In 1953, when I was six, my parents bought my first boxer, Duchess Bonnie Rose, a lovely, plain fawn bitch from Berolina lines. Bonnie lived to a few days short of her fifteenth birthday and began my lifelong love of the breed. I married my husband, Bob, in 1969, on the condition that we get a boxer puppy just as soon as possible. We did, a backyard bred bitch, again a plain fawn. I suspect she was rather ugly but we loved her and she helped raise our children. In 1982, we were lucky enough to get our next plain fawn bitch from Barbara Blue of Spicehill Boxers. Not only did Barbara show in conformation but she was very active in obedience and encouraged my efforts to get a Companion Dog title on Inge. Inge became a CD and she also produced our first two conformation champions as well as our second Companion Dog.
Bob and I have been breeding now for twenty-five years and have produced many champions and have attained obedience titles on many dogs. Our goal has always been to breed boxers with wonderful temperaments who could perform in conformation and obedience but who could also be perfect companions for families. Our dogs are always well-loved family members and we remain in touch with their families for the life of the dog. We fully health test all of our dogs and we encourage all of our buyers to continue the testing throughout the life of their puppy.
In 2000, I began what is probably the most fulfilling aspect of my breeding experience. I began visiting a friend who was in rehab after suffering a massive stroke. She missed “fur” and so I took Liesl along when I visited her . Everyone wanted to see Liesl and thus began my dogs’ careers as therapy dogs. I still visit the nursing home and hospice weekly with Tommy and Tressa, who are my fifth and sixth therapy dogs. Both have been visiting since they were eight weeks old so the residents have a proprietary interest in them. They follow the show careers of the dogs and enjoy seeing rosettes and pictures from the shows. I'm proud to say that Tommy has been awarded the AKC Therapy Dog title after making at least fifty visits. Tressa will be eligible in another year.
 Our kennel name, Schoental, means beautiful valley in German. When our first litter was born, we lived on Bellevale Road which means beautiful valley in French. Since boxers are originally from Germany, it seemed appropriate. All our dogs also have German names. Our first, Baerbl, was named after me. Baerbl is German for Barbara! We now live on a farm in a "beautiful valley" in northern Maryland, just a few miles from the Pennsylvania border.
Several years ago, my dear friend of over twenty years, Gyleen Fitzgerald, purchased one of my bitches and joined our breeding program. Together, we have produced several champions and look forward to seeing several more finish soon. We also partner with Chris and Cheri Brown, whose lovely bitch, CH. Schoental's Fraulein Eleanora, gave us our first Dam of Merit!!!!
We are members of the American Boxer Club, the Maryland Boxer Club, Northeastern Maryland Kennel Club and the American Boxer Charitable Foundation.
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