"Mom, I think we're ready for a puppy." The day those words were spoken, one week after Craig & Donna were married, was the day that Thanque Kennels, Reg. established a branch in the Midwest. Craig, of course, had grown up with 2 brothers and Boxers in the house all of his life. Donna, on the other hand, came from a family of 6, & while there had almost always been a pet of some sort in the house, a Boxer had not been one of them. As a matter of fact, there were Boxers living up the street from her childhood home, & they were "those mean looking dogs-you better stay away from them." The first trip to Phoenix, to meet the new family she was about to enter, was both exciting and terrifying to her. And Craig played it for all he was worth. When they arrived, he made sure he went in first and looked out for the DOGS! When the coast was clear, he invited Donna in the door to a family that consisted of Bud & Ruth Sarvis, 7 adult Boxers and 5 puppies. Well, after the laughter stopped, it took only about 15 minutes for Donna to decide that one of them was definitely going to find its way to St. Louis. After the honeymoon was over, those fateful words were spoken, & Ruth said she had just the dog for them. She immediately contacted Dot & Jerry Bryant, of Interlude Boxers, & picked a puppy from a breeding of a bitch of hers that Dot & Jerry owned. When Phoenix, as she was going to be called, was 2 1/2 months old, she came to live with them. The only "hitch" in the deal that Donna could see, was that Phoenix was going to have to be shown, if she turned out to be what everyone thought she would. Donna had never even been to a dog show before & thought the whole thing perfectly ridiculous. In order to please the family, she went along with the program. At not quite 9 months old, Phoenix was going to be shown for the first time, with her breeders lined up to show her. They had not seen her since that day many months before, when she went to live with Craig & Donna. When she was brought ringside, Dot & Jerry were both pleased with her, said she's a winner & then to prove the point, Jerry took "his girl" in the ring & went Grand Sweepstakes with her at the Greater St. Louis Boxer Club Specialty. She went to 5 more shows after that, always placing or winning her class, & even picking up two points before heading for the ABC and the Futurity. When she won her 9-12 class of 34, under Judge Jack Ireland, Ruth & Dot & Jerry were ecstatic & Donna was floating on Cloud 9. When she went Best Puppy, all were really in heaven. And when she was pointed to for Grand Prize Futurity, the hugs & tears began to flow & Donna knew this was something she wanted to do again & again. She had only a small idea just how special this all was, and was beginning to realize how much hard work & dedication had gone into producing such a fine bitch. This is something Craig already knew & was willing to help Donna learn. On that day, both Craig & Donna knew the true meaning of THANQUE! And to this day they will never be able to thank Ruth & Bud, or Dot & Jerry enough for giving them the opportunity to start on their endeavor to produce quality Boxers.

Craig & Donna have continued their breeding program on a limited basis, and hope to produce the quality of Boxer to which they were introduced. They do this with the help of their family, & especially their daughter, Katie, & their "up & coming" Junior Handler, granddaughter, Haley. She's only 4, but look out because here comes another winner.