Babajide 'n' Paws

Hello! Everyone, its me again..

     So I was driving on around the neighbourhood searching for birds to shoot (photograph).

      Suddenly , I stumbled upon something unusual at a typical mallam's shop, it was a kitten, staring at everything in its path, like a lion hehehe...

      Amazed by this, I decided to buy some biscuits from the mallam, during the transaction I asked for his name, he replied, my name na Ibrahim ..

        Then I engaged him in a conversation about his kitten, he hadn't named it officially but he called it 'mis mid' hehehe... Funny name right? Well, that's not the highlight, you should have seen the look on the kittens face when he called, the kitten's female by the way, her eyes opened wider, she would meow and cat walk closer to Ibrahim, the bond between these two is nothing short of amazing.

           I decided to take some pictures while asking some questions about mis mis, mis mis will never leave the shop, she was either on the roof, hanging around the door of the shop or just something camouflaged around the shop watching everyone day in , day out.

          As the days went by, I asked around about the Ibrahim and mismis, fortunately for me I wasn't the only one who was amazed by the unusual bond and friendship between Ibrahim and his pet, people testified that mis mis was his companion and they would go about their day together selling goods to customers, hehehe...

           I went back to Ibrahim to surprise him with some of the pictures(hard copy) I took of him and mismis, he was so glad , he didn't expect me to give print pictures of mismis, he even tried showing mismis its picture, some of his friends and customers were around to watch the popular kitten named mismis, rumour as it that, some kids who obviously love pets or were fascinated by this particular bond will come to Ibrahim's shop to buy biscuits just to see mismis..

            Have never experienced the level of human compassion from someone to a cat before but seeing this and experiencing this was a first for me and it got me thinking about how kind hearted Ibrahim will be as a person , out of what he has to survive he shares it with his kitten, some days may be monotonous but with mismis its never a dull moment.....

           This as me reading up on the different breeds of cats and wondering if there are more cat lovers out there in Nigeria.

            So if you happen to come across Ibrahim and mismis, try to say hello ☺, friendly chaps.....

         

-Ajayi Babajide Olusegun

©2017

Photo-credit: Jide Ajayi Pet Photography and Seton Farms.

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        Hi! Am here again with another special family of dog lovers ,the SETONs, founder of  'SETON FARMS' , trust me you are in for a blast, I got to spend some time with the ever cheerful, intelligent and one of the founders of SETON FARMS Mrs. Salma Seton, Enjoy.

 1.) Please introduce yourself briefly and tell us what you do for a living?

 My name is Mrs Salma Seton and my husband Emmanuel Seton has always played around the agricultural sector. It is his interest that has finally led us to set up Seton Farms.

2.) Have you always loved dogs or someone inspired you to love dogs?

My early orientation included keeping pets. All around me people kept and loved animals. It was a natural thing to do. Something I've never actually questioned come to think about it. My preference has always been for dogs. Although I don't mind cats.

3.) Also noticed almost all your dogs are Boerboels , why is that?

 Our primary breed at Seton Farms is the South African Boerboel, yes but we also happen to own one female Rottweiler we imported from Serbia. I was introduced to the Boerboel by my husband who happened to take a special liking to the breed. Before then he had a romance with the Rottweiler. Naturally he kept the German Shepherd Dog back in the day. I would love any dog that is in my care and with whom I have developed a relationship. I love dogs period.

 4.) How many dogs do you own presently and what breeds?

Presently we own 11 Boerboels and 1 Rottweiler.

 5.) I see Seton farms a lot in your dog pictures, is Seton farms only for dogs?

  Seton Farms is primarily an integrated livestock farm. The farm has facilities for poultry, piggery and fishery. The kennel is simply another arm.

6.) How do you cope feeding all of them, especially remembering all their names?

 The dogs are part of the family and each is unique. Knowing their names is like knowing the names of ones children. Feeding Boerboels on the other hand is a huge effort. They're big dogs with large appetites. Feeding them right is a huge expense but a great future investment. Because their wellbeing largely depends on eating right. Our dogs' wellbeing is important to us. I believe this says it all.

 7.) Do you have a favourite amongst all your dogs?

 No. I love all of them but differently. They are all unique and special at the same time. Exactly like one's children.

 8.) I noticed your dog pictures were taken professionally, why did you decide to go that route instead of simply using your phone camera to take their pictures?

 I always wanted our dogs presented properly. Honestly I really would like to do this myself and I still actually have withdrawal syndrome for letting go. My husband is even worse off because he fancies himself a photographer and even has some photography gear. So when I decided we should go PRO I met with a lot of resistance from both him and me. To cut a long story short I had started thinking up a vision of our dogs and their brand. And needed this interpreted sharply. Nothing concrete ooh but then I wanted a partner to assist me with the vision. So I took a deep breath and the plunge. I went with my intuition in choosing a partner and the rest is history. I wouldn't have it any other way. It's a long journey I can look forward to. Am so glad my vision has taken us in this direction and we've found the right partner.

9.) Wow, nice. Where do you see Seton farms in another 10yrs in the aspect of dog breeding?

 Although our journey of keeping Boerboels has been on for almost 10 years, yet in many aspects it only just begun. The sector has been so far unregulated in Nigeria and it has been difficult to look too far ahead. So we have been taking it one day at a time. But ours is a big vision and it is a new dawn for the Nigerian Boerboel breeder. We are so excited to be in the thick of this renaissance. Seton Farms is now a member of Boerboel Dog Breeders Association of Nigeria (BDBAN) an affiliate of South African Boerboel Breeders Society (SABBS) and we anticipate better opportunities to leverage and plan ahead. One thing we are definitely here to stay.

10.) Excellent, so what's your advise for anyone hoping to get a Boerboel?

Hi! Am here again with another special dog lover in person of Mr. Adeleye Ajibike, founder of 'KENNEL AJEEB' , trust me you are in for a blast.

What breed was your first dog and how old were you sir?

Mongrel (Nigerian indigenous dog) and I was 15yrs old.

Tell us a bit about your mongrel sir?

Her was czarina, I used to call her pure mongrel, she was well kept, she stayed indoors, she had her own tooth brush, towel, she slept in my room, she was very obedient.
   Her first litter was about 3 pups.

Are you a Christian or a Muslim sir?

I am a Muslim.

Wow, how come you were allowed to keep dogs as a child, I know most Muslims don't like dogs?

I was 15yrs old, I kept insisting and disturbing my parents for a puppy, where that passion came from I can't tell , So I got my 1st mongrel for 500naira we lived in a rented apartment at the time so czarina was indoors we used to share the same bed, eat at the dining table together, bath together, share the same pillow  etc.... My mum couldn't help but see that burning passion anytime she returned from work and I had slept off after completing my assignments, i would sleep on the carpet she would see czarina sharing pillow with me and she would be like 'ema gbami o' What's the meaning of this but there was nothing she could do She grew to like dogs based on how serious I was with dogs My dogs were never dirty never had ticks, they stayed healthy I devoted all my time at that age
to the dogs I had then, they were good companions , before I knew it, my mother would get biscuit bone from the market for czarina , anytime I need to play with czarina and I didn't see her around , would see her with my mother in the kitchen That was how my mother fell in love with dogs,  If my dogs had ticks and were smelly and not well taken care of she wouldn't have obliged I owned one back then.

Did you get any other breed then?

I had a German Shepherd dog (GSD) I named him Beanie.

How did you cope with your education, especially during your university education?

Well, then I made sure I came home every weekend to check up on my dogs, I was a student of Olabisi Onabanjo University, my mum also helped out.

So I see you specialise in boerboels and rottweilers, Tell us a bit about your experience with boerboels and Rottweilers?

I got my first Boerboel during my university days, her name was cassie , she didn't have any litter until after 7 years, many would have opted out, I kept because it was more of passion for me and also because I was a fan of Hip Hop music, DMX used to own pittbulls then, that also inspired me.
Back then I had some people I used to call my mentor then, they would tell you its ok to start breeding your bitch at 10 months, I guess that's why I had issues with breeding then but I didn't relent, I wanted to know more , invested my time in more research, got another Boerboel after cassie died but didn't breed her to any stud till she was about 20 months old and she had 11 pups. her name was britney.
I applied the same rules to my Rottweilers and back then what I recognized as quality then isn't what I recognize as quality now.

Wow, so how did your orientation about boerboels and Rottweilers change, regarding to the stock you have?

Well, I was surfing the internet one day, saw a few kennels existing in Nigeria, one particular kennel I was fascinated with was AJÁRTODÁR KENNELS , especially because I had seen the name in a dog magazine before with boerboels and Rottweilers, I had previous called a few but they didn't sound like they knew what they were doing.
So I called Ajartodar kennels, and enquired for a rottweiler, the person I was speaking with was Mr. Funso Akin-Amuwa, I was expecting him to tell me price immediately but he asked a question 'what do you need a rottweiler for' , I replied by saying to breed of course because that question didn't sound ok to me then but I wanted to know why he asked so I kept my cool and stayed on the phone, he now said the person that referred you to me referred you to the wrong person but I old him no one referred me to him, being in shock was an understatement to how I felt then, I now asked why or isn't he Ajartodar kennels again, he said he's the one but he doesn't sell his pups to people that don't have plan, I was just confused.
  He now asked me to describe what a rottweiler should look like, when I did, he laughed and said I don't know anything, I felt insulted but I kept quiet because he was different , he tried explaining with some professional terms, I just humbled myself and listened, we were on the phone for like an hr before I ran out of airtime, then he called back and spoke to me for almost 2hrs, my mind was blown, he was surprised with my humility because most would have hung up and I explained to him I was looking at someone to point me in the right direction because I want to do this right.
  He told me about a litter he had but he said he wouldn't sell to me, I was just wondering what kinda human being I was speaking with but then again we exchanged BB pins then and sent me pictures of some of his dogs, then I asked for price of his pups, it was triple the usual amount most people were selling back then, I was shocked again, I told him it was high , he told me well, I told you I wouldn't sell to you before and these pups are breeding quality pups, I was just wondering what was going on but then I didn't relent I asked him when he would have another litter,he told me to keep in touch, by then time I was getting my boerboel and rottweiler pups from him, I was expecting him to sit me down and lecture but he just told me to familiarize myself with the breed standard, that's when I realised the word pedigree existed and it wasn't just a word, my mind was blown it felt like another world entirely, I let go of my old stock to focus on my foundation stock.

Why were you interested in his boerboels when you wanted to buy just rottweilers?

I saw some of his boerboels and was impressed with what I saw and compared to the boerboels and Rottweilers I had, also most of the pups I got from him were bred in Europe and South Africa, also he pushed me to knowledge.

So Mr. Funso Akin-Amuwa became your mentor?

Yes, he opened my eyes and while I did my personal research I would show him some things I didn't understand and he would put me through, I learnt about health,conformation , temperament etc.

So it was passion that drove you to do all this?

Yes, everything you see about 'KENNEL AJEEB' now is passion driven, plus my good friend/ brother from another mother Adefemi Davies (HO3D Graphics) started animal photography because he was inspired by our passion for dogs, he takes all my dog pictures too and he's an excellent photographer I must confess, I would show him pictures from the internet and show him the kind of pictures we should achieve, also Mr. Funso pushed me to taking good pictures because if I send him pictures that don't represent my dogs well, he would be blunt and I went back to the drawing board till I got proper pictures.

How do you cope with work and dogs?

Well... I am a production supervisor which requires a lot of time, stress and work but still I made time for my dogs, if not for the passion I would have just quitted breeding dogs, trust me its not easy but the passion didn't let me quit.

So you only breed boerboels and Rottweilers?

Yes.

Now, that KENNEL AJEEB has gone world wide, if someone calls you for a Boerboel or rottweiler , would you treat them the same way Mr. Funso treated you?

Err, I have a similar but slightly different approach, I try to tutor whoever contacts me, am also a trained sales rep, was trained when I worked at a bank, so now, if I want to sell a Boerboel or rottweiler to you, I try to enlighten you on what I have and also try to know the kind of dog you want but if I don't have what you want I don't sell, because most don't know about bloodlines or pedigree, I give my prospective clients links to check, post to read I also get to know their purpose for getting boerboels and Rottweilers from me, I also follow up because it helps me to also improve, also I don't just breed, I plan each breeding and I can almost tell you how a pup from my litter would turn out because of my expectations and knowledge have gotten from the bloodlines am trying to combine.

Wow,so presently how many dogs do you have?

Well, I have about 15 dogs, plus I 'll be retaining more pups from my breedings , should be looking forward to my second generation of Boerboel pups in 2016.

This is interesting, please what does it cost to feed  and care for these dogs because I know, its not easy for dogs to always look nice?

Babajide, it is expensive , I am not going to sugar coat it, it is expensive , I spend a lot  on my dogs per month, I buy a lot of cow bones, chicken, fish, top quality dry food, I don't joke with my dogs food, I don't compromise when it comes to their feeding.

Now, you are working , your care for dogs, do you do this alone?

Yes , alone, I also live alone, I bath them regularly and make sure they are in top shape.

What advise would you give to aspiring breeders or future dog owners out their who would like to own Boerboels or rottweilers?

Yeah, have always told people,breeding isn't about business, its passion because there's a misconception about breeding being a business, well, to me dog breeding is passion, am also an aspiring breeding, I also have a long way to go,  am just creating a standard for myself.

Would you say a prospective Boerboel or rottweiler owner doesn't need to import to get top quality pups/dogs, today?

Yes but it depends, that would have to be a person that has a plan, if what he's looking for is in Nigeria why import??? But if its not maybe he/she might, it all balls down to purpose, you can't just breed dogs of the same breed anyhow, especially when both dogs are pedigree dogs from the same breed but it doesn't necessarily mean they are compatible, infact, you are breeding to correct faults, cement traits and not breed to just produce dogs with faults, there has to be a plan.... A lot of aspiring breeders in Nigeria are trying, we can't keep on importing, we have a lot of bloodlines in Nigeria especially for the Boerboels, your motive to import should be driven by purpose or plan for your breeding program and not just because you see a beautiful puppy online.

How can our readers / doglover contact you to buy thier future dogs /pups from you sir?

I can be reached via whatsapp 09026887918, phone: 08057680384, instagram: @K.Brott

Wow, am so inspired by you sir, you are so being my mentor ☺.