Hello!

Benden Kennels is situated on Highway 37 about 75 km northwest of Edmonton, housed on what is left of the Blanchard family farm. Tucked into the valley next to the Sturgeon River, we enjoy the peace and solitude of a farming life topped by the accessibility of the city.

Our family moved to the farm in the fall of 1959, and I lived there until 1973 when I joined the Canadian Armed Forces. After globetrotting for twenty years, my husband and I retired to the family farm in December 1992. I got my first siberian for Valentine's Day in 1993, Fleur des Lyse (Lily) and several more swiftly followed. In 1996 I welcomed Chanmar's Jenna into my family and she became the foundation bitch of the entire kennel. Jenna was the gentlest siberian I have ever met; her spirit was unquenchable. Sadly, Jenna crossed the Rainbow Bridge in 2003. Her daughter Larke remains a strong part of my foundation.

In 1994 I purchased my first flatcoated retriever, Onyx. Her loyalty and companionship was unparalleled, she went everywhere with me, whether she was entered in the show or not. Onyx even went and stayed with friends in Calgary doing grief duty when their little dog crossed over and their oldest son had difficulty in adjusting to the loss. She lived there for nearly eighteen months until I brought her home to have her first and only litter. The litter was born in 2003, a little late in life for her to have a first litter but a beautiful litter all the same. Onyx crossed the Rainbow Bridge July 19, 2005 after suffering a massive stroke, but four of her children remain with me. She is sadly missed. Her full sister Lessa remains with me, but there are no off-spring from her.

All of the dogs reside in close proximity with the horses, a few chickens and even a goose. So far the score is goose -10, dogs  0, but then none of the sibes has ever really taken a shot at him! Yet!

In August of this year (2005) we lost our home to a fire, so at the moment my kennel and my life are a war zone as we try to get the kennels rearranged to accommodate dogs displaced by the fire, and get a new home in place before freeze-up.

Hopefully this winter I will be able to start mushing again, once I replace all my harnesses! The river offers a long, long winding stretch to run on, and there are several areas the ski-doers groom as well.