Ch. Tivoli's Sweet Jasmine & Ch. Trojan Tagalong

Bill Gorodner has enjoyed a lifetime interest in dogs and writing about them. A childhood fan and devotee of Albert Payson Terhune's books. Bill was encouraged to pursue these soon to be passions, which really emerged after his first Cocker "Vicky" had to be put to sleep at age 12. Bill's parents took him to the American Spaniel Club specialty show at the Hotel Roosevelt in New York City to find a puppy. His interest piqued and never wavered from that first visit.

During the ensuing years Bill owned and limitedly showed black and buff Cockers in Junior Showmanship competitions. He began writing about dogs in 1955 with an article in Dog World magazine. This led to further honing of his writing skills at New York University, where he majored in English. The course which most influenced his future writing was a short story course with Mrs. Beatrice Cole, who was an editor and popular ghost writer. Her insightful instruction on the mechanics of construction, coupled with an individualistic outlook on breaking all the rules once one learned them, and of developing a style of one's own formed the pivotal point in giving Bill the incentive to try to express himself effectively on paper. From the '60s onward his writings in the American Cocker Review appeared frequently as well as in Dog World. Later on in the '70s, Bill and Lloyd co-authored the Cocker column in the now defunct Popular Dogs magazine. Joan Brearley was the editor of the magazine at the time. Bill served as assistant editor of the A.S.C. Centennial Books and for a time was the editor of the "A.S.C. Bulletin." Concurrent to all of this, he served as editor of the A.S.C. Centennial Books and for a time was the editor of the "A.S.C. Bulletin." Concurrent to all of this, he served as editor of a number of club bulletins.

From 1961 to 1982 Bill operated a dog grooming and boarding service in Manhattan. His clientele included the pets of such social and "show biz" luminaries as Ntosake Shange, Cyril Richards, Sylvia Sidney, Lillian Roth, Mrs. T. Markoe, Biddle Robinson, the Van Alens and the Eberstadts. In 1982 Bill and Lloyd moved their burgeoning Cocker and Pug family to Leesburg, Virginia where they established a popular boarding kennel. Bill semi-retired from professional dog grooming in the late '80s.

A life member of the American Spaniel Club, Bill is also a member of the Middleburg Kennel Club, the Capital City Cocker Club, the Morris & Essex Kennel Club and Metropolitan Washington Dachshund Club.

Throughout his life he has enjoyed an interest in many other animals including horses and cats. In his childhood days on Long Island Bill traded stall-mucking for free rides at the local stable. Over the years he has owned Himalayan, Siamese, American Shorthair, Scottish Fold and Ragdoll cats.

Having enjoyed what he laughingly calls "the longest novicehood in history," Bill decided to share his mistakes and triumphs with dogs as encouragement to new fanciers. His monthly column "Butternut Wisdom" appears in The Cocker Spaniel Leader magazine.

Lloyd Alton developed an active interest in breeding and showing dogs much later in life--well after a childhood on the New Jersey Shore, earning spare money as a magician during high school years, earning a BS degree at N.Y.U., dabbling in a Shakespearean stock company, spending the World War II years in South America and being employed by various engineering firms as office manager/administrator until his retirement in 1982. As a kid Lloyd loved dogs but his parents did not. Prior to meeting Bill Gorodner and while living and working in New York City, Lloyd would invariably attend the Westminster show. A former roommate had Pugs and a close friend had a black Cocker; the dogs easily wormed their way into his life.

Meeting Bill Gorodner introduced Lloyd to the wonderful world of breeding and showing dogs. Smitten by the bug Lloyd gave up his penthouse in Manhattan (a teenager's dream come true) and the two of them moved to a house-cum-kennel in Ridgewood, New Jersey where they began breeding the Ging's Cockers and Pugs. In 1982 they eagerly jumped at an opportunity to acquire their current home and boarding kennel in Leesburg.

Lloyd, while presently affiliated with the same associations as Bill, has in the past served as president and show chairman of the Ramapo Kennel Club and the Connecticut-Westchester Cocker Spaniel Club, has served on the Board of the American Spaniel Club and since 1977 has been its "official announcer" at its annual nationals and is presently a Board member of the Virginia Federation of Dog Clubs and Breeders.

The above is an extract from our book, The World of the Cocker Spaniel.