Penny Hanigan, Brigadoon Kennels

   She learned her love for dogs from a very early age having grown up in a family that was always around horses and Cocker Spaniels. But her Beardie odyssey really got started twelve years after having gotten married and started a family of her own. In the early 1980’s Penny’s family was well under way and she began to think about her interest in dogs. She started studying various AKC breeds with a view towards buying a dog. After a long and comprehensive search she decided the Bearded Collie was the right dog for her. It’s long flowing coat and fluid movements along with its joyful character were just what she was looking for. Penny bought her first and only beardie bitch, Whiskey, in 1982.

  Penny started her kennel, Brigadoon Kennels, in Rye, NY where it grew and thrived for its first 18 years. While her home in Rye provided a beautiful setting for her kennel operations Penny and her husband, Michel, decided they would like to move to a more open country setting. After spending two years looking at a variety of different areas they found a beautiful 10-acre piece of property in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. In January this year they moved to their new home in Wrightstown, Pennsylvania. This location provides the perfect setting for Brigadoon Kennels’ new home with several acres of open fields for the Brigadoon Beardies to get out and stretch their legs.

  Ch, Brigadoons’s Extra Special was Penny’s first big winning dog. Rugby started his show career in 1991. In February of that year, at the ripe old age of 18 months, he won best of breed at the Westminster Kennel Club show and began what has become an important tradition for Brigadoon dogs. Rugby went on to win best in breed again at Westminster in 1994 and was awarded Herding Group 2 to what at the time was the number one Herding dog in the country. Over his 3 year career Rugby was #1 Bearded Collie in the US for 3 years in a row (1993-1995). In addition he was #3 herding dog in the US in 1994. During his career Rugby was a multiple best in show winner, as well as National Specialty winner and a multiple regional specialty winner. Rugby retired from the show ring in 1995 and now helps to keep the rest of the Brigadoon Kennels group in line in Bucks County.

  After Rugby’s show career ended it was time for American & Canadian Ch, Brigadoon’s Second Hand Rose to carry on the Brigadoon name in the show ring. During her two-year career (1999-2000) Rosie was a multiple best in show winner. In 1999 she won best of opposite sex at the Bearded Collie National Specialty. In addition she was the number one Beardie bitch in the US in both 1999 and 2000. Rosie retired after the end of the 2000 showing seasons and has just whelped her first litter of Beardie pups.

  The current winner for Brigadoon Kennels is American & Canadian Ch, Brigadooon’s Tuxedo Jake. Jake began his career winning Best in Specialty at the 2000 Chicagoland Bearded Collie Club Specialty last October. In February this year he continued the Brigadoon tradition of winning the breed at the Westminster Kennel Club Show. This was the forth time a Brigadoon Dog had won the breed at this prestigious show. Jake is currently the number one Bearded Collie in the U.S. both in breed and group points.

  Penny’s success in her breeding program reflects her love for the Beardie breed. She believes strongly in the importance breeding healthy and sound Beardies and places great emphasis on making certain that all her Brigadoon Beardies are correct in type and temperament. In her new home in Bucks County she is looking forward to many more happy years of breeding and showing her champion Bearded Collies.