Introducing The Humans

Thank you for visiting Naraena, the virtual home of Michael & Wendy Sharman and their canine and feline companions. We intend to make regular updates to our home-site, so please stop by regularly to see what we have all been up to and see our plans for the future.

The kennel and cattery name “Naraena” was first registered in England in 1980 with the UK Kennel Club and the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy. The first litter of Norwegian Elkhounds bearing this affix was whelped in February1981 from our foundation bitch, Brattlid Elena of Naraena and our dog, Laekness Statlig Stej av Naraena who was born in quarantine. His dam was imported in whelp from Sweden by Isobel Clarkson (Laekness). The first Burmese kittens from our cream foundation stud Ch. Anselig Anjin San and queen, Ch. Wayward Running Bear, were born around the same time.

Over the years, work commitments have influenced our breeding and showing activities which meant that Norwegian Elkhound litters have not been bred very frequently over the years, rather when we wanted a new puppy for ourselves.

Whilst living in the County of Sussex in Southern England, and following a chance meeting with the late Frank & Molly Rogers (Rogersome) and their dogs, we gradually became more involved with the then British Elkhound Club (now known as The Norwegian Elkhound Club of Great Britain). In 1980 Michael was elected to the position of Honorary Treasurer, a post he continues to fill today. Wendy proposed and produced twenty one editions of a Club Magazine which led to being elected to the Committee in 1984. She resigned from this position in 2007 due to the anticipated move to Sweden.

In 2003, she instigated the name change for the breed from Elkhound to Norwegian Elkhound as it is known in the UK, in recognition of the breed’s country of origin.

We are both licensed to Judge Norwegian Elkhounds at Championship Show level and award Certificates both in the UK and USA. Wendy also judges Finnish Spitz and is awaiting her first appointment in the UK to award Certificates.

In 1992 we moved to a house near Leicester in the Midlands to get away from the tremendous traffic jams and very dense population in the South of England. We have lived there with our companions until the recent move to a house surrounded by forest with native birds and wild animals (including Älg, of course) in the West of Sweden. We have visited Scandinavia many times since our first visit in 1987 in order to quench our thirst for more knowledge about Norwegian Elkhounds from their original home-land. This is now extended to the home-land of the Västgötaspets and, indeed, the actual area of Sweden called Västra Götaland.

Our dogs and cats are companions first and form the core of our family. Breeding will continue to be, as it has been in the past, selective and for the enrichment of the breed.

Our aim is to breed sound, healthy animals of good temperament and true to type.

Michael & Wendy 

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