About Us
"Cavalier King Charles Spaniels"
A Privilege-even more than a passion"
Covington Cavaliers was established in 1994, 3 years after we fell in love with our first Cavalier. While at Blake Island’s Tillicum Village Salmon bake in 1991 we walked past a teak sailboat and standing on the side was this darling white & brown spaniel. She was to greet us with loads of tail wags & kisses. We were smitten with this breed we’d never even heard of & after spending some time speaking with the owner we knew then that a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel would be in our future. This was before the internet so when I got home I did the only thing I could & looked in the paper & there was one ad forCavalier puppies. I clipped the ad and put it in my desk. Three years later after having to stop riding/competing with horses due to injuries, I sought out that ad and called. I was fortunate to reach a responsible breeder who was a member of the National Breed Club and who happily directed us to resources to get a good start. We knew we wanted to do this right, breed excellent, healthy dogs and compete in Championship shows. We were blessed to find several good breeders around the country who were willing to share their hard work and mentor us. And at that time with so few breeders we had to wait a year, for “London” our first Cavalier .
Heidi retired from Corporate America’s telecommunication and data network industry in 2000 and focus on her dogs & traveling to shows around the country. Previously an avid horsewoman successfully training and competing hunter/jumpers in England, where she also worked for a Steeple Chase Thoroughbred breeder she established the foundational knowledge for structure, movement, & the importance of animal growth rates & development. Once back in the US, she rodeoed in the High Planes Jr. rodeo Association (Texas/New Mexico) & the Northwest Rodeo Association for nearly 10 years (All Around Cowgirl, NWJRA 1980) until a bi-lateral hip replacement and ultimate back fusion forced her change in direction to dogs.
Elijah & Batman
Greg retired in 2021 after 30 years in Industrial Engineering at Boeing. Promptly bought himself a new tractor and keeps himself busy with all the projects living on hilly acerage presents. Greg is an avid softball player, playing on several teams throughout the spring, summer & fall months. He is a crucial part of this team and enjoys the dogs, caring for and helping keep up the property so they can enjoy safely running & playing on it
Our kennel is fully licensed and our affix of Covington is registered in the CKCSC-USA and AKC. We have also earned the Breeder of Merit Status from the AKC. We are proud to have the Covington name associated with the enormous effort and commitment that goes into preserving the integrity of the breed. Every puppy we breed is registered and every pedigree will include only dogs from ethical breeders all over the world that share our same principles.
Our daily lives revolve around the dogs. Puppies are born & raised in our home with full-time devotion to their needs & socialization. We do sell some puppies as pets, yet our primary reason for breeding is for our own love & passion of the breed. Over generations we carefully evaluate and select the best representatives of the breed from our litters and proudly present those dogs in a competitive show ring.
"Every pet is not a show dog,
but every show dog is a loved pet" (Pat Craig Trotter)
Show & performance dogs are our companions first & foremost they also must be athletes, healthy both physically & mentally in order to travel & perform. We continue to title more Covington owned and bred Champions & performance dogs every year although we are not as active in the show ring ourselves as previous years. Our dogs have been awarded multiple” Register of Merits” (ROMS, for their ability not only to become Champions but to consistently produce Champions themselves). We have qualified and competed with honors at the most prestigious dog shows in the world: Westminster Kennel Club at Madison Square Garden and The AKC National Championship dog show and Crufts, UK Kennel club England.
Elphie
No matter how many titles and ribbons we’ve been awarded over the years, nothing compares with the love & appreciation we have for these special dogs as long lived true companions. We spend our time with uncomplicated, loving comfort spaniels who give loyalty and adoration without judgment or condition. They love to be by our side, explore and play, snore by our desks while we work, cuddle on our laps at the end of a long day and sleep on our pillow at night. We cherish the friendships we have made and the lives, including our own, that are so positively impacted because of these amazing toy spaniels. We have literally witnessed how they have saved lives. We are blessed & overjoyed to watch our veterans age with health and grace, living well into their teens. It truly has been our PRIVILEGE–EVEN MORE SO THAN A PASSION- that we have been blessed since 1994 to have Cavaliers in our life, along with the benefits and responsibilities that come with them.
Elijah