About Windemere

The story of the Windemere Pekingese began way back in 1961 when I purchased a pet white male. He was a dearly loved companion and led me to a lifetime of dedication to the breed. In 1969 I finished my first Champion and have been breeding and exhibiting ever since. I have always considered myself a breeder, but know how important it is to finish Champions so the rest of the world will know the quality of my line. Since starting I have finished over 100 champions, many of them going on to Group, Specialty Best In Shows and All Breed Best In Show wins.

I would like to give you a little background on my line. It has been based on several outstanding dogs, including sons of Ch. Fu Yong of Jamestown, Ch. Dan Lee Dragonseed, and Ch. Rodari the Dragon at LonDu. I have always considered the bitch line to be very important and have seldom brought in a new one. I bred two bitches to Ch. Rodari the Dragon which produced five Champions, the most famous one being Ch. Windemere’s Hard To Be Humble (Playboy). Although Playboy is no longer with me, he received his Sire Of Distinction award with the championship of his 12th champion progeny: Windemere’s Glory Bound.

Several years ago I bought Cambalu Sunstorm who finished his championship and has been awarded his Register of Merit. Ch. Sunstorm is linebred to Ch. St. Aubrey Dragonfly of Elsdon a son of the great Ch. St. Aubrey Laparata Dragon. We have produced several top winning dogs with this combination of Playboy and Sunstorm, including his last son, Ch. Windemere’s Call Me Sunstorm, co bred by Elizabeth Tilley. He was a Sweepstakes winner his first time in the ring and finished quickly. Stormy is quite small at 7 ½# and I finally reached the point where I had to increase size in my line and he has gone to Prairie Breeze Pekingese where he will be a definite asset to their line of larger bitches.

Recently, I had the good fortune to have Ch. Windemere’s Peter Piper Sing Lee BISA back in my kennel to breed to some of my bitches. He has produced our current winner, Can. Ch. Windemere’s Heir Apparent who has just won his first major in the states. I have also purchased Ch. Linn Lee’s Peterson, another Piper son who is out of a black Champion bitch. He should do great things when bred to my bitches, both solid color and white.

Which brings up the fact that I have recently embarked on the task of breeding Champion quality whites. I had quite a nucleus of white and cream bitches, most of which were descended from Ch. Playboy, and was fortunate enough to purchase Singlewell Tonic from Pam Edmond of the renowned English Singlewell kennel. Tonic is now AM & CAN CH. SINGLEWELL TONIC and has produced several American Champions for us. His puppies are all stamped with the wonderful large, round, black eyes and his wonderful black pigment. Tonic has gone to Marie Peterson in Denmark to enhance her current line of whites and blacks.

Thinking ahead to the next generation, I purchased SACKIKO GOLD DIGGER FROM PEKEHUIS from Winnefred Mee in the fall of 1999. He was just a puppy and I was fortunate to have Joyce Shipley bring him to me at the Rotating Specialty in Dallas. Digby is a crème and is not white bred. He was bred by Mrs. Hughes in England, and is the litter brother to Eng. Ch. Sachiko Golden Peace, one of England’s top winning specials in 2001. We specifically purchased him to breed to Ch. Tonic daughters and his first litters are looking very good. Digby goes back twice to Eng. Ch. Tenling Golden Arrow of Pekehuis and once to Ch. Yakee For Your Eyes Only. Digby is now an American Champion and has proven to be a real asset to my kennel.

My top priority as a breeder has always been soundness. I am a firm believer that you can breed a sound, typey, Pekingese that will do you proud in the show ring. I know that head and coat are important, but you have to have the soundness first. We will continue to strive for these goals in our breeding program

Andrea Johnson - My Pekingese Story

My canine obsession started with a birthday celebration. My husband, always good at creatively marking milestones, had an idea to take me to the Piedmont Kennel Club dog show as a special birthday date. This was April 2011, Charlotte North Carolina. What we discovered on arrival were gorgeous dogs all displayed to perfection thanks to an industry of grooming: owners and handlers primping and fluffing; massive hair blowers readied for use; sprays, powders, chalks for the fine touches; silk hairbows with emeralds and rubies; and squeaky toys and treats to capture each dog’s attention.

Within this grand scene, something more immediate caught my eyes and captured my attention: an exquisite, brilliant white Pekingese, posing on a large pillow cloud. Immediately, a friendly voice invited me to approach and extend my hand so this little treasure could sniff me. Not aware then, but in the mellow eye of retrospect I now see that this was the beginning of an affair. I was about to fall in love.

The invitation to approach was extended by that friendly handler, Ruth West. The dog was BIS BISS GCH Windemere’s Different Shade of White, “Silver Streak”.

In short order, I did some research and eventually placed a phone call to Joy Thoms of the famous Windemere Kennel and Windemere white Pekingese in Molalla, Oregon. We spoke at length, and she generously took the time and summoned the patience to educate me on the breed and encourage my first steps. This experience has demonstrated to me one of the most notable marks of a quality breeder: to use each interaction to engage and build rapport with a potential new owner, all the while promoting understanding and know-how.

I eventually acquired my first Pekingese: Windermere’s Touch of Frost, Paddington. He was the first of my many champions. And over more than a decade now, this shared love of the breed has blossomed into a deep and rich friendship with Joy Thoms herself. And it is an honor to share and attempt to carry on the legacy of these wonderful white Pekingese. As a mentor and now a partner, Joy and I have finished many more Windemere champions. We have slowly been transferring her kennel out here to the East Coast to continue these white Windemere lines here in the Carolinas.

A little information on myself. I grew up overseas, South America and Africa. I speak English, Spanish and French. Eventually my family settled in Washington DC where I completed high school. I then went on to college at McGill University in Montreal Canada and then medical school at Drexel School of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA. I currently reside in Charlotte NC and work as a specialist in the field of medical oncology/hematology with Levine Cancer Institute.

My husband and I have raised 5 children. Our family has been my greatest joy and all been in the show ring over the years. We are active in our church and our faith is evident in all areas of our lives. This includes the naming of Pekingese from time to time: Father Abraham, Moses, and of course a Mary and Joseph from a litter born over Christmas. We are also passionate about the Carolina Panthers and Pekingese have been named after NFL football greats, a fun talking point when I was new to shows.

The biggest excitement for me over the last year has been the opportunity to breed back to the original Singlewell Tonic from Pam Edmonds in the UK. This was a beautiful white puppy boy Joy Thoms imported from England and is the foundation of much of her white line. We used frozen semen from 1998 for a breeding with a glamourous bitch CH Windemere’s Hope Diamond to produce Windemere’s Tonic 2.0. He is actively showing and currently being used in our breeding program and is a great addition to continue the legacy of the glorious white Windemere Pekingese.