Eve M. Ballich    “EVEWIRE”   May 18, 1907 – April 3, 2006

 On April 3, 2006 the dog world lost one of their most devoted supporters and those of us who knew her one of our best friends.  Eve Ballich was a remarkable woman whose influence on Wire Fox Terriers will last for years.

Eve grew up on a farm in Iowa and trained to be a registered nurse and with her M.D. husband worked for many years at the prestigious Johns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland.  Around 1950 she retired from nursing and moved to a beautiful spot in the country with a large bank barn where several horses were kept.  It was this bank barn that soon became home to the famous Evewire Kennel. 

Eve was the last of an era of breeders who had very large kennels and private handlers.  Encouraged by such people as Winifred Heckman, Jimmy Butler, and George Hartmann, Eve finished her first homebred champion in the late 1950’s.  In the early 1960’s Sheena Garrett began handling for Eve and remained a part of Evewire until Eve’s death.  When Sheena began staying home to care for the day-to-day operations at the kennel, Eve continued to handle her own dogs.  With well over 100 homebred champions and many others acquired from other US & UK breeders, Eve remains one of the most successful breeder – owner – handlers of our time.  Handlers were a part of Evewire in later years and included most notably Eddie Boyes and Peter Green.  Their guidance took several Evewire Champions to BIS and group honors.

A real force in helping people get started in breeding and showing Wires, many of us would not be a part of this sport without the support we received from Eve.    A friend sent a note at her death that expresses our feelings so concisely.  “Even when confronted with the reality of Eve’s age, it is still so very difficult to think of a world without her presence.  She was one of those very rare individuals who left an indelible mark on the lives of all those who were privileged to know her.” “We who love Wire Fox Terriers can always be grateful that she chose that breed to nurture and promote.” 

Jo Hubbs