My parents bred and showed English Springer Spaniels for approx 25 years under the kennel name DARAJEM.  Unfortunately they decided to move onto another hobby while I was young. We have always had dogs and I have always felt a close connection to Man's Best Friend. I moved out of home with Lennon when I was 21, we moved to a unit in Homebush which was very nice except that I missed living with a dog! I very quickly convinced him that we should buy a house and within 2 months we had our very first Beagle - Nemo "Brialey Lil Bit Ov It". I decided I would like to attempt dog showing (even though my parents tried to convince me otherwise) and obedience. I like the idea of doing things with your dogs rather than leaving them at home all day long. I quickly discovered I LOVE showing so decided not to continue with obedience (for now). I have also met some very lovely people who have helped me so much, and of course it's always nice meeting people who can also talk about their dogs all day!

 Since getting Nemo in February 07, we have gone about setting up a proper kennel and runs to ensure that he and future Beagles are as comfortable as possible. In November 07 we finished the undercover concrete run therefore when it rains the Beagles have somewhere to keep dry and warm, and it also provides a dirt-free area to keep them clean when they are ready for a show. In January 08 we moved an existing fence at the front and back of the run to provide more room, built a retaining wall to level the ground and re-turfed the run. We also created a separate run which can be utilized for a bitch in season or for a litter of puppies.

 We decided to request a kennel name which may be a bit premature; however we were originally trying to obtain the same one my parents used, or the name PALIJU which we have used as our signatory since I was little. Our third choice was Athenabe which basically comes from Athena (the goddess of wisdom) and be (short for Beagles) as in my opinion Beagles have a very wise expression! Nemo is always thinking and you can often see his mind ticking away.