David & Barb at the MDMDA Show (UKC) in the fall of 2006.  (Click on this picture for a short movie.)

“Quality Before Quantity”

Aircastle Standard Poodles

Ch Bay Breeze Resounding Verily, taking her first two points for Aircastle, Spokane, WA, 1992

About Us

Aircastle began In October of 1989.  David Arthur was living in Boise, ID at that time, and had just purchased a new home.  A few days after moving in, the family decided it was time to get a dog.  So they searched the newspaper and located a litter of Shetland Sheepdogs.  Off they went to look at the puppies, and they wound up coming home with one.  They named him Tyler.

 

Shortly after brining him home, David became curious about the quality of his new “purebred”, and contacted a local Sheltie breeder to have him evaluated.  He never realized where that decision would eventually lead.

 

After meeting Joan Clark, of Checkmate Shelties, he was intrigued by what he learned concerning the sport of purebred dogs.  It wasn’t long before he joined the Lizard Butte Kennel Club and worked his first matches and shows to learn the basics of the sport.

 

In mid 1990 he obtained his first show prospect, another Sheltie named Brandi.  Through her he learned all of the necessary skills to breed, groom, and show, though she never competed in the official AKC ring beyond Canine Good Citizen.

 

But Shelties were just the beginning.  In 1993, Verily came to Aircastle.  She was a beautiful black Standard Poodle, whom the Arthurs sent to the Midwest for about six months to show with her handler, Mr. Dennis McCoy.  She finished her title, and then traveled to Bay Breeze Standard Poodles in Florida, eventually returning after producing her first litter.  She also came back from with two puppies, Cosette and Buzz, who would form the foundation of today’s line.

 

It was summer 1995 when the pups, Cosette & Buzz, came to Idaho.  While Cosette moved into the Arthur home, Buzz was placed with another family.   Later that year, Aircastle moved to Ohio, and over that Christmas, Buzz’s owner became unable to keep him, and he was sent to Ohio to live with his mom and sister.

 

Both pups showed in various AKC shows in Ohio and Michigan, but by the end of 1996, David suffered a divorce.  Left with two young children, he was unable to keep up the pressure of a serious show schedule.  But he didn’t leave the dog world completely.  It was in the first part of 1997 he delivered his first litter of Poodles, and amongst them was Ch Aircastle’s Midnight Breeze.  She produced AKC, UKC, and International champions from her first and only litter.

 

In 2000, John John was born.  The owner of his sire was involved in UKC, and often invited David to come join the fun.  But at that time, his home situation still was unsettled.  He did stay involved in the sport from the sidelines, regularly stewarding at the local Toledo Kennel Club shows, and serving on the board of the Key to the Sea Poodle Club in Toledo Ohio.

 

In December of 2001, David took a job in Springfield, OH and moved to the Dayton area.  This changed his situation and he suddenly had more time and resources to invest in the sport.  By then he was a reasonably accomplished breeder, with AKC conformation, obedience, and Agility titled pups.  He even sent a pup to Port Elizabeth South Africa that was noted a few years later as being the third most influential sire in their nation.  But there was yet more glory to come.

 

It was in June of 2003 he attended his first UKC Show.  It was that show, Premiere, that rekindled his love for the sport.  He began actively showing in UKC conformation events, and even sought Judging Approval, which was granted in the fall of 2004.

 

In June of 2005 David met Barb and the “Red Dog Dobermans”.  To say it was love at first sight would seem to be a cliché, but for anyone who has met them it was no mystery when they announced their engagement on Valentines Day the following year.

 

Barb began her dog show tenure with a German Shepherd named Brutus in 1970.  He wasn’t a conformation dog, but helped her to learn the essentials of dog training.  Brutus earned his CDX, and gave her the foundation to become the trainer she is now.  After Brutus, came Big Red, a big red Doberman who also achieved his CDX.  Over the years that followed, she trained both dogs and horses, competing in conformation, obedience, and later in Rally O.  In 1995 she became an AKC Rally Obedience judge.

 

In 2006 the pair began teaching their eight-week conformation handling course.  Barb had taught obedience for years prior, and David had helped with “Show-N-Go’s” at the local kennel clubs.  But they had seen a need for handling training at the many UKC shows they attended and decided to work toward the goal of passing on the knowledge given them over so many years.

 

The pinnacle of the Aircastle story took place on June 15, 2007, where David and Barb Married in the Best In Show ring at Premiere, the UKC’s top dog show in Kalamazoo, MI.  A few weeks later, they were greeted with their first home-born “fur-children”.  Hope produced her second litter that year, giving them nine beautiful Standard Poodle puppies, of which three are still living with them today, and of which four are actively showing in conformation, and one in obedience.

 

This is the Aircastle story, yet it is only partially written.  Each year the family adds more titles, more venues, and more beloved pups to spoil rotten.  I guess we’ll just have to see what the future brings . . .

 

Getting Married at Premiere.  (Click on the picture for a link to our wedding album.)

JJ doing what he does best.  One would think that a top Therapy Dog would be busy working . . . JJ thinks all of the rest of them should too.

Muffin, a Cosette daughter from the very first Aircastle litter, looking beautiful, of course.

Baby Biff on the day he was born.  Now grown, he’s a UKC Champion (UCh), and one of the loves of our lives.