Richard Paquette
Richard has been involved in purebred dogs since 1971. He began his career in dogs with primarily Shih Tzu with the kennel name Wenrick, but he has also owned and bred Samoyeds, Afghans, Salukis, Whippets, Brussels Griffon, Maltese, Pekingese, Lakeland Terriers, and Wire Fox Terriers. Shih Tzu and Lakelands are his main breeds, and he has produced over 300 Canadian Champions, 150 American Champions, 20 different Best in Show winners and 12 National Specialty winning dogs.
Richard is now a retired professional dog handler, a profession he enjoyed for 15 years. During this time, he finished over 500 champions in 80 different breeds and won over 150 All Breed Best in Shows on 16 different breeds.
He has served on the executives of All Breed and Specialty breed clubs and is currently a Director of the Canadian Kennel Club, Chair of the CKC Brachycephalic Breeds Advocacy Committee and President of the Canadian Shih Tzu Club.
Richard serves on the breed health Committees of both the Canadian and American Shih Tzu Clubs and has given seminars in many countries on correct breed type and structure of Shih Tzu and how it effects the health and quality of life of the dogs. Richard has been honored with Life Memberships in the Canadian Kennel Club, the Sudbury & District Kennel Club and the Canadian Shih Tzu Club as well as being awarded an Honourary Membership in the Canadian Professional Handlers Association.
Richard is a CKC Licensed All Breed judge, a founding member of the Canadian Dog Judges Association and a member of the American Dog Judges Association. In addition to Canada and the USA, he has judged in Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Bermuda, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, China, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan, South Africa, Ghana, Uganda, Israel, Spain, Denmark, Italy, Finland, Latvia, Croatia, Russia, Sweden, and Ireland.