We are Ruth & Bernard Atkins and have had boxers since
1994. During that time we have always tried to do what is best for our dogs and, in turn, the boxer breed in general.
Our first boxer, Ginger, was born 8/24/94. She was the sole reason we chose the boxer as our breed. She was the ultimate pet dog and a good example for the younger boxers. Unfortunately we lost Ginger on 10/24/06 at age 12 yrs 2 mos old. She has been deeply missed and will be in our hearts forever.
Our first show dog, Ringo was born 2/25/02. Janice Kollar encouraged us to purchase Ringo and show him in conformation. Carol Korpal taught us to recognize proper dog structure and movement and Gail Hehn guided us through the complex AKC protocol of showing dogs. In Vera Kollar's training class, Bernard learned basic handling techniques. We had a lot to learn and trial and error became our teacher. We have come to love showing dogs and truly miss it when we must store away our motor home for the winter.
At various times during our show years professional handlers, Holly Eldred, Kristy Falkenthal , Tessie Savage, Sherry Canciamille and Amy Bieri have shown our boxers for us with skill and style. We appreciate their efforts that have helped in bringing us success in the AKC Conformation Ring. Lil was our first AKC Champion, earning her title 7/4/09. She was working on her GCH title when she suddenly and tragically passed . At that time she had earned 6 GCH points. Our second AKC Champion is Cayenne. She earned her title 2/24/24 at age 17 months. What amazing accomplishment for such a young boxer. We have lofty goals in mind for her!!!
We have also found a home in the UKC Conformation ring. We, as owners, show our own dogs in UKC and have enjoyed great success. Ringo, Jessie, Lil, Paisley, Corona, Jagger and Lizzy have all achieved UKC titles. Lil, Paisley, Corona & Jagger have been nationally ranked in the UKC Top Ten with Lil ranking #1 in both 2008 and 2010.
Our boxers have also found success in AKC performance competition in Obedience and Rally. Further, Sophia was a registered therapy dog and spent much of her life bringing joy to others.
We formally established our kennel in 2003. It's name, ThunderBay Boxers, was taken from a place where we had our vacation home and now live full time with our boxers. We have been fortunate to be able to live in such a beautiful place where our dogs have room to run in a fenced yard and thoroughly enjoy themselves in a forested setting.
We are members of MidWest Boxer Club.