Meet Mike and Cathy Stewart, Founders of Wildrose Kennels International
Michael H. Stewart - Co-Founder of Wildrose International
Mike Stewart is the President of Wildrose International which hosts full-service kennels in Oxford, Mississippi, Dallas Texas, Mebane, North Carolina, and Kohler, Wisconsin with additional training facilities in Colorado and Arkansas. Mike is best known for his appearance on Ducks Unlimited TV’s, “World of Ducks”, along with DU’s retriever training online features with Drake and Deke, the DU Mascots.
Mike and his dogs have appeared in over 75 national television programs on hunting and training gundogs. He conducts retriever training workshops throughout the United States instructing in his unique dog training methodology, “The Wildrose Way,” a balanced way to develop versatile, sporting companions. He has produced two comprehensive training DVDs entitled, “Training the Wildrose Way,” The Gentlemen’s Gundog series and published a book in 2012, Sporting Dog and Retriever Training, the Wildrose Way. In conjunction with Purina ProPlan, Mike produced a video series on “Starting Your Pup the Wildrose Way” along with three Emmy-award winning lifestyle testimonials.
Mike and Cathy are the publishers of the Wildrose Journal which is the largest disseminated online magazine dedicated to the Sporting Dog Lifestyle and founders of the Wildrose Service Companion Foundation, a Mississippi-based non-profit whose mission is to provide assistance dogs for therapy and service to individuals with special needs.
A law enforcement officer for 25 years, Mike retired as Chief of Police for the University of Mississippi. He is a graduate of the University of Mississippi and the FBI National Academy, in Quantico, Virginia. He was inducted into the Mississippi Wildlife Hall of Fame in 2018 and the University of Mississippi Alumni Hall of Fame in 2021. Mike retired from the US Navy Reserves in 2005 as a Commander after over 20 years of service.
Cathy Stewart, Co-Founder of Wildrose International
Cathy Stewart is vice-president and co-owner of Wildrose International. Together, she and Mike provide oversight and support for each of the Wildrose regional facilities: Wildrose Mississippi, Wildrose Carolinas, Wildrose Texas and Wildrose Midwest. She is also the co-publisher of the Wildrose Journal.
Cathy taught first and second graders for 20 years locally. After becoming Nationally Board Certified, she was hired by Ole Miss to create the World Class Teaching Program, a program that mentors and supports teachers pursuing National Board Certification. She earned her doctorate in 1995, was inducted into the Mississippi Teacher Hall of Fame in 2002, and inducted into the University of Mississippi School of Education Hall of Fame in 2017. Throughout the summers of her teaching career, she assisted in coordinating the annual William Faulkner Conference at the University of Mississippi.
Many people who own Wildrose Labradors talked with Cathy on the phone as she was the “voice” of Wildrose for over 15 years, when she sold and placed puppies, and was the office manager and bookkeeper for Wildrose Kennels.