(Source: UKC Bloodlines Magazine, November 2004 article)
Beginnings...

  This month our Beginnings Story is by B.J. McDonald of Frisco City, Alabama.  BJ is very well known for her Toy Fox Terriers and is a Toy Fox Terrier and Multi-Breed Judge.

In the late 1930's I was a teenager living on a farm with my parents in Magnolia, Mississippi.  We had various small terrier type dogs, black and white and some all black with tan markings on the face.  Registered dogs were rare at this time, but a neighbor ordered a pair of registered Toy Fox Terriers from Michigan.  They were shipped in a wooden crate by freight, rail I think.  I thought they were the most beautiful pups I had ever seen.  Needless to say, I still think they are the best.

I had an unregistered black and white male with tan markings on the face who was our family pet and my son's friend.  When my children were growing up, he guarded the children when they were in the yard playing and slept with my son at night.  He found a small mostly white-bodied female, who looked a lot like him, and brought her home as his wife.  We raised some nice pups and my children learned about the "birds and bees."

In the 1970's, a friend gave me a UKC registered Toy Fox Terrier who she had bought from a pet store.  The poor thing was scared to death and totally un-socialized.  I learned a good lesson about pet shops at this time.  After a long time, months, she and I became buddies and she was very possessive of me.  I found the breeder's name on the papers and contacted Verdie Barnes of Zavalla, Texas.  We are still friends till this day.  When I visited her, she showed me the BLOODLINES, magazine and I was hooked.

I bought a pair of Toy Fox Terriers from Verdie and when I had a pup old enough, I attended my first show in Bryan, Texas hosted by Ed and Ila Williamson.  Wonderful people and they helped me so much.  My puppy won a trophy in the second show on Sunday, only one in the class, which was wonderful to me...  I floated home on air.

I attended shows when I could, sometimes with a bunch of other people to share expenses and sometimes alone or with a family member.  The shows were my hobby and my pleasure.  I never got the "empty nest syndrome" because I had my dogs and the shows and the wonderful show crowd.  The number of Judges was limited at the time and the pay was nil, so I decided to become a Judge to help the clubs out.  I apprenticed under Dovie Gideon, Ed Williamson and a man who had been judging for a long time and lived in the San Angelo are.  I cannot remember his name and most of the people who would know it are gone.  In 1977, I became a Senior UKC Toy Fox Terrier Judge - a proud day.  I wish I had kept a record of all the shows I have judged, but too late now.

My first puppy to win a trophy and my National Grand Champion (1998) are the highlights of my dog showing career and with all the others in between filling my life with pleasure.  I have had several Champions, but Precious Jeffery of Phoenix is the only Grand Champion I ever had.  I flew with him to Wisconsin and he won National Grand Champion class with 23 other Grand Champions competing, under Judge Jeri Singleton in August of 1998.  What a once-in-a-lifetime thrill for me.  My Black Tail Puppy is the best natured and the happiest TFT in my house.  He sired many pups; some show dogs but mostly precious pets.  Not a lot of difference if you think about it.

We still have a number of old dogs and a few young ones.  All are a joy to an old lady, but the time to retire for all of us is drawing close.  I truly have enjoyed "my kids."  They have me well trained.