McHan Cairns was conceived in the early 1980's by Nancy's parents, Frank and Clare Hanna. They were interested in obtaining a sturdy little dog that would be able to survive both in and out of doors. After researching several breeds, Nancy's parents settled on the Cairn Terrier, for their good looks, sturdy build, and adaptable disposition. In the early years, Nancy's parents were not interested in showing dogs, but this later changed as they became active in the Cairn Terrier Club of Northern California, eventually putting on many specialty shows and holding many club offices over the years. The kennel name, McHan, is actually a combination of Nancy's parents last names...her father (Hanna) and her mother's maiden name (McConnell).
Nancy's parents are now in their 80's, they retired from dog breeding, but still have several retired champions to warm their hearth and keep them company.
Am/Mex/Int CH. McHan's British Sterling
As their only daughter interested in animals, Nancy Hanna-Lovelady became involved in Cairns in her early twenties, learning to groom and handle the McHan Cairns, as both parents were not terribly fond of the show ring. Nancy learned to trim initially from her mother, from other Cairnites and by observing other professionals. For the past 20 years, she has actively bred and shown Cairn Terriers, most often for herself, but occasionally for others. Nancy has been and currently still is involved in several breed clubs, on both the local and national level, holding a variety of club offices and committees over the years.
McHan has bred many champions over the last 20 years, and has met some very fascinating people along the way, as well as traveling to some exotic locales, including the UK, New Zealand, most of the western US and parts of Mexico, in search of shows, titles and dogs! One such "fascinating person" is Nancy's good friend, Diana Bullard, who has joined forces with her for the last 5 years in the pursuit of building a "better Cairn", and is now the other "half" of McHan Cairns.