Before my husband, Phil and I got married in 1972, he had a black Afghan Hound as a pet. I was so intrigued with this unusual dog. He was smart, independent, a clown, sweet and gentle. We went to our first dog show in the fall of 1973 and immediately bought our first “show quality” Afghan. Between 1973 and our first litter in 1979, we had two children, Nancy and Rhiannon. Our kennel name “Kaliphna” is derived from Ka for Kathy, liph for Phil turned around and na for Nancy our first born child. Kaliph or Caliph also has middle eastern social status/religious connotations.
   We began with two bitches as a foundation to build from. There was the black, Kassans Aja of Kaliphna (Aja) sired by Ch.Kassans Johann Sebastian x Ambrosia Aruba, whelped Dec. 1977. And there was the blue domino, Esfahan Kaliphna of Zuvenda  (Hanna) sired by Ch.Mecca’s Falstaff x Ch.Esfahan Apache Tear, whelped Oct. 1975.  Aja was from a very successful combination that produced several champions for June Boone. Hanna was also from a very successful combination for Karen Usry and Jane Gaines. She was litter sister to SBIS Ch.Zuvenda Renegade of Esfahan and Ch.Zuvenda Winterhawke Esfahan. I want to thank June Boone, Jane Gaines and Karen Usry for their initial trust in us as a home for their dogs and later on for the advice and guidance they provided.

The Afghan Hound breeding program at Kaliphna has been closed for several years.  It was a wonderful experience, and one I'm proud to have been involved in. I will always hold a special place in my heart for the breed. As our busy lives become more involved in our other personal activities, there is less time to devote to the maintence of all of those coats!