A little bit about us..........

Hi, and welcome to Boarpoint Great Danes and Pointers! My name is Melissa Ekis, and I, along with my husband David, and our three sons, live on a half acre in "cow country" in Central PA. I am an IT Analyst/ML Support Specialist for Cenveo formerly Cadmus Communications; a major digital publishing company here in the U.S.

I have been owner-handling our dogs on a limited basis since 1996 and enjoy it very much. I am a member of and have held several offices in the Great Dane Club of Central PA (GDCCP). I participate on the MyMentors (invitation only), Owner handler, Great Dane Owner Handler, DogBreeding, ShowChi, and ChiExhibit mailing lists. All offer a wealth of information and I highly recommend you check them out. Those dane lists along with my mentors and good friends, Anna Mary Kauffman of Mountdania Great Danes and Brian Witmier of Brinlann Great Danes have taught me and continue to teach me so much about the breed I love.

We are fortunate to have found those same type of qualities in our Pointer breeder, Tammy Albee of Corwyn Pointers as well as in Erika Lanasa, Billy Miller, and Kenneth Saenz of Bayard Chihuahuas who have yet to make their presence on the net!

We had a run of bad luck in danes until my mentor and friend offered me one of his pick puppy bitches in 2004. Journey is my first female Great Dane and my first dane champion and my heart dog! My Princessa!! She finished in May 2005 with 4 majors. 3 from the puppy classes and 2 of those were specialty majors. I'm so very proud of this girl and am so thankful to Brian for giving me the opportunity to own such a stunning girl.

Brook is my first champion. I finished her with a 4 pt major on 9-11-04. I'll never forget the feeling! You can see my watery eyes in her finishing photo!

That same year I had started showing our other pointer Raven who currently has 5 pts on her, but she's a bit tough to keep weight on so I decided to keep her home until she matured. I brought her out in 2006 after a year off when she takes Best of Breed from the classes! An awesome win for me and my first Breed win.

Shortly thereafter, right before Christmas 2006, I was diagnosed with breast cancer found during a baseline mammogram. Needless to say my world was turned upside down. 2007 was nothing but surgeries, chemotherapy, and radiation. It was tough to say the least. Though the type of cancer they discovered was considered aggressive, it was very small and there was no node involvement so they were able to get it all with just a lumpectomy. They put me through a rigorous dose of chemo lasting 8 months. I was sick, gained weight, had so many shots, so much blood taken, lost all my hair which was probably the most difficult. Wearing wig sucked to say the least. You can see in my win pics with Gracie my hair growing back in! At any rate, after a month break from the chemo I had 33 days straight of radiation which finished just in time for the 2007 Dane Nationals here in Lancaster where I proudly participated in the parades with my champion girl! She would later make it to the FINAL cut in the breed only to be dismissed at the last minute. She takes my breathe away every time I watch her in the ring and that day was no exception. I was just so happy to be alive!

I didn't show anything that year except for Journey. Then, in december of 2007, around the time of my "anniversary" if you will, of my diagnosis, I started thinking about how old my toy poodle was and how I wanted another little dog while she was still here to teach the new little one their way around the big dogs etc so started researching breeds and decided on a chihuahua of all things. Then my search turned to breeders and I found Erika which eventually led to us welcoming our little Gracie JJ. So named after the founding family of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu! I proudly finished Gracie with back to back 4 pt majors March of 2009 in the presence of her equally proud breeders! My plan is to special her locally a little this year and hammer her next year when she is a bit more mature. We are hoping she follows in her grandsire Ripley's pawprints. Ripley is the top winning long coat in the history of the breed!

We recently added a bouncing brindle boy named Stryker! Sired by Rowdy, the 2007 GDCA Top 20 Winner. Visit Stryker's page for some fun pics and updates. Again, there aren't enough words to thank Brian for trusting us with yet another one of his beauties! It's been two years since we lost Baron and it's great to have a male again. Watch for his debut hopefully in June of this year in the 6-9 class.

A little bit about our beliefs........

We do not have puppies, and will not for quite some time, but do delight in helping others. In fact, we haven't produced any litters yet. But I can tell you that we will be an ethical hobby kennel, and will only produce a litter when we wish to keep a pup for ourselves. We believe in breeding for the betterment of the breed. Our goal at Boarpoint will always be to breed a sound dog in body and mind as close to breed standards as possible. We believe temperament is of utmost importance especially in a powerful working breed such as the Great Dane or as in the spirited Pointer. We show our dogs as well as train them in obedience which keeps us in tune to not only their conformation but their temperament as well. We believe if you don't have a sound mind, a sound body does you no good. Our Danes, Pointers, and Chihuahuas must not only do well in the show ring, but provide our puppy people with healthy, structurally sound, well-tempered, loving companions for many years to come. They are only show dogs for a few hours on the weekend, they are your loving companion the rest of the time and you want to be able to coexist with a well-adjusted Dane or Pointer.

Even though we are a fairly new kennel, we take our breeds very seriously! All of our puppies will be raised in the home, and will be bred for their gentle temperament and in an atmosphere abundant in human companionship and loving family.

Temperament of our dogs is extremely important to us and all of our puppies will be temperament tested before they leave for their new homes. This is to ensure that each and every puppy is placed with the correct family.

Prospective Boarpoint puppy owners need to know that we will be very particular with whom we place our dogs. First and foremost, a happy healthy family situation is warranted, our puppy owners researched very thoroughly, we will ask that you fill out a questionnaire and when possible; personal home visits by either ourselves or someone we know and trust, prior to any commitment on our part to place our puppies. A "show home" does not automatically imply that we would place a puppy there.

All puppies will be sold on a contract.....be it a show or pet quality contract. Our pet quality puppies will be sold on a limited registration and a spay/neuter clause. There are no exceptions to this rule, as we do not believe in anyone breeding pet quality Great Danes, Chihuahuas or Pointers. PERIOD!

We highly recommend that you do your homework, and study up on the breeds before contemplating adding one to your family. We feel that dog ownership is a responsibility that is ongoing for the life of the dog and encourage people to do research before they commit themselves to any breed, but particularly to one as large as the Great Dane. That cute little chunky puppy can do some serious damage.

Please visit our Links page to get you started in your search for information. There you will find information on the health related issues that affect Great Danes as well as information on what to look for in a puppy and a breeder. My advice to you is Never buy the puppy. Buy the dog the puppy one day will be.

Great Danes are not the breed for every one. Their size and regal appearance are captivating to all they meet and that is what draws many to this breed. I highly recommend you read "Before You Buy a Dane" particularly if you have never shared your life with a giant breed dog. It is important to research any breed you are interested in adding to your family but I can't stress how important it is in regards to a Great Dane. Danes are considered an exotic and high-maintenance breed because of their special needs. Spend some time at shows meeting breeders and their danes.

If you are thinking about a Great Dane, Chihuahua, or a Pointer, but know nothing about the breed or already have one and have questions about care, upkeep or training or just want to chat, please feel free to contact us.