I started showing dogs in 1982, beginning with Weimaraners and on occasion, taking an Am Staf to show for my dear friend Hendrix Harper of Tonkawa Kennels. Although I have a love for both breeds, most likely these days you will find me in the Am Staf ring. My love and passion for this breed and the people in Am Stafs has grown tremendously. Both breeds, in their own respect are fantastic..each for different reasons.
Weimaraners
I obtained my first Weim in 1982. Her name was Crystal Blue Von Sniffer. She was a great dog, silver in color, had the correct amber eyes and was an avid rabbit hunter. Living in Texas, we see a lot of big rabbits, more commonly known as Jack rabbits. With absolute ease “Crissy” would chase one down and bring it back to us on a weekly basis. She was oh so proud of herself! Anyway, having a show horse background, I decided one day that I would take my girl and enter her in a little mini dog show, more commonly known in the dog show world as a match. So, into the tub went Crissy, trimmed up her toenails, brushed her out good and then off we went in pursuit of our first of what I was sure would be many blue ribbons! We got to the show site and I took a quick look around to size up the competition. There was one lady there with a really nice looking Weim puppy. She smiled kindly, looked down at my girl sizing her up and then went on about her business. Well, I thought, her girl sure doesn’t look like mine! My girl has a whole lot more bone, was definitely heavier and to me looked like a well-built Quarter Horse. Her girl, I thought with a sniff, was more like a long legged Thoroughbred/Arabian horse looking dog. Wondering which was the more correct; I thought again about what the standard said. Well, if you have ever looked closely at a breed standard, you can surely mold almost any dog in your possession to fit that description! “Ha,” I thought, “we got it made! I’m gonna haul home the blue today!” They called our class in, the judge was very nice and so was this other Weim enthusiast…but, I’m sure it was a conspiracy of sorts, because my girl walked out with the red ribbon. Second place….out of two entries.
Now, that just didn’t seem right to me, so I tracked down that lady who had the pretty blue ribbon hanging ever so slightly out of her pocket, and asked her what she thought of my girl. “Is she a little heavy?” I asked. The kind lady looked at me and said…”maybe a little. She sure is a pretty color though and her coat is very shiny.” I thanked her for her input and went on home to absorb what I had learned. Now mind you, I have a show horse background. So, I knew when someone asked you about their horse, if you thought it wasn’t a good one conformationally, and you didn’t really want to hurt their feelings, you would say something nice about the color or how shiny the coat was. So, I thought, "My girl is not quite what she should be for the ring." Well, ok…she could still outrun half the county in pursuit of those rabbits. Thus, her first day as a show dog was also her last.
I then started thinking seriously about finding a show quality Weim. As luck would have it, I discovered a person right here in College Station that had a top winning male. Her name was Cindy Victory, she lived not too far away and God bless her, she had a whole lot of patience with this novice person. I quickly made my way on to her list of people who were getting a show puppy from her next litter. I became the very proud owner of Von Luchbachs Personal Touch. “Tracy” was a show dog extraordinaire! She took both her majors and one Best of Opposite Sex In Sweepstakes (entry of 56) wins all before she was 10 months of age. Wow, we were on a roll! I had visions of really going far with this gorgeous girl, carefully being guided and tutored the whole way by my now very best friend Cindy. Then…………tragedy struck. I awoke one morning to find my girls, Crissy and Tracy gone from my back yard. I hollered and yelled (we live in the country), started going door to door, putting up posters and running an ad. All to no avail. Both girls had ID tags, were tattooed and were in show shape. Surely, someone had to have seen them! My search continued for a week.
One evening as I was sitting in my chair looking out the window, hoping beyond hope that my girls would just appear, my phone rang. The lady on the line didn’t want to leave her name nor did she want any of the reward money, she only wanted me to know that my beautiful girls were dead. Shot to death in a fit of rage by a neighbor down the road who had rabbits. The lady explained to me that the man who shot them was her husband’s good friend and had been plagued with stray dogs attacking, tearing down and killing his rabbits. He discovered my girls, with Crissy I’m sure at the head of the helm, after his animals and in a fit of rage and without thinking until afterwards, shot them right on the spot. The lady said I had been to her door, she had seen all the flyers and being a dog lover herself, just wanted to call me to let me know so that I could move on with my life. How does one move on after such a tragedy? Well, I can tell you. Only through the understanding and constant concerns of great friends does one manage! So, does the story end here?
Had it not been for good friends yes, it would. But, as luck would have it, one of my good friends gave me a 3 month old puppy that had been given to her by the breeder because he couldn’t sell her and was going on vacation. She promptly brought me this fat, chubby, dippy toplined, adorable girl and brought me back to the status of being “With Weim” again. Cindy had talked her mom out of a littermate to “Tracy”, her name was “Holly, brought her to College Station and announced that she needed someone (me) to take and show this girl. So, I now had two girls again! I showed “Holly” to several of her Championship points, and managed to put a CD on her before she came down with Pyometria and had to be spayed. She lived with us to the ripe old age of 11 and was definitely one of the best natured Weims I have ever had the pleasure of owning.
So, that is a bit about my start in this wonderful breed. Oh, what happened to that chubby, adorable puppy, you ask? Well, she finally finished her bench championship at the ripe old age of 3 years. Soon after she kinda turned from somewhat of an ugly duckling into a swan. Cindy and I, ever in cahoots with each other, put our heads and pocketbooks together and decided we would try our luck at campaigning this girl. Well, it turned out to be a very successful partnership. We put her on the Top Ten List in 1987, finishing as the #2 Weimaraner bitch in the country and she was the mother of Wynwood Weims foundation bitch “Marina”. Oh yeah, I guess I should mention her name??………….
Ch. Vanoah’s Glory Hallelujah, NSD, NRD, V, BROM
Am Stafs
In the beginning of my show career, my dear friend and mentor Hendrix Harper would send an Am Staf with me to the shows where I was taking my Weims. I thought that was always good as it helped pay my gas or hotel bill. Well, Hendrix is a very smart guy. I think he knew that if he kept sending those terriers with me, I would one day convert almost totally to this great breed. He was correct. He managed to do just that by taking me with him to the Nationals in Florida. Since then, I haven't missed an Am Staf National. The people in this breed are great. Now, I am not saying the Weim folks aren't a good bunch because they are. The Am Staf folks are just like their dogs. In Texas we have a saying... they "got under my skin". So, now you will still find both breeds at my place, but for sure there are now as many Am Stafs as there are Weims here. Yes, it is just lke heaven...Living in Texas surrounded by goods dogs and people. What more can a gal ask for?
Hendrix Harper and me at the Am Staf Nationals in 2007
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