Who are the humans behind Delphi?
Dolores was born into a household full of Cocker Spaniels. When her parents didn’t think children were in their future, they turned their focus toward their dogs – and then they got pregnant. She shared her stroller and her playpen with MultiBIS CH Treasurehill’s Masterpiece (Matt), and learned to walk with the help of her very first “heart dog” CH My-Idaho’s Square Shooter CD (Shoo). Dolores’ father was the secretary and show chairman for Oakland Kennel Club in the 1980’s and 90’s, and the entire family pitched in to ensure the semi-annual shows ran smoothly.
John and Dolores started dating in 1995, and dad wasted no time recruiting him to help out at the shows. His first assignment: a ring steward where he spent most of the day learning from veteran steward Pat Johnson, sorting through dozens of dachshunds of every variety. By the end of the weekend he was hooked, and pledged that if we ever got a show prospect dog, he wanted to handle it to championship. Focused on our professional lives and traveling for work and pleasure left not enough time to devote to a canine companion, so we spent our first 14 years together dogless. And when Dolores’ dad died in 2000, we took a break from the dog show world as well.
In mid-2011 we decided we’d been dogless long enough, it was time to start looking. Little did we know that it would be the other way around… she would choose us.
Why Boston Terriers?
While a part of Dolores’ heart will always belong to the American Cocker Spaniel, neither of us were up for that amount of grooming, and we wanted a breed a little less connected to her past. We wanted a low maintenance dog, expressive and affectionate. Our space demanded a smaller dog, but we both wanted one with a big dog attitude. And we’re not athletes – we didn’t want a couch potato, but the working and herding breeds were out.
We did some research, and narrowed our focus to the French Bulldog and the Boston Terrier. John had befriended a geriatric Boston Terrier named Sonny in his pre-teen years and remembered their time together fondly.
And so began our search. We started looking for a rescue, but none of the local groups were eager to work with a couple who hadn’t owned a dog in over ten years and had no vet reference. So with the help of the AKC and the Boston Terrier Club of America, we began reaching out to local breeders.
We weren’t looking for a show dog. And Dolores was positive she’d prefer a male dog – while a female loves her humans on HER terms, a male worships his humans unconditionally. What we wanted ceased to matter as soon as we met Rebel – we both knew within minutes that she would come home with us…she captured both of our hearts and changed our lives forever.
Why “Delphi”?
Delphi is an homage to Dolores’ father. A 35-year high school teacher and armchair philosopher, the first semester of his classic literature course focused on Greek and Roman mythology. According to Greek mythology, Zeus determined the site of Delphi, sending two eagles flying from opposite ends of the earth. The place where the eagles crossed paths became Delphi, the center of mother earth. Delphi was also the home of Apollo’s Temple, home of the Oracle Pythia. Delphi was Dolores’ family’s kennel name. And when we got Gaga and decided we wanted to breed a litter of our own, the choice of a kennel name was as clear as a message from the Delphic Oracle.
Delphi Boston Terriers
Dolores Ferrero & John W Flora - delphi.bostons@gmail.com
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