The Louisiana branch of RokiShoals consists of two friends, Mandy Foster and Trisha Thibodeaux, who work together and share an interest in Rhodesian Ridgebacks. Based in the Mandeville/Covington area of the Northshore (north of Lake Pontchartrain,) Mandy and Trisha raise, exhibit, and breed their ridgebacks in partnership with Denise Ivie Price of RokiShoals. 

 

Mandy obtained her first ridgeback in 1999 while she was still in college. Although he was essentially a rescue dog and had a host of health problems, Riley was purebred and possessed the dedicated and loyal character that is typical of the breed. It didn't take long for Mandy to become well and truly hooked. After Riley's passing at an unfortunately young age, Mandy began the search for a breeder, intending to add a well-bred puppy to her household with whom she could compete in AKC events. Happily, her search led her to Denise. Since then, Mandy has obtained three dogs from Denise, including the wonderful Siri, Ch. RokiShoals Bahari Siri. Siri was Mandy's first foray into the conformation show world; she went on to finish her championship and has become a valued brood bitch in the RokiShoals breeding program. Two of her offspring, Koza and Mila, live with Mandy, and one, Lumi, lives with Trisha. Koza and Mila have both obtained their AKC grand championships and have been tremendous show dogs for RokiShoals, expertly piloted by Trisha. 

 

Although Trisha started out in conformation competition showing Labrador Retrievers, she fell in love with a puppy from Siri's final litter, who she named "Lumi", RokiShoals Luminosity. In addition to Lumi, Trisha also has a puppy from Denise named "Essi", RokiShoals RockStar. Trisha is an outstanding handler who develops strong relationships with her charges- not only did she put championships and grand championships on Koza and Mila, she is currently working on finishing several puppies co-owned by RokiShoals, including her own. If you see Trisha handling a ridgeback at a show, you can be sure that the dog is head over heels for his handler! Trisha has grown to become an important member of the RokiShoals family and she has a special talent for training puppies for the show ring. Showing dogs is her passion, and, luckily for RokiShoals, she's great at what she does.