Saxafrax Borzoi

26/08/2025

Individual day-old grub photos of the fresh off the press. Introducing:

* Ampersand, aka Sandi, naturally whelped red/gold spotted girl
* Lexicon, aka Lexi or Connie, mystery tri or sabled red spotted girl 1
* Syntax, c-section red/gold spotted girl
* Cedilla, mystery tri or sabled red spotted girl 2
* Typo, red/gold spotted boy
* Serif, mystery tri or sabled red spotted girl 3

The last two photos are also of Serif (photo 7 feat. Mama Fennel), because they were too cute to not include in the set. Photos by

24/08/2025

Welcome home, ! Born 8/23/25, 5 girls / 1 boy, 3 red spotted & 3 black & tan spotted. All weighing over a pound each, strong and vigorous.

Fennel entered into Stage 1 labor late in her whelping window, with no big contractions still by midday on Day 65. Checking fetal heartrates with an at-home Doppler, we observed a few puppies potentially in the distress range (below 180 bpm), so we went in to have them checked by her repro team.

We are so glad we did. On ultrasound, Dr. Lopate found 3 of the puppies’ heartrates suboptimal, with one as low as 120 bpm. Fennel was admitted immediately for an emergency c-section. While waiting for surgery, she delivered her first puppy naturally. However, with no guarantee how long a natural labor would last and two puppies still at risk, the surgery proceeded. All went well with the procedure, and her uterus was found to be in good shape with no clear indication why her labor took so long to advance.

Fennel took to her puppies right away and had no issues letting them nurse immediately, and she took over cleaning and stimulating them before her anesthesia had even fully worn off. She is practically glued to them today, and is most concerned when any wander too far from the puppy pile.

I am so grateful to Dr. Lopate and her team for ensuring mama and babies all made it safely through this unexpected challenge. Endless gratitude to who came to be a whelper helper and whose Doppler and expertise spurred us to the vet. Huge thanks to for their support here through each step of the process and to for holding us from afar. And of course, thank you to our partners Kyle & Dylan for taking care of us while we took care of Fennel and her new ones. Lastly, thank you to all of our friends who have sent good wishes and kept us in their thoughts to bolster this happy outcome. As always, responsible breeding takes a village!

22/08/2025

Surprise! Our lovely household matriarch is about to be a mother again. We are incredibly excited to share that Fennel (Am. CH UCH Saxafrax Wild Rushes Adrienne Que Sera Sera, SC, SSR, GRC) conceived again via the power of modern science and the help of the team over at Reproductive Revolutions in Wilsonville. We are waiting with bated breath for her to release the 6 puppies we confirmed onboard from her breeding to GCH Aria’s The Quiet Man, “Sean”.

This match is a very distant line-breeding on Sean’s sire, who is in Fennel’s 7th generation, and seeks to fulfill many of the goals we strive for in our program of bringing forward underused pedigrees, sweetheart temperaments, and functional conformation, guided by documented and tested health data.

This breeding is also special to us because in addition to our regular & collaboration, we are proud to welcome Sy of to this co-breeding as they embark on their first dog breeding endeavor! Huge thanks is also due to Rita Stackable of for allowing us to breed to her beloved Sean.

Today is Day 63 of Fennel’s pregnancy, and we have all our fingers and toes crossed for a smooth whelp as we sit on puppy watch. While we wait for the little ones to make it earthside, please enjoy part one of this incredible maternity photoshoot we did with the dam-to-be last night. All photos taken by Sy.

Test mating pedigree: https://borzoi.breedarchive.com/animal/testmating?dam_uuid=cd80f166-07cf-4452-bec5-329cc77fd9b0&sire_uuid=9200fb0d-24b9-417d-be99-1369fbaf9a8b

Sean’s OFA: https://ofa.org/advanced-search/?appnum=1281865
Fennel’s OFA: https://ofa.org/advanced-search/?appnum=2246478

22/07/2025

As the pups from borzoi’s recent litter begin to make their way to their new homes, I would like to introduce our own new addition - in a way! Although she will be staying in California at Rezance primarily, I am honored to be co-owning the fabulous Cypress, Rezance The Starry Night, with Ash.

When this litter was cooking up, I told Ash I would be in trouble if a perfect little red silver girl popped up, and from early on, Cypress proved to be that kind of trouble! I could not be more excited for her future and all the potential we see in her. I am immensely grateful to Ash for letting me be a part of Cypress’s journey.

Photos at various weekly milestones are courtesy of , who has helped me live vicariously through this litter by sharing so many wonderful photos and videos. I hope to meet Cypress in person before too long!

28/02/2025

We’re trying to reduce use of social media, and while this page is not going away, it will be somewhat less active (as it already has been).

I have enjoyed sharing more casual updates and photos in our Saxafrax - Wild Rushes Discord server. If you would like to join us over there, please send us a private message requesting the link.

As always, the contact methods listed on our website are the best ways to reach us. I have a lot of overdue email replies I will be getting to soon. Thank you to everyone for your patience.

Note: to be admitted to our Discord, we must either already know who you are, or you must give us a description of who you are and why you want to join. The Discord space must remain a scammer-free zone and all photos shared there are private. Thank you for your understanding, and we hope to stay connected!

01/01/2025

UPDATE: all dogs found!!

Send a message to learn more

11/12/2024

Just some silly cuddle configurations from the last few weeks for your enjoyment.

9 of these photos include a mixture of the 5 permanent residents here, and one photo includes borrowzoi sister/daughter/niece/granddaughter Cormorant (regularly found over with ). Can you spot the Corm?

02/12/2024

Although in my mind they are still just tiny grubs in a pile in my lap, several of the have been making their debuts in the show ring! The name of the game right now for show puppies is making things fun and adding in life experience, and I'll say these kids certainly know how to have fun.

While we were in Wenatchee chasing their dam Fennel’s final point, we debuted our newly 6-month-old keepers in the big dog ring, too. Although Fennel’s championship was certainly highlight of this trip, I think my absolute favorite moment was when the esteemed judge Pat Trotter told us that we should be very proud of these puppies, and remarked on how well socialized they are. Under Mrs. Trotter, Augur secured his first official point (photo 1) by defeating his siblings Bombazine (photo 2) and Sibylline (photo 3). The boys are about 6.5 months old in these photos, and Siby just turned 7 months old in hers.

Back in August, up at the Sammamish Kennel Club, we ambitiously attempted to show our 4-month-old puppies in the Beginner Puppy competition while carting a toddler in tow, and somehow managed to pull it off! The winner this day was Bombazine, who not only took the puppy breed, but Puppy Hound Group 1. These fun ringside candids were captured by Lexi D Photography, and in order are Augie handled by my fiancé Kyle, Bomba handled by Elyse, and Siby cosplaying as a kite with me.

We have also celebrated sister Fable making her ring debut this fall, where she has consistently placed first in her 6-9 mo. class, and under judge Debbie Melgreen took Reserve over a nice lineup of girls! Not to be forgotten, brother Leica down in southern Oregon also debuted in both BPUP and the 6-9 mo. class, and received lovely compliments on his movement and temperament. He has not faced class competition yet, but has definitely earned his ribbons, and we are so immensely proud of both Fable and Leica’s owner-handlers, for whom these are their first AKC show dogs. We will hope to get updated photos of them soon, too!

Thanks for following along, and as always, my apologies for the overdue nature of these updates.

16/11/2024

23/10/2024

Shortly after Fennel competed in her first Beginner Puppy Competition at four months old, the world shut down. Covid. I had so many plans in mind for my first bred-by puppy, including going for that coveted medallion earned by completing an AKC conformation championship from the bred-by exhibitor class. But, our journey has been one of delays. That isn’t to say we haven’t had a lot of fun along the way, though.

While we weren’t in the AKC ring as often as I’d hoped, we competed together in outdoor venues. Fennel became my first LGRA straight racing champion, my first UKC champion from the bred-by class, and just recently, my first Senior Courser. We returned to the AKC ring and picked up three majors before we were on the hunt for that last single point.

This year, another hiatus swept Fennel away from the ring as she became the dam of our second generation. Of all her accomplishments, motherhood is definitely the one I am most proud of Fennel for tackling in the way she does all of our activities together: with love and silliness. She is still working on getting her coat back post-whelp, but is nearly back in shape.

This weekend, we travelled to the Wenatchee Kennel Club shows and Fennel gave me another first. Pending AKC confirmation, Fennel became my first BBE Champion on Friday under judge Sidney Marx by going Best of Breed Owner-Handled/Best of Opposite Sex/Winners B*. She rounded out the weekend as a move-up, and took Select both Sat & Sun, + BOBOH on Sunday under Pat Trotter. Thank you to co-breeder/co-owner Elyse Kufeldt for always cheering us on and lending us a hand. Thank you to co-breeders Jan Leikam and Monica Barry for overseeing us with all these firsts. Thank you to everyone who has helped us at shows or shared a kind word, including my non-dog-sport friends, who are honestly some of Fennel’s biggest fans. And of course, thank you to all of the judges who have found us in a lineup. Each of you are integral to the fabric of Fennel’s achievements, and we are grateful for you all as we celebrate this milestone!

Win photo by Elaine Rushton.

13/10/2024

Wishing a very happy 5th birthday to the Shallettes - our first litter, forever occupying a most sacred and special place in our hearts. We are so proud to see who these individuals have blossomed into, and cannot imagine our lives without them.

Four of these puppies have gone on to title in various sports, and the others are most beloved companions who are champions in their own right. They have also laid the foundation for our next generation, with one of them whelping our second litter earlier this year. We look forward to many more birthdays and milestones to celebrate. Today, we honor:
borzoi - Sanin
- Ora
- Rusalka
- Fawn
Fennel & Fern here at Saxafrax
- Fancy & Fester
- Sprout
- Nettle

23/09/2024

Sibylline is growing up! Pictured here at a week and change shy of 6 months old. I can hardly believe our baby puppies are almost to this milestone age. It has been a joy to watch them grow, but I truly wish puppyhood lasted twice as long. For many dogs, it sure does mentally. 🤣 Luckily, we are enrolled in ‘s Gamify Teenage Mayhem class to fend off whatever curveballs adolescence may throw us.

I’m looking forward to our next chapter in development and beginning her show career. Fortunately, Siby is an absolute sweetheart and goofball to boot, so she has really brought a lot of fun to this round of puppy raising. She continues to do a great job acquiring skills and understanding our expectations for daily life, and I cherish the partnership we are building. We are so lucky to have such charming dogs in our lives.

Thank you to for the photo!