Adam, our 3rd son, was born August 14, 1986.  Our next family companion was a black chow. He was a gorgeous furry black boy with a black tongue, but was very over protective, especially of our youngest son, Adam. One day a older boy was picking on Adam, and Samson nipped the boy on the rear.  Adam came home & told me the story, and my heart fell into my chest. Within an hour the police showed up at our house.  According to the state law in Missouri, Samson had to be quarantined by our vet for 2 weeks, even though he had a current rabies vaccination. We were warned that something a whole lot worse would happen if he bit someone again.  We placed Samson with a family who lived on a farm.  Everyone was heartbroken, but we could not have a dog who may bite a neighborhood child. 

Jake was our first Labrador Retriever.  He was a light yellow boy, very intelligent with a heart of gold. 

One day, a lady in our subdivision was walking her Irish wolf hound around the block.  I ran out of my house to see that big beautiful dog, and met the owner, Stacy Killian, (now breeder of Beulah Land Labradors). Stacy & I became good friends. She will always hold a special place in my heart.  Stacy was very knowledgeable with animals, and she helped me train Jake for obedience training, and later for conformation. 

I still had a desire for a Chow.  I  got in touch with a Chow Show breeder.  Most every one knows, temperament is everything for a show dog.  To avoid future heart breaks, I wanted a Chow with a good temperament, which is the #1 reason I contacted a show breeder.  This breeder was very knowledgeable & willing to teach me. She invited me to a dog show so I could see her chows in person.  I attended my first dog show in 1993.  Her chows were beautiful, and had awesome temperaments.  They were mellow & loveable.  She had gorgeous blacks, blues, reds, and cinnamon, and a beautiful short hair fox red.  I had a really good time at the show, and from that moment on, whatever breed I chose, must be a show dog. 

I decided to start showing Jake.  We took Jake to a few puppy matches & dog shows.  He performed well and always won a ribbon, but there was something different about his type.   I visited Sunny Brook Acres, and showed the breeder Jakes pictures & pedigree.  To make a long story short, Jake's pedigree looked like one from of a puppy mill. He had 1 or 2 champions in the pedigree  (4th or 5th generation) & no known producers or top stud dogs.  I still showed him anyway because he was intelligent & could perform just as well as a "show dog."  Jake looked more like a field type lab, but not hyper. Jake was shown at a dog show in Little Rock, Arkansas, and we got our picture made with a judge, who was later a judge at the Westminster Dog show.

I was on a quest for a yellow female show prospect puppy.  At that time, there was no internet to look for show dogs, and this time I wanted something that had an awesome pedigree.  The pedigree determines the value. All we had were books & magazines.  Book knowledge is great, but not as great as hands on experience. Come to think of it, I think that some of those books I read were un-realistic.  In fact, I think they preach a false doctrine, for nothing in this world is perfect.  Somehow I got a list of show breeders, and a copy of the Labrador Quarterly.  I contacted several top breeders by fax. I wanted something that was perfect show quality; several generations clear on HD, ED, Eyes, clear on all hereditary problems, and not one breeder responded. (now I know there is no such thing, and if there is, who would let it go:)  I visited a few show breeders in our area, but could not find what I was looking for.

Glenn picked up a newspaper from Little Rock, Arkansas, and found an puppy add placed by a show breeder. That was over 15 years ago & acceptable at that time, but now days Reputable Show breeders do not place adds in News Papers. However, there was 1 problem: the puppies were black, and I wanted a yellow. My friend, Stacy Killian, went with me to check out the puppies bred by Pam Harvey (MT Meadows) in Hot springs, Arkansas.  I was dead set on a yellow female show prospect puppy, but when I saw those 2 beautiful black girls, with gorgeous big heads, I fell in love. To everyone's surprise, I came home with a black show prospect puppy, which we named Canaanland's Jazzi Jazzmin. 

 We named Jazzi Jazzmin after a beautiful black Chow Show dog. And Glenn came up with the kennel name, "Canaanland." We chose this biblical name because it refers to the beautiful land, "flowing with milk & honey," that God promised to his people. This name projects an image of hope & a bright future.

A touch of destiny!