Sailor and our
Rosie. This was his first time ever in the ring and he took some
big time points as Best of Winners! .
Beth's Swimming Lesson Another of Rosie's recent puppies. She lives
with Bou and Eisenhower, the pig.
Kayak at the Office "When
I turned my back she was cookin' the books and giving herself a
raise!"
"
Oct 27: Blue Heaven's Roosevelt's New Deal, a
Juno & Watchbear Sailor daughter took a 3 point major
today in Massachusetts. This is a very big deal for a puppy
who is only 11 months old
and an even bigger deal in New England. She beat some great
grown-up dogs.
At only 9 months old, Lulu (a Rosie puppy) has
just taken the points with a win at a show where she
beat mature Champion bitches!
____________Fall Fun____________
Moby's hiking playgroup encounters another hiking
playgroup in the mountains above L.A. Hiking Playgroup? Yes, we
are all jealous. Can you pick him out? Moby is one year old and 143
pounds!
Hannah comes to visit, much to Elijah and Solomon's
happiness
___________Update to Ordering In the Company of
Newfies__________ You can get a signed copy of Rhoda's
book directly from us through our
Blue
Heaven Books website. Ordering will be processed for us
by our daughter's company website, KatiesBumpers.com, which
takes credit cards. While you're there, you might want to
pick up some dog toys!
More
info here.
___________Finally a Solution for Finicky Eaters___________ We've learned about an easy
solution for dogs who won't eat. Bring in the pig! Bou, who
has to be fed by hand, will eat everyhting to the bottom of her
shiny bowl in self defense as soon as Eisenhower comes into
the kitchen. Don't have to change the diet; just get a 400
pound pot belly and you're good to go.
_______________*THE* World Champion Veteran!!!_______________ Our Rudy, daughter of Katie and Packard, just became the world champion Veteran We had a call from
her owner,
Carole
Bernard in Paris, moments ago. Rudy, Champion, Excellent,
(they have to be ranked Excellent in order to compete in this
show) just became THE world champion veteran at 11˝ at the
World Champion Dog 2011 show in Paris. Rudy is the mother of Theo and
Celeste and Jules, grandmother of Solomon and Juno.
____________________
Elijah 1st Show at 9 months ____________________
____________________From
the Archives____________________ We found this cute picture of Rhoda with puppies.
Four Generations Again,
December 2010 From
the left we have Elijah (5 month old puppy), Ben (father), Elsa
(grandmother) and LaaLaa (great grandmother). Laa Laa was
the puppy in the January 2000 and the granny in the April 2008
pics below. Now she is the great grandma!
Four Generations, April 2008
Left to Right:
Ch. Blue Heaven's Catherine the Great (Katie;
13 1/2; Great Grandmother), Ch.
Blue Heaven's Secret Dance (Laa
Laa; Grandmother),
Ch. Blue Heaven's Katie's Bumper
(Bumper;
Mother) and Rosie (4 months)
Four generations,
January 2000 From right to left they are Molly (our foundation bitch, great
grandmother & ROM,
Ishtar (grandmother and ROM),Katie (Mother & VN), and LaaLaa (daughter).
In this photo, Laa Laa, who is a grandmother 8 years later to the left,
was the baby below.
On June 29 Elsa had a litter of one puppy out of Solomon.
Elsa is the girl who had 17 puppies 2 1/2 years ago.
On July 2 Juno had a litter of two puppies out of
Ben. This was her first litter.
Here are pictures of them at 5 weeks of age and growing up.
Elias at 4 months
Elijah at 4 months
Elijah
at 8 months
Elsa's son, Elias
Juno's son, Elijah
Juno's daughter, Willow
Be careful, Elias...
Elias, she is just sucking you in...
We warned you, Elias!
Our beautiful, handsome Ben,
son of Solomon & Elsa, at one year.
Our French connection, Tadoussac Newfs. Left: Blue Heaven's Cosmo pulling Carol Bernard's daughter, Lou
Ann, and friend. Cosmo, son of Packard and Annie,
is one of the top twenty working dogs in Europe...which is a big deal,
an ocean rescue dog.
Right:
Blue Heaven's Bouba pulling Lou-Ann in the cart. Blue Heaven's Rudi
standing by.
Bouba was the #l ranked Newfie in France for an entire year!
2007's Year's Mega Litter(s) Puppies Celebrate
their Birthdays Click anywhere on the gallery to go to a page with everyone's
pictures!
September 2008
Here is a picture of LaaLaa winning Best Veteran at the Wine
Country show on 9/27.
Very proud. She is ten years old, and not only did she
look beautiful and move great,
but there are not many ten year old Newfies that can still go
around the ring.
Blue Heaven Kennels is a
small kennel in Western New York. Many people know us well because of my
book, In the Company of Newfies, about
the dogs at Blue Heaven Kennels and our relationships with each other.
And many more people know
our dogs since so many are in the show ring. Our outstanding characteristics
structurally are balance, large heads, soft expression, straight topline and
race-horse movement. Our foundation bitch, Molly, and her daughter
Ishtar, both now Register of Merit dogs, have produced many champions
and titled children. We are extremely proud of them and grateful to them.
We are very proud of our
beautiful dogs, but what we take the greatest pleasure in is their sweetness
and goodness and willingness to live our lives.
In August, 1998 we moved from our
house of 26 years in Cazenovia, NY to our present home in Port
Crane, NY which is right outside of Binghamton. This is the place
we had been looking for for years. It is perfect for our Newfie
family. It has 140 acres of wooded land laced with old lumber
trails. And the dogs have a 10 acre pond all to themselves, except
for some resident ducks and some very cheeky beavers. It has been
everything we dreamed it would be...and more. We walk constantly
with the dogs and we can't keep them out of the pond.
We
got our first Newfie, Ben, in 1988. The following
year we got Molly. The next year Molly and Ben gave us Ishtar and Celeste.
And that was it. We had no intention of breeding again, and we weren't
interested in showing.
Until, that is, someone told us we should
show Ishtar because she was, in his words, "the perfect Newfie". And so,
we suddenly became Blue Heaven Kennels. (The name, by the way, came from
the old song, "My Blue Heaven", which goes "Molly and me, and baby makes
three, we're happy in our blue heaven.") Ishtar, of course, wasn't the
perfect Newfie (is there one?), but she was very good, and 6 months after
we started showing her she became a champion
and about a month later took Select at the Nationals. We lost Ben when he
was seven, but dear old Molly is still with us. This March she will be
eleven and in October Celeste and Ishtar will be ten. In 1998 Molly and
Ishtar honored Blue Heaven Kennels by both becoming ROM's at the same
time.
Every litter we have had came from Molly.
She is the mother, grandmother, great grandmother and yes, even great
great grandmother of every one of our puppies. We have four generations
here at our kennels and we are so proud that we took a group picture which
is on this page (above).
This adorable picture of Molly at five
weeks came to us from a friend of her breeder who was a dear friend of
ours.
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We
got our first Newfie, 
and about a month later took Select at the Nationals. We lost Ben when he
was seven, but dear old Molly is still with us. This March she will be
eleven and in October Celeste and Ishtar will be ten. In 1998 Molly and
Ishtar honored Blue Heaven Kennels by both becoming ROM's at the same
time.