Albion Land Kennels was founded in 1975, when Sylvia Greene decided to have her first Wire Fox Terriers. When she was small she had heard stories from her Uncle Douglas´ Wire Fox Terrier called "Cesar" They were hilarious stories and she promised herself that whenever she could have a dog of her own it was definitely going to be a Wire Fox Terrier.
At Silvia´s childhood home there had been Scottish Terriers which her parents showed, and there had also been a Wire Fox Terrier before she was born (she had only seen pictures of him)
When the right time came, Sylvia went to a pet shop and saw a cute little bitch which she named "Laila". Laila went with Sylvia everywhere. Once, Sylvia happened to pass by a venue where there was a Dog Show in progress She decided to go in with Laila just "to visit" and take a look.
There, she admired all the dogs she saw, Laila had been clipped and didn´t look half as smart as the other dogs which were being entered that day. One of the breeder- exhibitors asked her about Laila and offered to stripp her himself, and Silvia accepted.
When the breeder stripped Laila later on, that week, he told Sylvia that Laila had "Show potential": she could be shown and "finished" towards her Championship..
So off Sylvia went to her first show. Laila was not as pretty as the rest of the Wires: Some were British imports which were impeccably groomed, But nontheless, Laila took "a first" in her class..
The extraordinary thing about this show was that the judge was Angel "Toto" Di Pace who was later going to be Sylvia´s husband and "alma pater" of
Albion Land Kennels!!
Sylvia "finished" Laila and bred her to one of the leading dogs of the time: English import Ch. Jarken Jethro, owned by Mr. Garfunkel. Later on following Mr. Garfunkel´s advice she imported a bitch from Uruguay with an outstanding pedigree and also "finished" her.A couple of years went by and Sylvia decided to import a Wire Fox Terrier from Ric Chasoudian Arg. Ch. Halsho Sotto Vocce (a son of the famous Eng. Ch. Seedfield Meritor Superflash)
"Tex" -as he was called- won some nice groups and Specialty Shows for Sylvia .She was delighted with him.!!
Later on she showed "Tex" under Toto Di Pace but "Tex" lost for the first time. That day Sylvia promised to herself that she would never again show her dogs under Mr. Di Pace. Which she did!! Three years later Toto and Sylvia were married and Toto "inherited" Sylvia´s wires.
At first Angel "Toto"Di Pace was puzzled with the Wires. Why on earth would Sylvia want these dogs? He had been showing, Borzois lately and they were a lot more peaceful! Little did he know that Wires would be his life´s passion, and that he would become "Mr. Wire Fox Terrier" in South America!!.
As Sylvia didn´t know a thing about stripping and grooming Toto undertook the task. They went to many shows and bred their first litters together. Sylvia had owned -at the time she married Toto- a dog (by Eng. Ch. Harrowhill Huntsman ex Townville Trail) which was being shown together with Albion Land Cover Girl which had been "finished" by Sylvia before their marriage.
When Javier Pardo, Sylvia´s handler travelled to USA he saw a Welsh dog which was being shown by Peter Green for owner Ric Chasoudian : he was Am. Ch. Cefnbryn Kibella "Bevin"; He had a fierce competetion because "Brat" (the famous Smooth Fox Terrier) was being shown by Ric at the time, so Ric had decided to sell "Bevin"to the Di Pace´s. Toto and Sylvia had asked Ric to send Bevin "all ready" to be shown that very weeek-end, and that is just what Ric did!! Bevin was such a beautiful sound dog and was so extraordinarily groomed that he won Reserved Best in Show under Swedish Judge Ivan Swedrup at a huge Show in BUENOS AIRES City only two days after he arrived!!! Not only that, the following year he became "Best Dog of ARGENTINA All Breeds 1981"won the "Challenger Cup" which had been under dispute for 12 years.
Later on Toto and Sylvia showed Arg. Ch. Mina´s Favourite "Puppy" on to be 2nd. Dog "Best Bred in the Country" in 1982. In 1984 a "home" bred puppy Albion Land Wonderful "Rosco"; owned by Mr. Battistone went 2nd Puppy of the Year and finished his Championship. In 1985, Toto and Sylvia´s dog Irish bred Ch. Blackdale Stargazer ("Gazer") won Best Terrier and Best Dog of the Year "Gazer" had been Best Pup on the Wire Fox Terrier´s Association in England for Mr. O´Donoghue of "Blackdale" fame..
In 1987 Albion Land acquired an outstanding bitch from Nancy Lee Wolf of Wyrelee Kennels: Ch. Wyrelee Ambiance. Sylvia and Toto had seen "Sassy" at the Long Island, Shows and at Montgomery Counties and fell in love with her instantly. They "pestered" Nancy until she agreed to sell her to them: she became "2nd. Bitch All Breeds of 1987" (only Fox Terrier bitch to have ever won 5 Best in Show´s (All Breeds) in South America.
In 1982 Albion Land imported a dog and a bitch from Wales: Ch Cefnbryn Megan ("Meg") and Ch.Cefnbryn Ardross ("Ted").
During 1986, Toto and Sylvia travelled to England and Wales and acquired a new dog with a fabulous pedigree: Ch Blackdale Cavalryman "Paddy" (he was by the famous Eng. And Am.Ch. Galsul Excellence and Cruft´s Breed Winner Eng. Ch. Ch. Galsul Silver Charm)
In 1988 they had another great winner: English import Am. Can. Ch. Eskwyre´s Miami Vice "Tristan" which was to become "Third Dog of the Year (All Breeds) 1988" "Tristan" also won "The Dog Festival Circuit in Brazil" under tough competition.That same year they showed Am. Ch. Brookhaven Special Blend,("Ross") (sired by Dutch , European and Am. Ch. Wyredresst Wait and See ex Am. Ch. Denidale Olga of Halsho ) which won some nice Groups for them and became a Best in Show Specialty Winner in ARGENTINA.
Meanwhile some Albion Land dogs were doing their "lot" of winning for their owners Ch.Albion Land Busy Body ("Chimino"in Chile for his owner Pedro Montan, "Chimino" was to become "Best Dog All Breeds" in Chile ).
Ch.Albion Land Honda Accord, Ch.Albion Land Squash and Ch.Albion Land The Boss were doing "their bit" for their owner Jorge Nallem of Uruguay.
That same year Sylvia travelled to USA to Montgomery Counties and brought back with her the outstanding dog Am Ch. Crizwood Kibble, a very young dog which became in time ARGENTINA´S Top Producer.
In 1992 Sylvia and Toto travelled to Europe and brought with them a dog of the famous Townville Kennels. English import Townville Todd of Saredon "Todd"