Jim Bass and Ken Adcox with Boone and his son, Amahl
Jim and Ken live in Marietta, GA which is an Atlanta Suburb located just northwest of
downtown Atlanta. They are breeders and exhibitors of Smooth Fox Terriers.
Jim began looking for that perfect Smooth Fox Terrier in 1990. Back then, he was
not plugged into the dog show scene and was really at a loss for locating the exact Smooth
Fox Terrier he wanted. At that time, there were only a handful of breeders in the
area and there just never seemed to be any for sale.
To satisfy our Terrier urges, we continued to work with and love our two Miniature
Schnauzers, Checkers and Aubie, one of which Ken had bred before we met. Then
we bought an Airedale puppy, Rio, and later we rescued an Australian Terrier mix,
Ginger. These terriers were good pets and gave us plenty of love, laughs and
loyalty.
In 1994, our quest for a Smooth Fox Terrier was over. Dr. Basil Johnson (Boone,
NC) mailed us a video of his newest litter. He had bred Ch. Toofox Seize The Day, a
beautiful split-faced black and white dog, to his own Basil's Chani Scarlet, who was also
a black and white split-face. From the video we immediately chose our boy and mailed
a deposit to hold him. We actually got first pick of that litter!
After a long 5.5 hour drive one way to Dr. Johnson's home we were finally able to see
our boy. He walked right up to Jim like he knew him and was waiting for us.
Then and there we named him, "Boone," in honor of the quaint little town which
was home for Dr. Johnson.
When Boone turned six months old, Jim began some light Obedience work with him.
From the Obedience Classes Jim learned of some Conformation Classes which were starting up
in the area.
As it turned out, Chris Bowker a long time breeder and exhibitor of Smooth Fox Terriers
was the instructor for the class. She was delighted to know there was another Smooth
in the area. Her first question on the phone, after she realized we had a pedigreed
Smooth Fox Terrier, was "Are his ears up or do they fall flat?" This
seemed like a strange question to us a first, but now we know why she asked - she was
trying to ascertain Boone's show potential and breeding quality.
Our first Conformation Class took place on the evening we returned from a long weekend
vacation in Destin, FL. The Greater Atlanta Fox Terrier Club had held its Specialty
Show that weekend and those who attended the Conformation Class were talking about the
weekend's events.... then they saw Boone and had a fit.
Chris' mother, Mary Bowker, was overheard saying "Who is that dog?"
"Where did he come from?"
One month later, Chris convinced us to go to our first show... and it was a BIG one.
Nothing like starting at the tip-top, right? The show was to be held in
Lexington, KY and was billed as The American Fox Terrier Club Extravaganza. There
would Conformation shows, Obedience, Agility, Sweepstakes Competition and Races!
Boy, were we nervous... and excited!
During the early morning hours of the show date, a tornado whipped through the show
site causing considerable damage and the necessity to delay the starting time. it
was a day we will never forget.
We met breeders from all over the country and watched about 100 Smooth and Wire
Fox Terriers go through their paces. The Conformation Shows were exhilarating.
The first day we watched and studied all the dogs. The next day we studied
the handlers and how they presented their dogs. We learned a lot - we also got
sunburned pretty badly.
The Agility competitions were awesome. The Obedience trials were quite inspiring,
And the Races --- what fun it was to watch them chase the rat, over and over again!
After that day, we realized we wanted more. We began studying pedigrees and
various types of breeding. We immediately began looking for a female Smooth Fox
Terrier and later that year purchased Tosca from Bill and Betsy Dossett later that year.
Through the kindness and courtesy of Winifred Stout, we were able to lease Ch.
Buckleigh Femme Fatale for a breeding to Boone. The rest can be seen on the pages of this web
site. We've been showing and breeding ever since and have had our shares of
victories and defeats, but fortunately, luck is on our side and our successes have well
overshadowed our setbacks.
We will continue to add to this page and enhance the information provided. Please
e-mail us or phone us if you desire additional information.
