Morninglow Cotons

OUR FEMALES

THE NUMBER ONE COTON de TULEAR ALL-SYSTEMS 2018

2017 UNITED STATES OF AMERICAN COTON DE TULEAR CLUB NATIONAL SPECIALTY SHOW WINNER,

NUMBER ONE GROUP WINNING COTON for both 2017 AND 2018!

and

SILVER-LEVEL AKC GRAND CHAMPION

NEW CANINE GOOD CITIZEN ADVANCED and AKC NOVICE TRICK DOG TITLEHOLDER!!

NINA

RBIS NBISS GCHS CH WHISPERING LANE'S JUST RIGHT FOR MORNINGLOW CGCA TKN

NINA comes to us from the suburbs of Phoenix, AZ. She was born in September, 2015 to GCH Cowboy's Buffalo Hunter, CM and CH Jespersen's Melancholia CM. She is a darling little princess with super white coat, very black nose pigment and an ultra-feminine expression. Has exactly the temperament we want in a Coton; playful and active, yet still easy to settle down and very cuddly. Nina began her show career with a weekend in Wheaton, IL, in June, 2016, with a Best of Opposite Sex win over "specials" (dogs who have already earned their championships)! She finished her AKC Championship on August 27, 2016, exclusively owner-handled by me, at the Elgin Kennel Club Show in St. Charles, IL and went on the next day to earn her first Grand Championship major win on her first day out as a new "special"! Nina then went on to finish her Grand Championship title less than three months later, in mid-November, 2016. Nina completed her Bronze Level Grand Championship on 12.12.17, by going Best of Breed on the first day of the 2017 AKC National Championship Royal Canin cluster in one of the largest coton entries of the year! Nina is also the 2017 AKC Coton National Specialty Show winner, again taking a Best of Breed over one of the larger entries of the year outside St. Louis, MO in September, 2017! Nina had a stellar year in the show ring in 2017, was ranked in the Top Five in National Breed Points, All-Breed Points, and Grand Championship Points, and was invited to both the 2018 and 2019 Westminster Kennel Club Shows in New York City (she won Select Bitch at WKC 2018, we retired her from the ring prior to the 2019 show) and to the prestigious Crufts Dog Show in Birmingham, England! In 2018, Nina continued her winning ways, earning a SILVER Grand Championship, and ending her career at the end of the year as the NUMBER ONE COTON ALL-SYSTEMS, which means she came in at NUMBER ONE in every single way that the AKC keeps statistics on conformation achievement. She also finished her career as a Top 40 Non-Sporting Dog, the only Coton included in that group! She was also the top group winning coton for both 2017 and 2018!! It was a remarkable ride; Nina exceeded all of our expectations and then some; you can read about her various exploits as they happened if you click on the "News" tab, and there are also many more photos there. Nina has been fully health-tested and has a CHIC certification. You can click HERE to see the extensive testing we have done on her, as well as see the extensive health testing that HER breeder has performed on each of her parents! We brought Nina back home for good in December 2018, and she has been enjoying life again as our housepet, taking long walks and playing with the other dogs at home. In May 2019, Nina became a mother for the very first time to our "Mamma Mia" litter (3 boys and 1 girl); daddy is our own Hamilton, who is himself a two-time National Specialty Show winner, and the Number One Coton all-systems for 2019. The two of them made a wonderful combination. We kept the little girl, whom we named Sophie, and she became an AKC Champion at the age of 10 months, also completely owner-handled by me! Sophie is now a Silver Grand Champion, and followed in mom's and dad's footsteps by earning a National BISS herself (2020). Two of Nina's and Hamilton's other sons, Louie (Sophie's littermate) and Sunny (repeat breeding in 2020) have also gone on to earn AKC championship titles, Sunny is also a bronze grand champion. Nina is a great mom, and loves having her daughter Sophie around. Nina had a third litter in 2021 with our Artie, that produced another AKC grand champion, Vanessa, who is currently (mid-2024) the No. 1 Owner-Handled Coton, showing with my co-owner Marilyn Thompson. We love having Nina back home with us, she is an amazing dog in every respect! I can't imagine life without her <3

LEFT, Nina as a little pup, just arrived at our house, December 2015.

ABOVE , Nina's 3-generation pedigree.

ABOVE, Nina clowning around in typical Coton de Tulear fashion, in November 2016, outside on the grounds at a show in Ohio.

ABOVE, Nina at 14 months old, as captured by professional photographer Christina Freitag.

Please enjoy a little video of our Nina and Murphy at play! These two are absolute best friends, and so totally display the "joie de vivre" or "joy of life" that a properly-bred Coton de Tulear pup should have. I can watch these two enjoying each other's company for hours.....

NINA IN THE SHOW RING--BEAUTY IN MOTION!

ABOVE LEFT and RIGHT, Nina in motion in the ring during the 2016 AKC National Championship week in Orlando, Florida, and seeming to glide across the floor during a show in the summer of 2017 in Topeka, KS, where she received a Non-Sporting Group 1 (first place among all Non-Sporting Group dogs entered in the show). These are both favorite photos of mine, as they really highlight how beautifully and fluidly she moves.

NINA IS THE NUMBER ONE GROUP-WINNING COTON IN 2017 AND IN 2018!

In addition to earning many Best of Breed wins, and earning an AKC Grand Championship, Nina has accumulated a large number of regular Group Placements as well! After a dog competes and wins the top spot in their breed at a show, they are entitled to go on to complete in 'groups' competition. AKC divides all of its recognized breeds (approximately 190) into seven different groups. The breed winner in each breed goes on to compete against all the other breed-winning dogs in their assigned group, and first through fourth place honors are bestowed by the group judge at each show. All of these placements (first through fourth) accumulate what are called "all-breed points" for the winners, but the First Place dog in each group (called the "Group 1" winner) gets to go on to the final and most exclusive part of the competition at a dog show, which is the Best In Show Competition. Only seven dogs (one from each of the seven groups) out of all the dogs entered at a show compete for Best in Show, and a winner and a reserve winner are picked from those seven by the BIS Judge. Cotons de Tulear are a part of the Non-Sporting Group in AKC. Nina won over 80 regular Non-Sporting Group placements (as opposed to Owner-Handled group wins, a separate competition described in more detail on the "News" tab with regard to some of my other dogs), was also the Number 1 Group Winning Coton (more Group 1 placements than any other coton competing in AKC) for both 2017 and 2018. She won a grand total of FIFTEEN Group 1s and a Reserve Best in Show in her specials career. Just a few of photos are shown below; there are a few more on the "News" tab, and quite a few more on my computer that I haven't had time to upload here. We are very proud of this very pretty, sweet little girl and everything she accomplished!

ABOVE CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT, a grouping of Nina's "Group One" or "Group Winning" photos; from Little Fort Kennel Club of Waukegan, IL, on June 16, 2017 (her very first), to Berrien Kennel Club (South Bend, IN) on July 23, 2017, to The Greater Emporia Kennel Club (Topeka, KS) on August 18, 2017 to the Kankakee River Valley Kennel Club (IL) on October 15, 2017. Many thanks to Judges Mr. Joseph Gregory, Dr. Steve Keating, Mr. Randy Garren, and Ms. Betsy Dale, respectively, for these amazing honors! Nina ended her career at the end of 2018 with a total of FIFTEEN "Group One" honors; some are scattered elsewhere on this website, and some remain to be posted. She was also the recipient of a mind-boggling EIGHTY-TWO career group placements (1,2,3 or 4), which is currently a record for a Coton de Tulear in AKC.

Here is some video of our Nina in the Non-Sporting Group ring at the Key City Kennel Club show in St Peter, MN over Memorial Day weekend, 2017. Nina received a Group 3 placement from Judge Luc Boileau for this performance. A lady who follows me on Instagram and who was at the show that day realized she was watching a dog that she follows, and was kind enough both to videotape this and to send it to me! You can read more about the exciting show ring wins Nina has recently received and see more photos on the "News" tab!

OUR NEWEST AKC SILVER GRAND CHAMPION!

and

NO. 2 Coton Bitch/No. 5 Coton 2020

No. 1 Coton Bitch all-breed/No. 4 Coton 2021!

DOUBLE invitee to Westminster 2022

2020 USACTC National Specialty Show Winner!

Also both a Canine Good Citizen AND Canine Good Citizen Advanced titleholder!!

SOPHIE

NBISS GCHS CH Morninglow's Thank You For The Music CGCA TKN

SOPHIE is our own breeding, the only female in our "Mamma Mia Litter" born in May, 2019 to our own fabulous Hamilton and our beautiful Nina! Sophie was one of four puppies born right after Mothers Day, and there are a few snaps of Sophie and her brothers as very little ones on the 'puppies" tab. Two of the three boys went on to pet homes, where they are adored, and Sophie's one littermate, Louie, is in a show home with a friend, and has also finished his own AKC championship! Very proud of both of them. <3 Sophie was shown to her championship, completely owner-handled by me, from a special class called "Bred By Exhibitor." It's generally considered an honor to finish a dog from this class, especially as you can't get any kind of professional help to do it, and AKC rewards you with a special medallion to commemorate the achievement. I took Sophie to her first show in December 2019, just before the AKC National Championship, came back for a weekend of showing in January, and then traveled with her to Nashville, TN, where she took Winners Bitch (Best Female) from the bred-by class for three major wins in a row to complete the championship. Once finished with the championship I moved Sophie up to champion class for the last day of the show cluster, and she came out with a big 5-point major Best of Breed, winning over an older, much more experienced champion, for Sophie's first grand champion major! I got to watch her from the stands (first time I ever got to see my dog move from anything other than directly above her, lol) and I was thrilled with what I saw. Sophie had never so much as been taken for a walk around the block by anyone other than me, and yet she immediately lit up the ring with a pro handler she had never met before. In the fall of 2020 after the initial run of the pandemic began to wane and some shows began to start up again I sent Sophie out with another handler to get some more experience in the ring, where she very quickly finished her Grand Championship. Sophie is also a graduate of Advanced Level Obedience training, has earned a Novice Trick Dog title (TKN), like her dad and mother, uncle Besito and her grandmother Ruby, and is now also the holder of both Canine Good Citizen (CGC) and Canine Good Citizen Advanced (CGCA) titles. I didn't have a lot of professional photos of Sophie until recently, but this is a new one just taken a few weeks ago (September 2022) at the age of 3. I got several nice photos of her from this shoot, and will post some more of them soon. A couple of informal iPhone snaps follow below. I'm very proud to have bred Sophie. Sophie is also the winner of the United States of America Coton de Tulear Club 2020 National Specialty Show and is the proud owner of not one, but TWO invitations to the 2022 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show as a result! Sophie had her first litter in April 2023, there is more information on the "Puppies" tab. You can check out the extensive health testing that we have performed on Sophie (and that she passed with flying colors) right HERE!

SIDE BY SIDE ABOVE, Baby Sophie at 9 weeks old, July, 2019; and growing up, after a grooming end of October 2020, 17 months old.

SIDE BY SIDE ABOVE, Sophie's AKC Championship certificate; and Sophie learning the dog show game with me, only her second time ever in a show ring, in January 2020. She also took best female on this day, winning two points towards that coveted championship title.

SOPHIE GETS BACK IN THE SHOW RING

AND

FINISHES HER GRAND CHAMPIONSHIP!

SOPHIE finally made a return to the show ring after seven long months of COVID cancellations, going down to Oklahoma for a few weeks beginning the last weekend in October, and did not disappoint! On her first solo trip without me, she took two GCH Best of Breed majors, each time over top specials, and collected 12 national breed ranking points and 13 Grand Champion points in just a single weekend! Over the three weekends she was away, she accumulated a total of 20 national breed ranking points, 21 Grand Championship points (more than enough to finish her GCH), and vaulted up the national breed ranking chart to No. 5 Coton de Tulear overall and No. 2 bitch (female), as of 11/30/2020. She was even awarded a couple of regular group placements, which pushed her up into the top echelon at the all-breed level as well! Sophie's entire 2020 run took place in just a handful of show weekends (five I think to be exact), between being out only twice prior to COVID shutdowns to finish her championship, and then my only wanting to put her out sparingly while her uncle Artie was still out doing his own campaign. Our big thanks to our friend, pro handler Lisa Bettis, for taking Sophie on a wonderful trip for us, introducing her to life beyond showing with mom, and piloting her to her Grand Championship so quickly! Lisa used to show our now-retired Besito for us during his own show career, and took him to No. 1 male Coton in breed rankings in 2016. Sophie went back out with Lisa for a second trip at the beginning of December, and placed with major wins all four days of the 2020 AKC National Championship Week in Orlando, FL in mid-December.

ABOVE PHOTOS CLOCKWISE FROM UPPER LEFT, Sophie winning a Best of Breed with Lisa in Chickasha, OK on the day she turned 18 months old, 11.14.2020; Sophie up on the table, looking serious and ready for the judge's exam in Oklahoma City, just a few weeks earlier on Halloween; Sophie being awarded a Group 3 in Chickasha, OK the day after that pictured BOB; Sophie focusing on her handler in the ring in Oklahoma City. In the two lower photos, Sophie is being handled by Lisa's assistants Caroline Clegg (left) and Natalie Taylor (right, group placement). Caroline showed Sophie to one of her major Best of Breed wins on the OKC trip, but I don't have an official win photo for that one All in all, a big success, and glad now to have my sweet girl back home again <3.

MOVING ON UP AS A SPECIAL!

FOLLOWING Artie's retirement from the ring at Westminster in June, we decided to let Sophie have a spin as our primary "special" and she did not disappoint! In just her first month out, she racked up pointed Best of Breed wins, and multiple group placements, including a Group First in Monroe, MI in early July in a huge entry! Sophie had a relatively short show career between COVID and some other issues, and was only in the ring as a primary special for six months in 2021, and despite this limited showing, she managed to finish the year as the No. 1 all-breed bitch (female) and the No. 4 Coton (both males and females) all-systems. Sophie placed both days in that early show in Michigan and one of the very nice win photos is below. She continued through the rest of the year, racking up 15 group placements (including four Group 1s), for a career total of 17, and also was the winner of the United States of America Coton de Tulear Club 2020 National Specialty Show (held a year in arrears in 2021 because of COVID). We are super proud of the great job she did in a very brief career. At the start of 2022, I started handling her on my own again, and in February, we won a 5 point major Best of Breed in Madison, WI, over professional handlers, and went on to an Owner-Handled Group 4 placement later in the day. A really nice way to go out in style! Sophie stayed home with me for most of the rest of 2022 and in 2023, when she had her first litter with our Artie as sire. In January 2024, we went out into the show ring again with their daughter, Nikki, and finished her Grand Champion Silver title in May 2024.

I have personally found Sophie to be an amazingly multi-talented dog; an excellent representation of the breed, as her conformation awards have shown, but also a really smart dog who likes to learn, to please me, and to try all kinds of new things. Since she came home to me at the end of 2021, in addition to the show awards mentioned above, she went off and passed both the AKC Canine Good Citizen and Good Citizen Advanced Tests without any training or practice whatsoever! And then just because I know she enjoys the one-on-one time with me and learning new things, we took and finished both intermediate and advanced level obedience courses before the middle of the year in 2022. I also enjoy that Sophie has a beyond superior temperament and I can take literally anywhere with me; classes, shops, hotels, you name it--anywhere you can legally bring your dog. She rarely barks or startles and loves meeting new people and also other dogs when we go out walking. For me, she is a dream come true; I'm fully aware that there is no such thing as a perfect dog.....however Sophie has turned out to be the perfect dog for ME! My eternal gratitude to her parents, Hamilton and Nina for this really special gift <3

Looking forward to lots more fun together!

ABOVE LEFT, Sophie's lovely Group 1 official win photo from the Ann Arbor Kennel Club in Monroe, MI under Judge Helene Nietsch.

ABOVE RIGHT, another Group 1 award received later in the year from Judge Brian Meyer, also in Michigan.

BELOW LEFT, An iphone snap of Sophie and her ribbon from the 2020 USACTC National Specialty win in Lexington, Kentucky, awarded to her by Judge Jan Paulk

BELOW RIGHT, one of my favorite new shots of a now all grown-up Sophie, taken during our recent photo shoot in mid-September, 2022.

OUR NEWEST HOME-BRED AKC GRAND CHAMPION!!

No. 1 NOHS Coton to date for 2024!!

VANESSA

GCH CH MORNINGLOW'S GOOD MORNING VANESSA AT SEISTAN

VANESSA is our keeper from our 2021 "In The Heights Litter" sired by our Artie (GCHS CH Morninglow's Arthurian Legend) x our Nina (GCHS CH Whispering Lane's Just Right for Morninglow GCGA TKN). We had a litter of three, Vanessa was our only female, and I fell for her hard. Adorable personality, with an extremely feminine expression and ultra-white coat. We decided to place Vanessa in co-ownership with our good friends Marilyn and Doug (who also co-own our Sunny with us), and she lives primarily in their home out in California. However, it's hard to find Coton competition out west, so just like we did with Sunny before her, we brought Vanessa back here towards the end of 2022 to give her a chance to show her stuff and earn an AKC championship. Fortunately our cute little one did her job quickly, finishing her title within just about six weeks of the first time she showed against competition. Vanessa's first 12 points were all earned through three "majors" (wins of 3, 4 or 5 points). Her first major win was taking Winners Bitch for a full 5 points (the most that can be earned in any show, regardless of number of dogs showing) at the American Kennel Club National Championship presented by Royal Canin in December 2022! The Royal Canin show is the final show of the year each year, and usually also draws the largest entries of the year in most breeds, including Cotons. We were just thrilled to see Vanessa take this win during her very first week of competition against other class (non-champion) animals! The very next weekend that Vanessa was shown (first weekend in January 2023) she took two more major wins, each a Best of Breed and in one of them she was selected for the honor over an older, beautiful, and much more experienced show champion! She won her last three single points in Indianapolis first weekend in February.

Vanessa was handled during her championship run by pro handler Lisa Bettis. Lisa and her team have helped handle many of my dogs over the years, going all the way back to 2014, when she helped us to finish Besito's AKC GCH. Most recently, Lisa handled both Sophie and Sunny to their grand championships in 2020 and 2022 respectively.

Vanessa is back home now in sunny California with her primary family, but we had her stay with us here at home over the Christmas holidays, and she just charmed the pants off us from the moment she walked back in the door. I love her super sparkly personality and her sweet spunk. While Vanessa was here at my house over the holiday break, I ran all of her health testing, she passed with flying colors, and received her CHIC certification, you can check it out HERE. Vanessa is a living doll, and I look forward to seeing her again soon!

Vanessa finished her AKC Grand Championship on 6.18.23, completely owner-handled by her main momma Marilyn! She is currently (per AKC stats through 4.30.24) the No. 1 NOHS Coton (National Owner-Handler Series). We are extremely proud of this amazing duo!

CLOCKWISE from above left, Vanessa's official win pic with Lisa at the American Kennel Club National Championship show in December, 2020; Vanessa as a 6-week old puppy in my kitchen, October 2021; Vanessa's CH finish photo, February 2023; and Vanessa's official AKC CH certificate. Our thanks to Judges Elizabeth Muthard and Eva Berg for the wins pictured immediately above and below, to Judge Timothy Catterson for the Best of Breed win pictured in the large photo up top, and as always, to Lisa Bettis for her wonderful care and presentation of our girl!

OUR NEWEST HOME-BRED AKC CHAMPION!

NIKKI

CH Morninglow's Silver Springs CGC TKI

NIKKI is my keeper puppy from our 2023 "Musical Legends" litter; sired by our Artie (GCHS CH Morninglow's Arthurian Legend) out of our Sophie (NBISS GCHS CH Morninglow's Thank You For The Music GCGA TKN). Nikki was the first-born of the three puppies in this litter, and I fell head-over-heels in love with her the day she first opened her eyes last year. I decided to go the obedience route first with Nikki, putting her through all three levels of classes at our local Petsmart with their fabulous trainer, Connie, who has helped to obedience train all of my dogs. Nikki sailed through the curriculum, finishing just before she turned 9 months old, and earning a Canine Good Citizen title (CGC) on the final night of class. But even prior that Advanced Obedience grad night, I had figured out that Nikki was a smart cookie; during lulls in obedience classes, I started to teach her some of the tricks from the AKC Trick Dog curriculum, and I was astounded at how fast she caught on. If you check the "News" tab, you will see that I posted about Nikki earning her Novice Trick Dog title (TKN) with me back when she was just 6.5 months old. She quickly picked up a lot more, and passed Intermediate Trick Dog (TKI) at just over 8 months of age. Nikki started her show career at the storied International Kennel Club of Chicago cluster in January 2024, also just before turning 9 months old, and earned her first championship point that weekend. We continued to show from time to time over the last few months, picking up a point at a time, and learning the ropes. Nikki earned a lot of Best of Breed Owner-Handled ribbons during these outings with me, and the first time I decided she was ready to try an Owner-Handled group, we were awarded a Group 2 (photo below). My husband and I had a long-planned trip to Europe on the books for May 2024, and we decided to give Nikki (along with her mom) to our handler friend, Lisa Bettis, to show and care for while we were gone. Lisa and Nikki exceeded all my expectations in just a couple of weekends, finishing her show championship last weekend (6.1.24, pending AKC confirmation). The photo above was from her first "major" win, taking Best of Breed from the 12-18 month class over three already well-established and mature champions in Kalamazoo MI on the day she turned 13 months old (Memorial Day 2024). The very next weekend, she took another similar Best of Breed over specials in Ohio to finish her title.

I've received a lot of positive feedback on Nikki from the judges each time I have taken her in to show, and I'm thrilled about it. Not only is she smart, she is also beautiful, one of the most optically white puppies I have ever produced, with a beautiful head/face/expression, great movement and gorgeous black pigment. She also has an amazing coat of proper quality. In addition to all of the above, she is a sweet and very affectionate puppy with a lot of personality and a tail that rarely stops wagging; in my opinion, the total package :-) I'm looking forward to having a lot of fun with her in multiple venues as she continues to grow and mature.

TOP, Nikki winning her first major under Judge Donna Conod at the Great Muskegon KC on 5.27.24, the day she turned 13 months old. Nikki was piloted to this win by our friend and longtime handler, Lisa Bettis.

IMMEDIATELY ABOVE, Nikki was awarded an Owner-Handled Group 2 with me in the OH Non-Sporting Group at the Steel City KC (Crown Point, IN) on 4.14.24 under Judge Jason Hoke. Coincidentally, Judge Hoke also awarded Nikki's sire, Artie, his final points to finish his own show championship back in 2018.

RIGHT, the face I fell madly in love with on the day she first opened her eyes in May 2023 <3