Wil-Orion English Springer Spaniels is a four generation family endeavor that started in 1969 with the purchase of Janice’s first Springer. We grew to a two family kennel with the marriage of Steve and Janice in 1985 and finally a three family kennel with Erica and her daughter in 2011. Erica's daughter, Riley, became the 4th generation of Wil-Orion ladies.
Wil-Orion has always aspired to become one of the top breeders of English Springer Spaniels. To that end, we have strived to breed Springers that are competitive in both breed and performance events while still retaining their hunting heritage, all while performing their most important task…which is to be an outstanding member of someone’s family. This is a long way of indicating that we place a high degree of importance on both conformation and temperament. We have committed over 40 years to our desire to improve the breed.
We are confident that no other Springer breeder subjects their breeding stock to more health clearances than we do. These include:
· OFA certification of hips
· OFA certification of elbows
· DNA testing for PRA
· Annual eye examinations, including registration with CERF
· Cardiac examination and certification
· Thyroid testing and certification
Janice has been the expert behind the Wil-Orion breeding program from day one. She became a student of the breed at a very young age, and has been very adept at evaluating dogs and pedigrees to determine where to go with her breeding program and then evaluating puppies at 8-weeks of age. Erica is following in her mother’s footsteps. She became very interested in breeding and evaluating dogs at a young age, and now appears to be poised to continue this for years to come. She will play a significant role in the future of Wil-Orion English Springer Spaniels.
This web site was developed by Dan Davis with contributions from Erica (logo) and Steve (content). Steve has become the technology expert in the family and will be maintaining the web site and adding new features. This seems to fit well with two of his hobbies, building PC’s and photography.