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A Tribute to Our Members
Member Profiles Current Featured Profile
NWRRC Member Profile: Marykay Ligocki, Member since 1999
Marykay Ligocki is currently a director on the NWRRC board and has served on the board in many capacities since she joined in 1999. She founded and still runs the Club’s annual Fun Days, is an admin on the Club’s Facebook page, and serves as an area mentor for RRCUS.
Marykay is known far and wide as an experienced breeder behind the Java Ridgebacks kennel name and more recently has partnered with Jeanette Ennis under the Java-RRelativity Ridgebacks kennel name.
She enjoys a wide variety of activities and pursuits with her dogs including conformation, rally, lure coursing, agility, tracking, herding, scent work, and brace! Marykay likes to say that her happy place is with puppies.
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Education & Professional Background
 I graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana with a BS in pre-med/pre-vet. From the time I was four years old until just before my junior year of undergrad, I wanted to be a vet until I became disillusioned with the state of the vet program there at that time. I then fell into a research job at Southern Illinois Med School and I loved it! I then spent 35 years as a technical scientist and senior research associate in academia and biotech, mostly in oncology and inflammatory disease research.
Ridgebacks
From the time I moved to the Seattle area (1989), I spent a tremendous amount of time each year at the Seattle Kennel Club dog show, despite the fact that I had no desire to get a show dog. I liked just sitting ringside and watching dogs, asking questions, and learning about different breeds. I happened to take our cat to a new vet and I told them that I was trying to decide on a dog breed. They asked me the characteristics I wanted and said they thought I needed to look at Ridgebacks. I truly had never noticed them!
I spent about a year investigating and watching the dogs and their breeders. Lois Hunter had a litter that ended up being one of those perfect situations where there were lots of show pups in the litter and the waiting list for pets was miles long. Karen McClelland (co-breeder) and Lois convinced me that I could jump the line if I would agree to show. I was skeptical but agreed, thinking I would fulfill my obligation and then just go back to performance stuff. I was sold from the first show. I met more people with whom I enjoyed spending time during the first six months of dog shows than I had since I’d moved to the Pacific Northwest!Â
Member Spotlight
Gale Severson
Gale Severson, Member Since 1990
Gale Severson, of Mwen-Yezi Ridgebacks, joined our Club in 1990, just a year after it was formed. She has been on the board a few times, has contributed a ton to supported entries over the years, is widely respected as a breeder, and is known for her warm, authentic, and kind character. Gale joined RRCUS in 1995 and has been active in that club as well. She’s been in charge of rosettes at the National Specialty off and on since 2017, and 2024 marks her 5th time doing so. To know Gale is to love Gale so we are thrilled to be able to profile her here.
Jillyn Myers
Jillyn Myers (1958-2020), Member from 2000 to 2020
Jillyn Myers of Aegis Rhodesian Ridgebacks was an extraordinary friend to countless members of our Ridgeback community, one of our Club’s most accomplished breeders (over 70 AKC Champions, including Best of Breed at Westminster, along with tens of dozens of other AKC titles), and simply a wonderful human being.
Each year at the Cascade Hound Show, our Club honors Jillyn with memorial trophies and plaques. As I was thinking about how to even begin to write about her, it occurred to me that maybe the best way to profile Jillyn would be to ask those who perhaps knew her best and longest from within our Club and in the RR community at large. My hope is that those of you who never knew her will gain a better understanding of why the NWRRC honors her and that you might be inspired as well.
Debbie Brower
Debbie Brower, Member since 1995
Debbie Brower is the breeder behind Jesmyster Ridgebacks and recent past president of the NWRRC. Her dogs are well-known throughout the US but particularly here in the Pacific Northwest, where Debbie and her Jesmyster RRs are consistent winners in all that she does with them: conformation, obedience, agility, rally, fastcat, trick dog and lure coursing. Debbie is an AKC CGC evaluator, a RRCUS ringside mentor for judges and has taught obedience since the mid-90’s in the Tri-cities area of WA. Her favorite classes to teach are STAR Puppy Classes. In addition to being a member of RRCUS, Debbie is an AKC Breeder of Merit and has been highly involved in our club since she joined in 1995. Debbie and her husband Jim live in Kennewick, WA, and have a working sheep farm and a number of other farm animals. They’re also recent foster fails of “Wingnut,” a rescue Ridgeback from a Midwest puppy mill.
Kathy Thompson
Kathy Thompson, Founding Member, 1989
Kathy Thompson, of K-Tai Rhodesian Ridgebacks, was a founding member of our Club, which was formed in 1989! She has served on the board at various times and was a two-term Club President. Kathy says, “I don’t think the club has changed much except for the increase in numbers and the Facebook group. The club still makes education a priority and welcomes new Ridgeback owners. We also still have hard workers and great enthusiasm.” Kathy has been a resource for untold numbers of RR people in the Pacific Northwest and her dogs’ pedigree can be found nationwide. Kathy has been breeding Ridgebacks since 1980 - her foundation bitch was “Tai,” Ch Askari’s Tai of DeGeare CDX TD and a weight pull champion. Yes, you read that correctly: a weight pull champion. Kathy has done a wide variety of things with her dogs, and in addition to weight pull, there’s everything from truffle hunting to lure coursing, obedience, and conformation.
Jennie & Joe Piott
Jennie & Joe Piott - Lifetime Members
Jennie (Jeanette) and Joe Piott, of Kuwinda Rhodesian Ridgebacks, joined the NWRRC in late 1989, just after the club was formed. In fact, they were at the very first club meeting. We all owe the two of them a great deal, especially regarding their contributions to Ridgebacks and lure coursing, as Joe was one of the very earliest enthusiasts and advocated for our breed competing in lure coursing as an AKC-recognized event! Our club honored them a few years ago with a lifetime membership.
Not too long ago, I had the pleasure of speaking with the delightful Jennie Piott. I got to learn a lot more about her and Joe, who passed away in 2022. I was also able to learn more about both of the Piotts and their Kuwinda Rhodesian Ridgebacks through the comments, contributions, and background from club members Marykay Ligocki, Betsy Metcalf, Kathy Thompson, and Rosalie Sterner. Likewise, I thank each of them for contributing.
Jennie (Jeanette) Piott, with one of her beloved Rhodesian Ridgebacks, Anna, GCHB DC KUWINDA'S TATUAGGIO DELLA ROSA SC.
