Ekara Beagles

I am Dirk Tijssen, KUSA member 1040961, and owner of the EKARA Affix. My kennel name, Ekara, the Maori word for Eagle, is named after my late grandfather, Arend Kuipers, who, along with my other grandfather, Dirk Tijssen, always stood by my side, encouraging me to do my best in everything I do, to learn something new every day, overcome difficult times and learn from my mistakes, instead of just giving up. My grandfather’s name “Arend” is the Dutch/ Afrikaans word for “Eagle” and I really hope that my new breeding program will live up to his legacy.

At Ekara I am committed to:

• Improving the breed. I only breed when I feel that a combination of certain dogs could result in progeny that will leave a legacy. Thus I pay attention to showing all my breeding prospects in order to measure them up against the breed standard and choose the most suitable partner for every dog/ bitch.
• Genetic Health. At Ekara the genetic soundness of my breeding prospects is very important. For that reason all my dogs are health tested, and the results are published on my website. Furthermore, I keep the genetic health of my breeding prospects in mind when choosing their partners.
• Puppies that are sound and healthy. Not only do we breed to better the breed, but I also pay attention to how the pups are raised. I put every effort into the little ones, socializing them as much as possible, stimulating them, and taking them for vet visits, to ensure that they are healthy and happy at the time of sale.
• Ethical breeding. My dogs are not abused, misused, overused, mistreated, My dogs are firstly my pets, they are adored by the family and loved by visitors! My dogs are pets, not kenneled breeding dogs. I comply to the KUSA and Beagle Association rules, regulations and ethical standards as a guideline in everything I do!