Welcome to our site. I am Susan Hamilton, [a.k.a. "Sue"]. My husband, Richard, and our good friend and partner, Kathleen Hamilton, are the proud owners, breeders and exhibitors of AKC and UKC Norwegian elkhounds.
I have personally owned elkhounds since 1973, when I met and purchased my first elkie....."Tubby"....[K'lamity's Kingpin CD/TT]....for the whopping sum of $35.
Kathleen has raised her Foxboro elkhounds since the early 80's, and Richard's introduction to the breed came in 1981, when he married me. He and I decided to change my old kennel name from K'lamity to Alpha, which, among other things, means "a new beginning".
From all of our beginnings in the breed, to the present time, the three of us have collectively bred, owned, or co-owned....
37 AKC Champions, 14 UKC Champions, 6 UKC GRAND Champions, and a multitude of obedience titled dogs. In recent years, Alpha/Foxboro dogs are competing and gaining titles in Rally obedience and agility.
We show sparingly, so we are proud of our wins in both AKC and UKC. We are equally proud of those who have piloted our dogs to various performance titles. We are MOST proud of our puppies who have grown up to become certified Search and Rescue dogs!
So far, a very small number of elkhounds have accomplished this feat and Richard and I are the breeders of record of four of them. Kathleen is the co-breeder of the youngest of this elite group. We are all amazed at their talent, and tip our hats to these dogs and their owners. These elkhounds have proven themselves just as capable, if not more so, than other breeds that are more often associated with Search and Rescue.
The four Alpha SAR dogs are:
Ch. Alpha's Decorum CDX, TD, TT, SAR
(Danny)-owned by Karyl Parks (deceased)
Ch.Alpha's Say Goodnight Gracie CD, TT, TDI, CGC, MT-3, ACE
(Gracie) owned by Ed & Donna Jagodzinski. Gracie has been Donna's Service Dog for many years.
Alpha's XX's And OO's TDI, SAR, MT-3, MT-2, (Zoe) and
Alpha's Heavenly Days, TDI, SAR (Daisy)
both also owned by Ed and Donna.
(To visit Ed and Donna's VERY informative WebSite, and learn more about their dogs....)
Since we 'joined forces' with Kathleen, most of our dogs are co-owned and co-bred. This union has proved very successful for all of us, and we are happy to be associated with Kathleen. We are both small, hobby kennels, seldom having more than 6 dogs on either premises. We both breed sparingly, with Kathleen doing most of the showing and breeding over the last several years.
Like all show breeders, we would naturally hope to see that next great showdog out of each litter, but our main goals are sound temperament, and healthy bodies. We certainly would like to see all show prospects in show homes, but our first wish for each puppy is a loving, forever home. Any titles achieved are icing on the cake, and our pups are always sold as pets first.
Our breeding stock is OFA'd or PennHIP'd, and eye-checked clear.
In order to adopt a puppy, a prospective buyer must first pass the "inquisition" (give satisfactory answers to a whole lot of nosey questions). This is to determine whether or not the buyer and the breed are suited to each other.
We have put a lot of thought into these web pages, and have included many links to our dogs, to informative and educational articles, and to our other interests. Click on the pictures to the left....
and Welcome to Our World.
