Gaia Atalantè

My name is Bianca Michels-Frederiks, I live in the south of the Netherlands, together with my husband Mike, our Son Dries, who was born in July 2008 , our son Mats, who was born in March 2010 and our son Rins who was born in March 2016.  Beside being a mum, I groom dogs, especially Retrievers and work in a Petshop.

I can’t remember one day in my life without a dog. Since I was born we had always dogs around in our family. My dad trained policedogs and sometimes there was a litter bred by us. So all my life I’ve been acquainted with taking care of dogs, walk, train, groom and everything that comes with it.
When I was twelve, I start working in kennels and met the Golden Retriever for the first time.
I was immediatly in love with this wonderful breed. I collected everything about the breed like a child does, pictures, informations, statues and all kind of things related to the Golden Retriever.

After a few years I became a member of the Golden Retriever Club in Holland and I forced my little willing for buying a puppy trough with my parents.
They were ok with the idea, but I had to do it all by myself, training the dog and taking all the costs on me. That was easy to do, every penny I made, went to my future plan, a Golden Retriever!
When I want to buy my first dog, my parents had to sign for me, because at that moment I was fourteen and too  young for buying a puppy on my own at the club.
In 1992 I bought my first puppy at the Golden Retriever Club in the Netherlands.
Her name was Lesley van Bergenshuizen (Ch.Chevanne of High Endeavour x Whisper) she was a very open and happy dog! By that time my mother became ill, she got so much love from her, she wished we had a Golden Retriever many years before!
My dad stopped training policedogs and Lesley was our only dog. When Lesley was one year old, my mother died much to early and as you can imagine, Lesley meant the world to me!

I decided to get a kennelname and after a few years waiting, again because I was too young,
pre-affix Gaia Atalantè was born!

I went to obedience and aguility with Lesley and she made it with great enthusiasm trough the course!
I also visited some shows with her. In her youngher years she gained many very goods, because she wasn’t mature enough. After a few years she got many excellents and even some placements in her classes!! People were always talking about the little blond girl with the funny dog…

In the mean time I’ve got my schoolcertificate at the Groenhorst College in Barneveld for animalmanagement and veterinarysupport. At school I was known as the Golden Girl…
I am grateful to all these people who gave me the oppertunity to learn so much about animals, particular about dogs! Some of them became close friends and I thank them for there honesty and trust in me!!

I decided to mate Lesley, after checking her health results offcourse, to Ch.Whispering Glenrose’s Noisy Bimbo (Ch.Standfast Angus x Whispering Glenrose’s Princess Kimberley) She gave birth to eight lovely puppies and I kept one of them. Gaia Atalantè Genesis Genetic Star, called Ginger.
That year I started my own grooming salon, named ‘Hondenkapsalon Ginley’.

From then on, my showcarreer went many steps forwards, because Ginger was a lovely bitch. At her very first show, the Golden Retriever Championship Clubshow, she became best puppy! She also went Bundesjugensiegerin 1997, with a Junior CC. She gained many excellents, placements and winnings during her carreer.  Because of her, I wasn’t that little girl with the funny dog anymore…  In 2006 she was Best Veteran in Show at the biggest Open show in Holland! Sadly she just hates showing, so being BIS was a marvellous end of her showcarreer at the age of ten!
On the other hand she loved working, and so she got her hunting certificate and was best dog of her group and second best dog of the day! As you will understand I was very proud at her!!

In 2000 I mated Lesley for the second and last time with Pauclare Pure Sensation, called Tom (Ch.Paudell Eastern Plantagenet at Kerrien X Sansue Bobbysox at Pauclare). She gave birth to three lovely boys, so I decided not to keep one, because at that time I wanted a bitch to breed further with. That year Ginger also got puppies from Ch.Chardine Love Bug (Ch.Sansue Golden Ruler X Okus Carousel at Chardine). I didn’t kept one at that time, now I regret it for life!!
Ginger got an accident and I decided not to mate her again, a difficult decision, because she was such a wonderful dog! But her life and future health went before everything!

At 14th April 2002 Lesley died very sudden from cancer. Much too early, because she was just ten years old and so full of live till the last day on! I was quite upset for a long time, because she was my best friend and strong shoulder for so long. There is no day going by we don’t talk about her, she had such a personality!!

During the years I’ve got my KK1 certificate and did a course about dogs first aid.

After a few years I decided it was time to look forward and start again with a new dog…
Because of my love for male dogs, I spend a lot of time  searching for a suitable dog for me.
In March 2005 I’ve got the oppurtunity to get a dog from Victoria Ahlstroms kennel Joystep’s. I felt in love with her and Minna’s Fanta (Ch.Joystep’s May Flower) she has not only the  good looks and health, but she loves to work, so she is a smart dog also! She was mated to Uno ( Hollygold Aprilstorm). I went to Finland and came back with Otto, Joystep’s Rainstorm. He is such a great dog, healthy, enthusiastic and full of energy. He remains me so much of Lesley, I never thought we would find a dog like her again. But Otto is just wonderful! At his first show he won the Juniorclass and got the very first Junior CC in Holland!! He got many placings in the Juniorclasses! While he was getting mature, I start hunting training with him and he was doing great, he learns very easy and loves doing things with me. He took the first place at the exams, we make a great team together! He died at the age of almost 15 years!

I had only one wish left, a little boy from Fanta again..
Minna, Fanta’s owner bred the last litter in March 2009. I’ve got the oppertunity again to get a dog from the litter from Fanta and Waldo (Ch.Fairfield Fireminstrel).
So I went to Finland again… And there he was, Woezel, Sketching Front Page News. A cute little man, being the best compagnion for Dries from the first moment on!! So we took him to Holland and he grows up like a real gentleman! He went best puppy at the KNJVpuppy (hunting) training and went best BOS puppy at the Winnershow in Amsterdam!! So he made a great start!! He did great at shows, but sadly he appeared affected with ICT. It was so unexpected, because he shows no signs at all!  In 2013 he found a lovely new home with Rolf and Susan and their little girl Zoe and son Ryan! He has a great life there, though it was a hard decission to make! But he lives nearby and we see him a lot!! He died at the age of 15,5 in the summer of 2024.