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International Women's Day (March 8) is a global day for celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.

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International Women’s Day celebrates the women who step into spaces where they aren’t expected and quietly change what’s possible.

My mother was one of those women. She built a career when women were discouraged from doing so, raised a family twice over, and taught her daughters that strength and capability weren’t defined by gender. Anything I ever attempted — especially the things people said were impossible — came from the foundation she gave me.

The photo above was taken at the AKC Centennial Show. It captures a moment where two Chihuahuas, guided by a woman, could show exactly what even a dismissed breed in Obedience is capable of.

The Chihuahua in my lap was at his very first show that day. He made AKC history by earning top honors in Obedience at the Centennial event. The rest of his career followed a similarly remarkable path. The girl in my mother’s lap made history of her own as the first Chihuahua Champion to win an AKC All‑Breed High in Trial. Two of her nephews later repeated that achievement and made history many times over. These accomplishments remain rare; no other handler has taken Chihuahuas to this level before or since.

One woman and members of an underestimated breed of dogs rose together to every challenge placed before them. These achievements pushed beyond long‑held assumptions — much like the way many women have had to push past lowered expectations to earn recognition and success in their own fields.

On International Women’s Day, this photo is a reminder that progress often comes from quiet determination — from refusing to accept someone else’s idea of what is or isn’t possible.

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As a footnote: every Chihuahua mentioned here was bred, whelped, raised, trained, handled, owned, and loved by me — a woman. Women can and do carry many roles, whether in the dog world or in life. We can nurture, and we can achieve.