CH Wrightwyn's Puttin' On The Ritz
"Cocoa"
In 1999, I started my research into Bedlington Terriers. Having decided I wanted to get involved, now I had to locate my foundation stock. I had been "in" pure-bred dogs since 1982, and realized that I am very picky about the quality of my dogs. I wanted to start with the best, and develop a plan to breed outstanding dogs.
At the Louisville KY Floating specialty, I saw a bitch whose sound movement just blew me away. She won three 5 point majors in fours days, and in one weekend was CH Wrightwyn's Told You So.
I contacted Samantha's breeder, Brent Wright, to get my foundation bitch from him. Brent was not planning a litter at the time, but after seeing video of Samantha, he repeated the breeding that had produced her. This combination of Can/Am Ch. Touchwood Myra of Wrightwyn with Can/Am Ch. Dejeune Out of Texas really clicked. From the first litter, it produced three 1-1 champion bitches, from the second litter, my 1-1 bitch Cocoa finished her AKC championship by the time she was 10 months old, becoming Ch. Wrightwyn's Puttin On The Ritz (Cocoa, so named by the stewardesses on the red eye back from Seattle when I declined all the Starbucks coffee suggestions!) Cocoa was invited to the inaugural AKC National Invitational (now National Championship) as one of the top 20 Bedlington terriers that year.
Cocoa was a wonderful foundation bitch. In her first litter of eight she produced four champions and a Master Earthdog. That's a great start for a novice breeder! Her second produced another, and her final litter of five produced three more, earning her the 2008 BTCA Brood Bitch Award.
Cocoa retired to live out her days with my sister in NJ, chasing balls thrown by her grandson.
