Our Philosophy

We want to breed healthy, happy Shih Tzu puppies that typify the Standard for the breed. We take the ASTC Code of Ethics seriously and use it as a guide in our activities. Our goal is to leave the breed better then we found it in whatever way we can.

About Us

by Madonna

When I married Paul Holko in 1964 part of my trousseau was a black and white male Shih Tzu, who was joined a couple years later by a brindle and white female. Shih Tzu have been an important part of our lives since then. I bred and showed the original two, starting out in the Miscellaneous Class (AKC's class for purebred but not AKC-registerable breeds) until the breed was recognized in 1969 and then in regular AKC classes. At this time our family was growing also (one son and two daughters) and I found it necessary to give up showing and breeding for what I thought would be a few years. It turned out to be twenty!!

Finally, in 1992 I was able to purchase another Shih Tzu for show (we always had pet Shih Tzu as well as a couple English Springers and an English Setter). This marked the new beginning for Silk Road Shih Tzu. Since that time we have bred seven female champions (one co-bred with my sister, Jamie Kovach) and our latest and first male champion. Our foundation female, Fantasy's Pralines 'N Cream attained Register of Merit status with four champion daughters. We are looking forward to much more success in our breeding program.

Paul and I both are now retired from IBM where he was a programmer and I was a secretary. His favorite hobby is his Gold Wing motorcycle but he provides a lot of support for the dogs. He finished the dog room in our daylight basement-dropped ceiling, tile floor, complete bath with special sink for bathing-and, just recently, a bank of beautiful cabinets for storage. He and our younger daughter, Paula, fenced the dog yard and paved half of it with cement tiles.

I really believe someone who professes to love a breed should be actively involved in its breed club, which is the guardian of that breed. Paul and I have been members of the American Shih Tzu Club from 1964-1973 and from 1992 to the present. Along the way I became editor of the Shih Tzu Bulletin (1997), the official publication of the American Shih Tzu Club, as well as the last two ASTC Historical Record Books; and I was privileged to judge the Sweepstakes at our National Specialty in 2000. Paul is on the Publications commitee. His responsibilities include proofreading the Bulletins and solving technical problems with the computer so I don't destroy it.

Return to the top of the page