Tina was our first IG. She was not really a stunning show type IG, but she did win a CD obedience title, and our hearts. That CD was the very first title I put on a dog. Although her sire (Bonny Lad of Kashan) and dam (Marta of Kashan) were never shown, Tina's pedigree was interesting. She was a double granddaughter of Ch. Orson v. Bayerischen Meer. Orson was imported by Claire Klemmedson of Kashan Kennels. Whelped in 1955 in Bavaria, he sired 21 champions out of 11 different dams at a time when not many IGs were being bred. He is in the pedigree of many of today's top winning dogs.

I originally wanted a blue male puppy but couldn't find one to buy, so we wound up with an adult fawn female. At the time Ruth Bloore was Mrs. Italian Greyhound in the U.S. -- especially the Western U.S. -- in the 60's, 70's and early 80's. She bred many champions under the Wavecrest kennel name, with many of her dogs reaching top producer status. Ruth had nothing available but at a show she encountered a young couple trying to sell two bitches that they no longer wanted. She didn't want these IGs to go just anywhere, so she offered to help the people place them. One of them was Davette's Tina Carlotta. The rest is history.

We had no thought of showing or breeding when we first got Tina, but Ruth, who arranged the sale, planted a little seed in my head. Ruth told us that we should try showing Tina and maybe breed her, since she came from good stock. Ruth suggested breeding to her blue male, Ch. Lyonhil's Mack The Knife. We later did that and wound up with our first champion, Ch. Bravo Figaro Di La Scala, CD.

My first show was about three weeks after we had acquired Tina from Ruth. We were not well prepared for the show and, had it not been for Jacqueline Quiros Kubat, at that time a professional handler in Southern California, the experience would have been a complete disaster. Jacky demonstrated how to trim Tina's nails and gave us some tips on showing. The following Sunday, at our second show, Tina was WB for a point. We were "hooked".

Tina was bred three times ---once to Ch. Lyonhil's Mack The Knife and twice to Ch. San Dan Nero of Hi Skyes. The breedings to Nero produced two champions, Ch. La Gioconda Di La Scala and Ch. Windswift Sari Di La Scala. However, behind nearly all the La Scala dogs of note is a littermate of Ch. La Gioconda ----Amami Alfredo Di La Scala, a sound and typey fawn male who was sold to people who showed him a few times and then lost interest.