Dakotah Anseth
Located in Colorado
Hey there, my name is Dakotah!
Like many people in the dog world, I grew up as an all-around animal lover. At the ripe age of 3, I decided I wanted to be a veterinarian; my drive and dedication toward achieving this goal became the mainstay of my educational career. Looking back, I think my interest in veterinary medicine fueled my passion for wellbred, purebred dogs. I remember always having an interest in working with breeders because it meant long client relationships. I never really thought those interests would bring me exactly where I am today. I’ve been a licensed veterinarian since 2023, practicing in Colorado as I write this.
As an only child, my family dogs were my primary companions. We always had several dogs in the house. I remember having 5 to 6 at one point in time – the house was full of chaos and dog hair as you would expect. I grew up mostly with Rottweilers and Rottweiler mixes, resulting in my familiarity with large, physical breeds. Along the way, my family had a couple of accidents (in the form of puppies), which happened to give my family the best 4 mixed-breed dogs that we could’ve ever had. I learned a lot about intentional and ethical breeding practices because of these accidental litters in my life. I firmly believe those accidental litters accelerated my interest in ethical breeding practices – even if my family had some great companions come out of those litters. Over time, I’ve come to learn that breeding requires nuance, patience, grace, and a lot of humor.
Despite my experience in Rottweilers growing up, I was compelled to look into other dog breeds while I was in veterinary school. One day, when I was wanting to bring a family dog to Colorado where I was attending vet school, I came across the Beauceron on a list of “banned breeds” by my landlord’s insurance. Having never heard of the breed before, I looked them up and rapidly hyperfixated on them. I loved the uniqueness of the breed and wanted to step away from Rottweilers to experience a different type of dog. Over time, I researched breeders and bounced between what I was looking for. I developed friendships with local Beauceron owners and continued to fall in love with the breed. Like many people new to the breed, I was infatuated with the idea of a cropped harlequin male as my first.
In spring of 2024, I was starting to send out inquiries to breeders when one of my friends told me she knew someone that was going to need guardians for a handful of puppies that were being imported just before the CDC implemented their import guidelines. So, along came Robyn; we quickly had a phone call to discuss my goals and interests to help match me to the best puppy of the ones she had available. Much to my chagrin, and my interest in a cropped harlequin male, I was told I would be receiving a natural black and rust boy, to which I said okay and we continued forward; enter Squish. I went into this agreement expecting a temporary-until-proven-otherwise puppy, not realizing that Robyn, Erika, and Jin have magical powers when it comes to placing the right puppy with the right person (even when they only have 2 options to choose from). Thus began my journey with the Beaucerons des Vents crew.
I see my role in BDV as a small but important piece of a puzzle. My primary job is to be a loving home for one of the Panic Puppies™. My goal is to allow Squish to flourish into the best version of himself. Together, we are collecting titles like stickers on your favorite water bottle, exploring any and all avenues that we want to do together, and building the best life together you could imagine. We are embodying the idea that show dogs can be companions first, conformation and performance dogs second. Together, we are dabbling in anything and everything we want (Conformation, Rally/Obedience, Barn Hunt, Weight Pull, Nosework, being a menace, you name it). I cannot wait to see what we continue to accomplish together and I am endlessly grateful to be doing this alongside such a wonderful group of humans.
