Daily Inspiration: Meet Samantha Choffel and Maddy Marshall

Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha Choffel and Maddy Marshall.

Samantha and Maddy, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
We started out in small-town Pennsylvania finishing out our last two years of college. A friend of Maddy’s had mentioned that he was going to have a litter of Brittany puppies hitting the ground in April of that year and if we wanted one we could have the first pick. As two excited college students that we were, we decided to research the breed. Anything and everything about them, what they were bred to do, breed standards, weight, nutrition, and how much it would cost to have a dog. We were beyond excited!

Then came the disappointment, there were no puppies-it was a false pregnancy. We were absolutely devastated we had bought everything you would need for those first couple months of raising a new puppy. So we ended up diving into Facebook and joined probably seven or more different Brittany groups. Until we found a family in West Virginia that had just had a litter of puppies a week or two before.

We contacted the family and they ended up letting us come down to meet the puppies at three weeks old and that was when we picked out Malley and fell absolutely in love. We returned when she was eight weeks old to pick her up and we knew that she was meant to be ours. Unlike her siblings who were jumping and barking at the door, she was sleeping by herself in their room. She has been confident and independent since the day that we brought her home.

Fast forward about a year we were in the middle of the pandemic, Malley had just turned a year old and she had already accomplished so much. Malley was just beginning her career in agility with our good friends and trainers at Family Dog Obedience. After having just completed two of her titles; trick dog novice (TKN) and a canine good citizen (CGC). For TKN the dogs complete 10 tricks of your choice and for CGC they complete 10 commands from a list.

Two months later we were graduating and packing up everything we owned and moving to Raleigh, North Carolina. We were in a new state, a new city, and new jobs so we decided what better time to introduce a new dog as well.! This time we were a little better off and smarter so we contacted a couple of Brittany breeders near us. We found BrierRidge Kennels in Virginia and that’s how we ended up with Holden!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
One challenge we faced right away was making sure we took care of Malley’s high energy needs while also getting our classwork done. We managed to work out a good schedule where Malley got an off-leash hike in the mornings, we got schoolwork done during her nap, and then an organized, on-leash, training walk on campus in the afternoon. We also managed to take Malley to 1-2 training classes each week.

Another challenge we faced was the entire move to North Carolina. We decided we wanted a break from the snow and chose to look at Raleigh because it’s in a great location. However, Sam had never even been to North Carolina so we took a week to drive down, with Malley, and car camped at state game lands.

During that week we managed to get Maddy a job and find an apartment! And of course, still found time to get Malley some exercise and our schoolwork completed.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Maddy works as a contractor for duke energy. Her job title is a Utility Forester. She works to make sure that transmission lines remain clear of hazardous vegetation.

Sam works as the before and after school director for Abbotts Creek Elementary, running the day-to-day program for the kids. But what she is most passionate about is working with individuals of varying ages and disabilities.

However, we’re most proud of working anywhere from 40-80 hour weeks and managing to get Malley and Holden out for exercise, daily training, and group classes!

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
We wouldn’t be anywhere without Family Dog Obedience in Butler, PA. They gave us our foundation for obedience and agility with Malley. We still keep in touch with all our friends regularly.

Next, Teamworks Dog Training in Youngsville, NC. Malley has come so far in her agility training thanks to their friendly faces and trainers. Malley thrives at agility class and it helps to build our overall communication! We also wouldn’t be anywhere if it weren’t for our friend, Andrew Koksal owner of North Country Brittany’s, who helped us with every step of learning about upland hunting. He also introduced us to NAVHDA.

NAVHDA is a volunteer-based hunting dog organization. We’ve been able to let Malley do what she’s bred to do while also learning how to control her crazy instincts in the field. We wouldn’t be where we are today without the support and help from everyone!

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/malleythebirddog?utm_medium=copy_link
• Other: https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPd2Qn6jx/