Historical Holiday Cards

Holiday greetings from a famous Frenchie breeder/owner/handler of the past!  Here are four Christmas cards from Amanda West of Detroit, Michigan, one of the most successful owner/handlers in our club's history.  In 1971 she was named Best Female Owner Handler by Kennel Review magazine and two years later put the capstone on her impressive career by winning  her twenty-first consecutive BB at Westminster.  Unfortunately illness soon ended her handling career but not until she could boast of over 500 group wins and 111 BIS awards.



(This fold-over card with photo inside probably was sent in the mid-1960s)

Three of these cards dating from the late 1960s include photos of one of her  great Frenchies, Ch. Ralanda Ami Pierre.  (Her kennel prefix, Ralanda, was a combination of Ralph and Amanda.)  Pierre, at eight months of age, won Best of Winners at the 1966 national specialty.  At the 1967 national he went BOS to  the West's Ch. Ralanda Ami Hollee who won BB from the veterans class.  Pierre's career included six consecutive Westminster breed wins, 76 group wins and 13 BIS.

--Jim Grebe, Historian

(The cards shown below were from
1967, 1968, and 1969 respectively)



1967, the year Pierre was BOS at the national specialty.


1968 (Note plastic-wrapped trophies in Amanda's trophy room)

1969 Ralph West died in 1969, so this card is just from Pierre and Amanda.