• KENNEL:

  Ma Griffe

Phyllis Laventhall-Wolfish was born in London into a family of dog enthusiasts involved in Pomeranians, English Cocker Spaniels, and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. She apprenticed at the Hawkridge Kennels in Knightsbridge and was exhibiting at English dog shows by the early 1940s. Ms. Laventhall-Wolfish immigrated to Canada in 1953 and began to import Toy and Miniature Poodles. She attended shows extensively in Canada and the United States, with top-winning Miniature and Toy Poodles under the Ma Griffe prefix. She has also bred and shown champion Whippets, and has handled Doberman Pinschers and Lhasa Apsos. In 1989, The Kennel Club (England) approved Ms. Laventhall-Wolfish to judge Standard and Toy Poodles, and Shih Tzu. Since then, Ms. Laventhall-Wolfish has had the opportunity to judge all over the world, including Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad, and extensively in Asia and South America. She has had the honour of judging the Melbourne Royal, the Westchester Kennel Club, the International Kennel Club of Chicago, the Finnish Kennel Club shows, the Swedish Kennel Club's five Summer Shows, and the 2005 AKCEukanuba Championship.