BREEDER of the YEAR 2014 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
Jim Buzzard
Jim Buzzard has been breeding Australian Cattle Dogs for over 50 years. Having come to know this breed in the early 60's as a young ranch hand working the cattle farms of Missouri where having a good Cattle Dog to help you meant you got more work done with less effort, a good thing when it was a 100+ summer day or the temps were in single digits with snow on the ground.
Moving to Oklahoma in the mid 70's Jim Buzzard figured out early on that the more purebred his dogs were the better they could accomplish the task as the Australian Cattle Ranchers first developed them for.
He quickly became committed to keeping bloodlines clean and watching breeding pairs as they matured for defects in structure or temperament. While at this time health testing as we know it was non existent Jim Buzzard developed an eye and a hand for what the Australian Cattle Dog should be.
Early on Jim saw the benefit of having a strong breed club as he was the 40th member of the Australian Cattle Dog Club of America, and was a member for over 30 years holding many offices within the club. He also hosted the national specialty in Tulsa, OK in 1988.
When the AKC was developing the video for the Australian Cattle Dog it was Jim Buzzard who was called upon to go to New York to assist; as his desire was that the video represent the Cattle Dog for its correct type in both body and mind.
Jim always felt that education was paramount in keeping the Australian Cattle Dog true to what the breed was intended for, a rancher’s tool that made the work on the cattle farm easier and safer. Jim Buzzard passed his love for the Cattle Dog on to his family with 3 generations now involved in the breed.
Along with himself, his daughter Theresa Buzzard-Couch was one of first AKC breeder of merit recipients and her son Colston Couch also had the passion passed onto him from his "Papa Jim" for the purebred Cattle Dog as he became one of the youngest ever to become an AKC breeder of merit.
Not feeling the Australian Cattle Dog was a one dimensional breed as soon as they were accepted into the AKC Jim took his Cattle Dogs straight from the cattle ranch through the week to the AKC show ring on the weekends.
Did Jim Buzzard and his Cattle Dogs win in the show ring? You bet they did! To date around 400 AKC championship dogs have come from the Buzzard kennels, with many Grand Championship title holders as well.
Jim of course wanted to show the purebred Australian Cattle Dogs herding ability as well, with a Buzzard Cattle Dog named "Tubs" becoming the first ever AKC HX titled herding dog of any breed.
Buzzard Australian Cattle Dogs also have had 4 AKC dual champions 5 if you count "Tubs" who had done that prior to there being a dual title.
He became an AKC approved conformation judge for the Australian Cattle Dog in 2008.
His obvious knowledge and work done in the herding ring allowed the AKC to grandfather him in as an approved Herding judge in 1990.
His dedication and knowledge of the breed began to spread around the globe, even gaining notoriety in the home country of the breed, Australia. Where he was invited by the Victorian Kennel club to come to Australia and start their herding program, quite an honor indeed.
Buzzard Australian Cattle Dogs quality have been desired and proven around the world with Champions in Australia, Columbia, Italy, Germany, Japan, Brazil , Mexico and Canada.
Never content to rest on his past accomplishments Jim Buzzard continues to push the quality of the Australian Cattle Dog to new levels looking at how to further improve the breed for both the show ring and the herding arena alike.