JAY — Once Patty Richards’ children grew up, she started chasing her own dream of raising show dogs.

“It is something I always wanted to do,” the 44-year-old Jay woman said Monday.

She’s been doing it for about four years.

Three-year-old Henry, one of her golden retrievers whose registered name is Kelore’s Prince Charming at Goldreams, sat beside her on the front porch of her home. Every once in a while he’d change position and ended up lying on the gravel walkway next to her.

She chose the name of her kennel, Golden Dreams, after seeing a picture of a golden retriever titled Golden Dreams in a chiropractor’s office.

“It was a dream,” she said. “My kids grew up and graduated and started chasing their own dreams, so I started chasing mine.”

Richards raises strictly show dogs and specializes in confirmation to prove the dog can do the job it was bred for, she said.

“Henry was my first show dog,” Richards said.

She had joined a golden retriever club and got some advice and made connections, including Kim Lorraine of Kelore Golden Retrievers in Strong.

“I told her I wanted a show puppy and it was love at first sight,” she said of herself and Henry.

The two started doing shows a year ago in July in West Springfield, Mass., where Henry picked up his first point to count toward his American championship title.

Ironically, Henry took Best of Breed and Sporting Group No. 1 on July 10, about a year later, she said. That earned him a spot to compete in Best of Show, Richards said.

“He defeated 310 dogs for that spot, which is huge,” she said. “He defeated five champions alone in the golden retriever ring.”

Henry still needs two single points to gain his American championship title, she said. Fifteen points and two majors are needed to earn the title.

One part of Henry’s training is to run on a treadmill for 30 minutes day. He’s also combed and conditioned every day, she said.

“It’s a lot of work. I ended up doing obedience with him,” she said. There a dog learns to obey commands and go through an obstacle course.

Henry has also earned his K-9 Good Citizen certification, which means he is a well-mannered dog, she said.

Once he finishes his American championship, he’ll go for a therapy dog certificate and then go to hospitals and nursing homes to visit patients, she said.

“Henry is my buddy,” Richards said. “I worked at State Farm when I bought him and I brought him to work with me.”

The dog kennel is a family project. Her husband Jim and her sons Brian and Brad help out with the animals.

Training and showing dogs takes a lot of patience, she said.

“There’s no money involved. It’s a true passion,” she said, of showing them.

To demonstrate Henry’s winning style, Richards brought a morsel of dog food to her mouth and made kissing noises to get his attention. He stared up at her without moving a muscle before she gave the morsel to him.

It’s called free baiting, she said, and helps the dog obey commands and posture correctly.

“He’s a good boy. He’s like a one-in-a-million dog,” Richards said. You don’t always get a dog like this. I’ll probably never get another one like him.”

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