Sally moved to London, England with her family when she was 5. She fell in love with the "Cocker Spaniels" in England, and didn't realize that there was a difference until the family moved back to California when Sally was 13, and the Cockers she saw were
distinctly different. Sally got her first English Cocker while living in Singapore with her family in 1970. Tessa was a wonderful dog and Sally's constant companion. When the family moved back to London in 1972 Tessa came with them. She had to be in quarantine for 6 months and every week Sally would take the Underground to visit Tessa. When Sally started College she knew it was only a matter of time until she got another English Cocker. In her last year of Law School she got a Blue Roan female from Majick English Cockers in Pennsylvania. Majick Chelsea Quaver, a granddaughter of the top producing English Cocker of all time, CH Kenobo Capricorn, became Sally's foundation bitch. Chelsea's full name was "Chelsea Ann Louise Jane, love of my life, reason for my existence". Chelsea moved back to California with Sally and was the dam of Sally's first three champions and the beginning of the Barrister line. Luckily Chelsea loved Sally's husband, Doug, from the very beginning, and also welcomed the arrival of their son Sam - especially when she realized he would drop food on the floor!
Barrister English Cockers are known for temperament, movement and toplines. It is our intent to breed as closely as possible to the Breed Standard as set forth by the English Cocker Spaniel Club of America. Our dogs sleep in bed with us and our integral members of our household. We do not sell to homes where our dogs will be kenneled on a regular basis.
Health is of paramount importance to us. All of our puppies are BAER tested to determine hearing status. No dog is bred without, at a minimum, hips certified Good or Excellent by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA), Patellas certified OFA normal, and OptiGen Status for both Familial Nephropathy (FN) and Progressive Retinal Atrophy (prcd-PRA). Please feel free to go the Orthopedic Foundation For Animals website www.offa.org, and enter in the registered name of any of our dogs (without titles) to view their OFA status.
Pedigrees can be accessed at the excellent British website www.CockerSpanielDatabase.info/en. This website also includes pertinent health information.
We normally have no more than 2 litters a year. If you are interested in a Barrister English Cocker, please fill out our online questionnaire form. For any questions you may have for us, please email us at barristerec@att.net. We will require references from you, and we will be delighted to provide you with references from owners of Barrister English Cockers.