In 1959, my father, Elton Tait, was given a Basset Hound female puppy by his good friend and Basset breeder Pete Fowler. The next year, my Aunt Midge called from Long Island and told us that a neighbor had a Basset male with good breeding that they needed to find a home for. After Calvin arrived, he and Penny made a litter of ten puppies. That was in 1960 and we have been raising only Basset puppies ever since.
Marian Tait with our first litter in 1960
John Tait with his first basset Bess, in 1961
The kennel is a very nice building with more than a quarter of an acre of grass yards around it for the puppies and the adults to enjoy. My parents, Marian and Elton Tait, ran the kennel with my help through the sixties and, without my help, through the seventies.
In 1980, having built a house on our farm, I began to farm for a living, then took over as what my dad calls the “kennelmaster.” My dad passed away in 2010 after about a year of living with me and my wife Dorothy. I brought a female puppy up to our house for him to hold. He agreed to name it after my mother, Marian, who passed away in 2004.
In 1980, to improve the quality of our puppies, we started over again with our breeding program. After finding homes for the two dogs that my parents had, we acquired three very nice, well-bred puppies to build from. We have brought dogs into our kennel from show champion kennels over the years to complement and improve our breeding and to prevent inbreeding. We have also selected from our best matings.
As we continue to strive for excellence in our breeding stock, we will also continue the loving care of our puppies and adults.
