I grew up with dogs.  The first dog of my childhood was Jim, a springer spaniel that was actually my grandfather's wedding gift to my father.  Jimmer was a benevolent supervisor of children and enthusiastic hunter.  Following Jim came a succession of dogs that I don't clearly recall...one called Puddles and Piles because, well, you can figure it out!  The next dog of my childhood memory was Big Red, son of Freddy, the roaming neighborhood lothario.  He had an unsolicited relationship with our "Ginger" mutt, and Red was the puppy we kept.  Red was the best dog a kid could ask for, and my constant companion. 

Then my Dad decided, on a hunting trip to Colorado, to purchase a German Shorthaired  Pointer.  He bred several litters but the dogs never participated in any formal trial or evaluation, and were kennel dogs who came out to hunt.

 

  You might notice that in the picture at right, the pups are attempting to nurse on my sister's male, Ben. Confused little buggers!

Several dogs later, I was settled in Appleton and wanted to get the German Shepherd Dog I had always wanted.  The Police Department picked up a ratty little, big-eared GSD as a stray and I decided that would be the one.  I named her Radar.  Radar was a sweet, shy dog who learned easily but did not enjoy large training classes, which made her uneasy.  She became the companion of Baron von Linden, pictured with her, my first "registered" GSD.  Bear went to classes.  Bear went to fun matches.  Bear was with me on the Iron Range at a cluster show, and got the first leg of his CD when he began limping badly. I had to pull him and take him to the vet, where he was diagnosed with severe hip dysplasia.

Bear's breeders had taken me to my first schutzhund trial, at the Northern Illinois Club.  I remember the day.  I slept through a deer grazing the van, but woke for the cold, rainy day.  I was hooked!  At the time I was also trying to convince my Police Department that we needed a K9 Unit and I was IT!  After the experience with Bear I decided my next dog would be from German lines.  Sandee Filo helped me to find a young male that had been returned to his breeder, Bob Hanus.  I called him Eros.  Exx vom Heiliger Huegel was born Jan 12, 1984. His sire was Xaco von der Herreniche III and the dam was Zeda von her Herreniche.  His story is much too long to tell here, because he played such an important part in my life.  Together, Eros and I did his BH, SchH 1, 2, 3, DPO I, WPO and PSP.  We even had a brief but unsuccessful (too hard on the sheep!) foray into herding.

Shortly after returning from Germany, I accompanied a friend to look at a pup her friend had and was looking for a home for.  She didn't like him, but I took him, mostly to spare him from the crate that hadn't been cleaned of feces and the nasty child that kept poking at him.  His name was Reiko.  I took him along with me to the schutzhund club and later found a home for him with our accountant, who worked him in schutzhund for a brief time and then retired him as a house companion, where he lived to the end of his days, totally and happily spoiled.  This photo is of (left to right) Reiko, Lex and Eros together in our backyard.

I brought back Lex from Germany as a youngster.  I was able to get him because the breeder wasn't sure if his bite would correct itself (it did).  Lex vom Larchenhain was bred by Helmut Buss and born on October 26, 1989. His sire was Lanzo von der Steinhagerquelle and the dam was Fee vom Larchenhain.  I did an AD and the SchH1 with Lex and sold him.   

Later I received a puppy sired by Lex that I kept and trained for a time and then gave to a friend, whose own dog had died.  You can see the resemblance in these photos.  His name is Hero vom Haus Kuhn II.  He has a BH, earned with his proud owner, Shari Blohm, and is also a therapy dog.

 During this time I evaluated, purchased and sold several dogs for police service. Others were trained and sold as pets or sport dogs, and still others were rescue dogs that I re-homed.   I am proud of their accomplishments, too.

Ajax was a Czech shepherd that I purchased and retrained after he had become aggressive with his handler and their family.  He was sold to a police department on the east coast. Unfortunately, I don't have a good photo of him, but he was a very dark sable.  He was a dual-purpose dog .

Ava was purchased from Shamrock Acres, in Wisconsin and was sold as a narcotics detection dog prospect to the South Dakota State Police.  Years later, when Tom was hunting there and eating in a little cafe he heard stories of "Ava" and her success.  I believe one of her first assignments was the Sturgis run.

I don't have a photograph of Sam, another black labrador retriever.  I called him Sam-I-am.  He was a very nice young dog that I sold as a narc prospect to a trainer out east, who in turn placed him with a handler from.....Madison, Wisconsin!!  I ran into the dog several years ago when I was assisting in judging the narc dogs at the State Police and Fire Games.  Small world!

Chocolate Chipper was another labrador I purchased from an area breeder.  He went into Custom's Service and successfully graduated their program.

Iwo von Gazbachtal was purchased as a SchHIII, KK1.  I handled him for his breed survey.  He was sold without ever trialing him. 

Senta vom Mohrenfelsnerland had her BH when I purchased her.  She had a natural aptitude for herding, and earned her Herding Instinct Certificate in one day.  We also completed a SchH1.   She was sold to a family in the area who adored her.  Senta passed away in 2002 of cancer.  Tom's nickname for her was "Sweetness" because she had the most gentle, brown eyes and loving personality.

Rocco was a black labrador retriever that Tom trained and sold as a started dog.

Ahhhh...Rex.   This was a malinois (mix) that I got from my friend with the Border Patrol.  Turns out he was working in Texas but was allergic to mesquite and sage!  Not good!  In addition to that, he had torsioned but was now doing fine.  "Do you want a dual purpose dog for free?" my friend asked.  I did.  This was one tough dog!  He would crush a sleeve with his grip, was exceptional in narcotics detection.  There were only two problems:  he hated my husband and pretty much anyone who wasn't me, and he had colitis.  The first one we could deal with, but the second cost him his life.

Tessa was rescued from the Erv Stebane farm where dogs were being sold for research.  A group active in those rescues asked me to help with several GSDs.  Tessa received training, socialization and was sent to New Mexico to be a SAR dog.

Tasha was probably a litter mate to Tessa.  After socialization and training she was placed in a pet home in the area.

Bandit was another Stebane dog.  In fact, the man who bred him had knowingly sold him to his "friend".  Bandit was accepted into the training program for Leader Dogs for the Blind,  which was a great accomplishment given his start in life.  Unfortunately, he proved to be too big and strong for their candidates and was placed in a pet home through the training center.

Arlie Everblack was Tom's dog when we met.  Arlie was a Senior Hunter and had one leg toward his Master.   He was tolerant and well-adjusted enough to totally turn his life upside down and live with a cat and German Shepherds!  We lost Arlie and Eros one year apart.

Kilo vom Steinig Tal crossed the Rainbow Bridge in 2006. 

He was always smiling!  Kilo had greater potential than I had problem-solving skills at the time he entered my life.

These are just some of the dogs that have passed through our home.  Each one has left its footprint in our lives and we are better for having known them.