Meet Alexia Rodriguez

1Bitten by the Dog Show Bug

I was bitten by the dog show bug when my Mom bought me a Japanese Chin when I was 12 years old. I had been begging for a dog, and my Mom and I read countless books together and decided that the Japanese Chin was the only breed for us. Chins were very rare in the early 90s and finding one was almost impossible, but with my diligence we happened upon one and my Mom bought him for me.

A few months after I got Ureshii, a flyer at school advertised an AKC Fun Match. I had no idea what AKC was, but I knew I had an AKC registered dog. My Mom, Ureshii and I went to the match, and I entered myself in junior showmanship. I had no clue what I was doing, but I managed to place 4th in a class of 5. I was HOOKED! My passion for dogs and showing them only blossomed, and I worked for two different kennels to learn more about dogs of different breeds.

I will forever be grateful to George and Sherry Howes of Hiswill Hounds and Chad Howard of the legendary Chaseland kennel. These folks were like my second family and taught me not only about dogs, but about life.

2A Detour, Then the Cane Corso

At 18, I entered college and student life drew me away from dog shows for many years. Even still, I always had a Japanese Chin or two. They were rescues and I never showed them, but I longed to someday get back into showing dogs.

Fast forward to 2009, when I met my future husband Gabe and his incredible Cane Corso, Jack. As we became serious, I started researching the breed and asked Gabe if he’d be interested in showing Jack. To my delight, Gabe said “Let’s do it!” and I was able to complete Jack’s championship. We then campaigned Jack with handler Amy Rutherford for two years. Jack became the #3 Corso in the country two years in a row, had numerous big wins at major shows including Eukanuba and Westminster, and even won the CCAA National Specialty.

3Finding the Lowchen

Despite all the success in the Corso world, I still felt like something was missing. I wanted a smaller breed that would live well with our Corsos — more outgoing than my Chins, and one that would excel at sports like agility and tracking.

At the Eukanuba show in 2011, a group of friends and I were watching Portuguese Water Dogs when one of them remarked that a puppy “looked like he was a Lowchen moonlighting as a water dog.” That seemingly small comment made me read up on the Lowchen. The breed sounded perfect: non-shedding, happy, trainable and outgoing. Conveniently, I was at one of the largest dog shows in the country, with an extensive Meet the Breeds event. I went to the Lowchen booth and fell in love.

There were virtually no breeders within 1,000 miles of the San Francisco Bay Area, and none of our dog show friends had experience with the breed. I looked up the breeder list from the Lowchen Club of America and contacted quite a few people, but the person I felt most comfortable with was Gillian Robertson of Bihar Lowchen (now Tapestry Kennel). We exchanged countless emails, and when we talked on the phone, I knew she was going to be my mentor.

4Beatrice, My Heart Dog

Through a few turns of events, Gillian entrusted me with her pick female puppy from a very well thought out and important breeding. That puppy is Beatrice, aka Tapestry’s The Beat Goes On at Potrero. I waited over a year for darling Beatrice, but she is everything I ever wanted and hoped for in a Lowchen. Every day she makes me smile with her funny personality. She is not only conformationally correct — her temperament is correct too. She is my angel, my heart dog, a completion of my world.

I will forever be grateful to Gillian for entrusting me with Beatrice. She is my mentor in the breed, and with her guidance I hope to share this breed with more people. This story is a work in progress, as is everything in life, but I know this breed has stolen a special piece of my heart, and I feel a duty to help promote and develop this best kept secret of a breed.

— Alexia Rodriguez