Our puppy, Tammi, arrived at our home in the summer and turned out to be a very loyal and faithful addition to our family. She followed the kids everywhere and if they were outside playing, she would be, too. Indoors she was a true “couch potato” and would also hide under our covers in bed. You wouldn't know she was there except for the snoring. We decided at that time that our queen size was not big enough and it was time to invest in a king-size bed.

After many, many loving years, that heart-breaking time came to make the very hard decision to let her pass away with dignity. I have never done this before and it was almost too much to bear. I held and cradled her head as she took her last breath and her head fell heavy in my lap. Bill and I cried all the way home from the vet's office. I walked around for several days trying to continue with my everyday chores but found that I just could not function without my Rhodesian Ridgeback. With tears in my eyes I told Bill that we had to get another one immediately and he agreed. 

4-month-old Margo and Char during the summer of 2002.

I would like to take this time to introduce ourselves. My name is Charlene Rabinak and along with my husband, Bill, we have been raising Rhodesian Ridgebacks since 1995. We live in Illinois about 30 miles west of Chicago. Bill and I have lived in our town of Naperville all of our lives and have watched it grow from a rural farming community to a large family-oriented city. We are one of the fortunate ones who own a large lot in the unincorporated section so that our dogs can run and play all day long. We have three children, all grown and out on their own. 

When our kids were in grade school we decided it was time to get another dog after our first one, Cory, who was a Shepherd and Golden mix, passed away after 15 years in our loving home. We went to the International Dog Show held at McCormick Place, Chicago, with every intention of looking at chocolate labs. As we walked among all of the different breeds there was one that grabbed our attention immediately. These large, brownish-red dogs looked so relaxed as they lounged near their kennels watching the people pass by. Many of them encouraged people to pat their heads as they licked children's faces trying to find any remnants of goodies stuck on the kiddies' cheeks. We must have gone back to see them several times before we decided that this breed, the Rhodesian Ridgeback, was just what we were looking for. Fortunately for us, one of the breeders there had a litter due so we were able to put down a deposit and left there with the excitement of learning more about this wonderful breed.

Tammi surveying our yard.

I called our breeder with the hopes that she just might have a litter available. But she did not. What she did have was a 4-month old show-quality female puppy that she would be willing to have us purchase. Bill and I decided to take the trip and look at her. 

When this nameless puppy bounced out and ran to us, Bill and I looked in her face and immediately fell in love. She nestled in my lap and licked our faces. This little gem was our introduction to the dog show circuit with our breeder agreeing to show her for us when she became of age. We traveled back home with this new addition and as I looked out the window at the passing scenery, her new name popped into my head on the way. Her name from now on was Margo.

At three years of age our breeder bred Margo to another one of her dogs, Taylor. When she saw Margo jump out of our van, our breeder immediately saw that she had big-time show potential. After her litter was born, Margo was introduced to the show ring and on her way to becoming a champion. Our breeder showed her twice but Margo was distracted and kept looking for me. With her encouragement, our breeder had me take Margo and run around the ring for practice. What she saw was that Margo shined in the ring when she was with me so that is when the team of “Char and Margo” was born. I had a lot to learn as I had never shown a dog before but we learned it together and enjoyed every minute of it. Margo became a champion in January of 2007 among the cheers of everyone standing ring side. I have never felt more proud of her in my life and we have been in the ring pretty much every weekend for several more years. She would bug the heck out of me if there wasn't a show to go to as she loved it so much. When we were at the shows, she attracted so much attention that you would think she was a movie star. And you can ask anyone, she had that “give me a goodie” stare down pat. At the age of 13, Margo retired from the show ring and enjoyed her elderly years basking in the sun and watching her children play in the yard.

We also had another female Ridgeback named Dyna who we kept from Margo's first litter. Together they were a busy mother-daughter team wrestling and running outside while also lounging together indoors as the sun shone in our front door.

March of 2009, Margo was bred to Tucker (AKC/UKC CH Calico Ridge Red Letter Day) and produced a wonderful litter of 9 puppies, two of which we kept. The girl's name is Randi and her brother is Newby. These two pups also enjoy wrestling, running, digging and, of course, lounging on the couch after a full day of activities. Margo was thrilled to have them stay within our family and big sister, Dyna, (aka Party Police) made sure they didn't get too unruly!

You can find more information on all of them as we have pages dedicated to each. I hope you enjoy the pictures. The dogs come with us as we travel all over the United States attending shows and different events including summer vacations. Bill and I are members of RRCUS in which I participate in the Owner/Handler Awards program.