About Us
We are ‘having the time of our lives’ with Quinta and Zenzi. These girls bring so much joy, action and happiness into our lives. Welsh Springer Spaniels are so animated, loving and dynamic, from their couch potato moments to their high energy sprints. Life is one big adventure with our girls.
Live
We live in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. We moved here from Europe in the 90s for our professional careers. And then, we fell in love with Halifax because of the culture, diversity and the small yet large metropolitan-feeling . Also, we love to sail so, given that Nova Scotia is Canada’s Ocean Playground, we decided to make Nova Scotia our home.
Love
To introduce ourselves: We are Barbara Hintze-Schatz and Henry Hintze and we have four adult children and seven grandchildren. Our whole family is dog-crazy, with everyone having at least one. We have fallen in love with Welshies ~ Welsh Springer Spaniels, after enjoying many other breeds beforehand.
The Dancing Queen Kennel ~ Established in 2022 and inspired by ABBA and Queen
Our kennel name has a lot of meaning for us. We are both ABBA and Queen fans so ‘The Dancing Queen’ kennel name was a natural fit. The obsession with ABBA started early on. As children, we traveled to Europe to visit with our relatives. ABBA was hugely successful in Europe and, being inspired, we grabbed a microphone, got dressed up and entertained family and friends with ABBA hits.
The Welsh Springer Spaniel breed was perfect for us ~ Good friendly family dogs
As we spend a lot of time with our family, we needed a dog breed that was well-known for being friendly and playful with all members of the family, especially children. When we researched their health, we learned that they have few health challenges, relative to other breeds. For us, we wanted active, loyal and affectionate dogs and the Welsh Springer Spaniel fits this description perfectly. The fact that they love water, like we do, was a bonus.
Starting with a good foundation
We wanted to find an awesome breeder to give our kennel the best founders we could possibly find. We searched extensively and found a two-time award winning breeder in the Netherlands. Kennel From Kind of Magic is owned by Jolanda in het Groen de Kovel. Jolanda is an exceptional breeder who considers the success of the breed with the longer term in mind. She finds breeding matches that would compliment and bring good genetic harmony for her dogs. She is committed to a life-long connection to dog owners, where she supports them, and sponsors special events, walks and reunions. Kennel from Kind of Magic is the top kennel in the Netherlands for 2022 and 2023 (https://www.kindofmagic.nl). We are so lucky to have Jolanda as our mentor kennel.
About our Girls
Our GCH Queensberry from Kind of Magic, is descended from many multi-award winning Welsh Springer Spaniels. We were so lucky to find her in The Netherlands. The owners of the litter’s Sire had top pick and they had intended to adopt Quinta. They changed their mind last minute and we quickly scooped her up. Quinta Mae, as she is called, is a proper Princess and she is such a beauty. She is quite attached to her family.
Our Zinzi Bell from Kind of Magic, was line breed from all lines stemming from Jolanda’s original founders. Given our connection with Kennel From Kind of Magic, we were consulted in the early stages of mate selection and we got top pick. How lucky are we? Zenzi Bell is exceptionally curious, earthy and affectionate; always casually and gently leaning into to her much loved family members. Her call name is Zenzi Bell as this name matches her earthy calm, open and Zen demeanour.
Both girls love to run free at Sandy Lake and other parks on Nova Scotia. At home, they have a 3/4 acre fenced-in back yard. We plan to breed in 2024 so you are welcome to contact us to find out more. We also plan group walks and outings, so let’s connect.
Warmly,
Barbara, Henry, Quinta Mae and Zenzi Bell
