It is hard to believe that it is a full year since Mera came to the UK, a mini stop over in Helsinki enjoying the sunshine and then bringing her back to UK. At two years old she had had an amazing show career in Finland:
- Winning six Best bitches before the age of 2
- Winning four CACIB before age of 2
- The CC at Helsinki Winner 2021 just after her 2nd birthday
- The CC at Finnish Winner 2021 with BOB just after her 2nd birthday
- Best bitch at Finnish Club Specialty Show from 123 lapphunds
- Best bitch at Specialty show of Nordic breeds from 89 lapphund
I’d been following her career with interest having fallen in love with he as a pup, and I was chatting with her owners Johanna and Markus after this big win and cheekily suggested that she might like a UK holiday……. well you can guess how the conversation went and soon I was driving to Belgium, to fly over to Helsinki to meet Mera. (Flying into UK is extremely expensive as dogs have to be treated as cargo and you have to use a cargo agent to book transport – flying within Europe is easy and dogs travel as excess baggage though of course a dog lapphund size still travels in cargo).
Mera settled in with my gang so well, a credit to Johanna & Markus for such a super tempered and beautifully trained bitch, she and Huntu became great friends and after one week, it was clear that Mera knew her name etc and so I stared letting her off lead, like Huntu she has an amazing responsive recall. She is a cuddly lap dog, and loves all dogs she meets, she is a non barker and took to caravanning like proverbial duck to water. In truth she is as beautiful on inside as she is on outside.
Just before I picked her up from Finland she had a bath and her junior moult happened – plus the weather was very warm here in UK, so it took a few weeks for her to be back in full bloom, but once she was, she certainly made her mark in UK.
- July 22 – Leeds, RCC – Celia Vines
- August 22 – WKC, RCC – Frank Kane
- Sept 22 – Richmond, BCC – Steve Atkinson
- Sept 22 – Darlington BCC/BOB – Caron Bell
- Oct 22 – SFLS open show BOS – Ritta Niemelä
- November 22 Kortrijk BOB/CAC/CACIB
- Dec 22 – LKA BCC/BOB/G3 – Russell Jones/Stella Clark – the first bitch in UK to place in a Group at a Championship Show
- Jan 23 – Manchester BCC/BOB – Darren Clarke
- March 23 – Crufts BCC/BOB – Annukka Paloheimo Segersven
Her Belgium CACIB to add to the many she had won before gave her, the International title.
Then Mera took some time away from the ring to have her five beautiful pups sire by Ch Elbereth Tuulenpoika JW
We are so grateful to Johanna & Markus at Ahulin for their trust in us, and letting Mera come to the UK for an extended holiday – it will be a sad time taking her home again later this summer, but her daughter is staying with us, and hopefully we will be seeing some of her pups in the show ring.
