I became acquainted with Ridgebacks when I lived in Southern California in the mid-70s. My neighbors had two bitches, Simba and Rhoda, mother and daughter. They were both large and impressive, well above the male standard for height and weight. After meeting these impressive girls and wanting a dog like them, I found Kari from a newspaper ad in 1974. She was registered as Kariba of Kajun Kreek. The only criteria I knew to look for was not a lot of white. She came from a back yard breeder. She had flying ears, an undershot jaw, was 22 inches tall and had hip dysplasia. Kari had a wonderful temperament and easily flew through obedience training although I never exhibited her in competition.

In 1976 when Kari was 2 years old, I moved to Western Pennsylvania and Tuffi came into my
life, future Ch. Rolling’s Tufani. Tuffi was the first dog I showed in conformation. We learned the
ropes together and he finished owner handled at 13 months. Two years later I purchased a
bitch from Ida Poore in Ohio that had the same sire as Tuffi. He was Rafiki, now very well known
in the breed. This little bitch was called Rose, future Ch. Kimbida’s Crackling Rose, ROM, dam of
13 champions.

At that point, knowing that Ridgebacks would be in my future, I created the prefix Turoka which
was used when naming future litters to identify them. Turoka is a homemade word taking the
first two letters from my first three dogs, hence TU (Tuffi) RO (Rose) KA (Kari). Over the last 48
years I have been involved extensively with the national club, RRCUS, serving four two-year
terms as corresponding secretary, serving on several committees over time and assisting with
rescue. I served from 2008 thru 2020 on the board of Ridgeback Trust, Inc. (RTI), an all volunteer
group dedicated to saving Rhodesian Ridgebacks from the chains of indiscriminate breeding.

My most recent Ridgebacks were mostly involved in the sport of lure coursing. In 2012 they
were introduced to straight racing and did well with that after learning to wear the muzzle.
My current single resident is Mardi 10 years old. We frequently have foster dogs and boarding
regulars to keep life interesting.

Since 2017 my focus has been on rescue and I serve as state coordinator for Rhodesian
Ridgeback Rescue, Inc. National Capital Region covering Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia. I also
cover Pennsylvania for the Mid-Atlantic Region.

CBARRC has been a part of my life since its inception in the 90s when we held fund raiser get-
togethers at Congressional Cemetery for Ridgeback rescue and to let our dogs meet, greet and
have fun. I have served previously as secretary and president.