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One of the original recommendations for the ACC Lifetime Achievement Award read: “It should be awarded to the individual who best exemplifies good sportsmanship, compassion, kindness, integrity, courtesy; and someone who has spent a major part of his/her lifetime with a strong undying devotion to the welfare of the breed.”
Those characteristics are personified by ACC member Dana Bleifer DVM.
Dana got her first Chesapeake in the early 1980s while an undergrad at UC Davis studying veterinary medicine and joined the ACC shortly thereafter. Recognizing the strong bloodlines of her chessie, she started what would become a lifelong habit: finding the best stud dog to complement her bitch and improve the next generation. Finding that stud at Julie Cole’s Crackshot Kennels, she also started a lifelong friendship and so began Quail Run Chesapeakes.
That first litter produced Sporting Group winning CH Quail Run’s Bear Cub MH QAA** WDQ ROMQ, who went on to become one of the top stud dogs in the history of the breed. Dana trained and ran Bear in AKC Field Trials all while continuing her studies at UC Davis. Stories have been told of Dana falling asleep in the back of her truck while everyone else packed up and left, but she persevered though the demanding schedule of her studies and working with her Chesapeakes. Since then, she has owned and bred more than 200 CBRs who have excelled and titled in all aspects of dog sports. She has owned, handled, and bred BIS, BISS, Westminster, AKC National Championship and ACC Supported Entry Best of Breeds, many hunt and field titled dogs, as well as obedience, agility, and just about every other canine sport. Her multiple BIS dog, CH Quail Run’s Ozark Mtn Daredvil was owner handled to one of his Best in Shows and also went on to be a top stud dog in the breed.
She has served as an ACC Breed Mentor since 2003, educating both individual breeders and owners as well as prospective and active judges. She herself has judged numerous sweepstakes including multiple NSS and judged the breed in international competitions. She has chaired a NSS, helped, sponsored and supported many club activities in both field and conformation events.
In her veterinary career she has devoted herself to supporting and bettering the future of purebred dogs by concentrating on reproductive medicine. Her contributions to breeders all over the world are extensive. Her clinic offers world-class health and reproductive services including semen collection, freezing, and storage, artificial insemination, consultation, and treatments. With her veterinary medical practices, as well as her international professional exposure, her representation and ambassadorship of the Chesapeake Bay Retriever are immeasurable.
Most of all, Dana is deserving of the ACC Lifetime Achievement Award due to her unfailing kindness, patience, and willingness to share her experience and knowledge. One of her greatest assets is her openness. She always offers full disclosure, and never overlooks any physical, health or genetic issues with any dog she owns, breeds, or campaigns. Her Chesapeakes have not only served as the foundation of many breeding programs with their soundness, type, ability, and temperament, but she has also acted as mentor to countless up-and-coming and now very successful breeders and fanciers of the CBR. She is honest but compassionate, a difficult combination to achieve and yet she continues to exemplify.