Karen Prickett Miller, formerly of South Lyon, Michigan, found peace on May 26, 2022, with loved ones by her side.

 Karen was born on August 25, 1941 (she described sharing a whelping pen with her family’s cocker spaniel litter) and grew up in the Midwest. She enjoyed traveling with her salesman father and her mother, who fostered in her a love of the Indianapolis 500 and the Kentucky Derby. After Karen graduated from high school, she was accepted to The Juilliard School as a violinist, but chose to stay in the Midwest and attend the Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati.

 Upon graduation, Karen’s path took an interesting turn when she accepted a job at a prestigious kennel and subsequently obtained her professional dog handler’s license. Karen bred and showed sporting dogs for over 50 years. She and her husband Mickey owned the English Springer Spaniel Adamant James, who was named Best in Show at Westminster in consecutive years (the last dog to do so). Later in her career, Karen shifted her focus to English Toy Spaniels and became a respected expert on the breed. Working as a team, she and her husband Jim bred, prepared, and showed English Toy Spaniels throughout the country. Karen conducted seminars both here and abroad. She was always willing to share her love and wisdom of the profession with anyone who wanted to handle or breed dogs seriously.

 Karen was so thankful for the dear friends who took care of her, her home, and her animals when she no longer could, especially Henriette, Karen & Diane, Dawn, Ann & Rich, Jake & John, Mark & Karin, Tony & Courtney, and all the others in her “village” who lent a hand when needed. She lives on in the incredible dogs she bred and/or presented, and the people who were fortunate enough to meet, spend time with, and learn from her in the dog show world. She was preceded in death by her parents, William and Margaret Kirk Meek, and her husbands, Dr. Milton E. “Mickey” Prickett and James R. Miller.

 Her friends are forever grateful to the amazing staff at Lakewood Alzheimer’s Special Care Center who gave Karen such tender, loving, and supportive care during her last months. They saw through her fear and frustration and very quickly earned her trust, her respect, and her love. They can never know what a profound difference they made for Karen and those who loved her.

Out of respect for Karen’s wishes, no services will be held. Memorial donations to your charity of choice are greatly appreciated, and we offer the following suggestions: TakeTheLead.org, EnglishToySpanielClubOfAmerica.org, EnglishSpringerFoundation.org.