I was born in Central Iowa on a farm during the Depression, and I can remember my parents grinding corn for breakfast cereal. While times were very hard, I would not trade the love that was lavished on my brother, sister, and myself. My wife, Agnes, and I grew up about six miles from each other. Several years older than she, I can remember teasing her when she had long black pigtails. Little did I think that she would grow up and become my wife.
While growing up during this time, there was a family of six daughters across the road from us that had less than we did. My father befriended them and a friendship developed for the rest of our lives. A few years later, times were better for our friends, and they became the owners of a very flat-faced little female. I am sure that this gorgeous red creature was not a purebred, or at least did not have papers. She also had a personality that I would not tolerate in my pekes today, however mine do not have six girls teasing them. My parents did not believe that one of her beautiful puppies would make a very good farm dog, so my first experience with Pekingese did not develop any further.
Field operations did not agree with my body, so animal husbandry became my part of the family farm. Chickens, ducks, geese, swine and cattle were all part of my chores. At twelve years of age it was my job to stay with expectant mothers and help their offspring into this world. I knew that I would not be able to farm, but the love of animals has always stayed with me. A new litter is as exciting to me today as it was in 1952, when I whelped my first purebred litter of Border Collies.
Music has always played an important part in my life. My maternal grandmother would play the piano for us to sing with when I was very young, and I believe that it was this that started my love for music. Involvement with the Monticello Men's Area Chorus, Kitty Creek Quartet, singing for funerals & weddings and playing with our church chime group keeps any extra time filled. As a substitute organist, it is sometimes difficult to find times to fill in when there are not family gatherings or dog shows.
In 1972, when our oldest daughter needed a 4H project and decided that a dog was what she wanted, we searched the papers. The closest that we could come to a Pekingese was a Peke-A-Poo. A fine little mutt-mutt was purchased and soon became a part of the family, even going on fishing trips. My daughter tricked me into agreeing to have Misch bred the following year and three cute puppies were the result. A friend asked me if we were going to keep any of the puppies, and I said absolutely not as one dog was enough. He introduced me to a lady that was willing to buy both of the puppies (one went to the stud owner) and She had a white Pekingese male that eventually came to live us.
Mugsy had a lovely face to go with his long body, but he was a love. I really didn't know the difference between a well constructed Peke and one that wasn't. However, I decided that he should have a mate, and after searching for sometime found one within a half mile of our home. This lady had started raising Pekes about the same time that we had found our Misch, so it was a bit of the blind leading the blind. Luck was on our side, for our new puppy was inbred to a son of Ch. Pekehuis Twee's Dan's Sun, who was not only a son of, but was linebred to Ch. Mi Twee Choo of Caversham on the sires side and Ch. Calartha Mandarin of Jehol on the dams side.
Bilmar Pekingese, Wm D. McMillian, Trenton, Mo was the kennel we selected to purchase our first show dogs. The bitch, Mi Vic-Kee of Bilmar, produced in her first litter our first homebred champion Mi Twee Jai-Kee of Lon-Du. Nigel A. Jones put this puppy up as Best In Match at The Greater Pittsburgh Pekingese Club event in 1977. He was from our third litter and I remember how proud I was of those two lovely male puppies. Jai-Kee became a group winner and while the brother was major pointed, he never finished for his championship. Jai-Kee later went to Mrs. Kaye Jeffords and produced a Best In Show for her. Thrilling times indeed for a novice. These first dogs were mostly of Orchard Hill lines and the Pekehuis male I mentioned earlier.
Ch. Wild Rain Boi of Panora, bred by the late Olga FitzGerald, and sold to me by the late Ruthe Painter, added Ch. Yu Yang of Jamestown and Ch. Copplestone Pu Zee. While attending the North Central Illinois Pekingese Specialty in 1981, Christine Hann was showing a lovely black brace. I arranged to use the male, Ch. Black Cavalier of Chambrae, on Ch. Mi Twee Anna of Lon-Du, A Ch. Jai-Kee daughter. The resulting puppy was to become Ch. Mi Black Knight of Lon-Du, a group placer from the classes. He is in the background of many of my present winners.
In 1982 while attending the Greater Pittsburgh Pekingese event, Barbara Melless showed me the pedigree of a young puppy. The pedigree was very exciting and I remember asking her if the puppy lived up to his pedigree. A few months later, Rodari The Dragon At Lon-Du, (Puff) came to live with me. He truly was a God send, for not only in the show ring, where he had four specialty BOB, but in the whelping box, where most everything he produced was show quality, having sired over 30 champions. His grandchildren and great-grandchildren are still out there winning. Mating Puff to a Knight daughter produced my Ch. Lon-Du Dee Black Samson, BISS and BISA, owned by Barbara Streemke, South Dakota. Later, Ch. Black Cavalier was mated to several Puff daughters producing Specialty BOS winners.
Bob Jackson let me mate his lovely Ch. Mahjon Cassidy T'Sun to an Orchard Hill/Jamestown bred bitch to produce a super litter, among them Ch. Lon-Du Cassanova, who when bred to his paternal half sister produced Ch. Lon-Du Valentino. A Valentino daughter was mated to Ch. Cavalier and produced the impressive BISS Ch. Chambrae Black Diamond and Ch. Lon-Du Black Obsidian who won his final major at a specialty. If you can follow the above, you will note that I try outcrossing and then linebreeding back in again.
Of course when showing in this area one of the first people you met was Ruby Dudley and her husband Bill. Many good times have been had at the shows over the years and I have missed the Dudley's the past couple of years. You meet so many nice people thru the years, showing and breeding this lovely breed. Pekingese people are special, if you do not believe this, talk to some of those that have shown other breeds.
It seems that most of the great dogs of the last 25 years still all go back at least once in their pedigree to the great Ch. Caversham Ku Ku of Yam and some of them many many times. Some breeders believe that once you get past the third generation there is little influence on the current generation. I think this is probably true if a certain individual only shows up once in eight generations, but if he or she is there twenty times, there just has to be an impact. Ch. St. Aubrey Laparata Dragon has added quality to most kennels in the U.S.A. Ch. Shiarita Cassidy, and Ch. Jay Trump of Sunsalve are also among those that have produced a type that you recognize. While there are great bitches as well, they do not receive the credit that the males do. Among them, Ch. Black Tia of Chambrae, and Rodari Jessica. The first for what she did in the ring as well as the Champions she produced and the second for the many fine specimens that have descended from her.
The few times that I have judged, I have tried to look for the over-all specimen. Head points count for 40 points total in todays standard, but they must have legs to carry that beautiful head around the ring and more importantly around the home where they are to be the pampered pet. We need to worry more about slipped stifles, longer legs in the rear than in the front, wry mouths, light eyes, etc. These may take generations to correct or be put in your kennel in one.
If I was starting over, I would look for the best over-all bitch that I could find, and then look for a male that was already proven that he produced well with that line. If you can, get an outcross bitch and find that linebred male.
It is difficult to pick the happiest experience, I can remember the first blue, the first major, the first BOB and the first Specialty Best in Show, but probably the happiest show was when Wm Taylor picked Ch. Rodari The Dragon At Lon-Du for BOB, his daughter Ch. Cambalu Hurly Burly for BOS and his son, Hope's KoKo Puff Dragon for BOW at the North Central Illinois Specialty. The joy I felt watching Barbara Streemke guiding Ch. Lon-Du Dee Black Samson to his BISA was a big thrill. Ch. Rodari Aces High finished several years ago at NCIPC and a few months later received his first Group One, and now has broken all toy records in Canada. This too got the adrenalin racing. Whelping a litter, even at 3:00 am is exciting, but happiness can turn to sorrow easily in this breed, for we all have lost that most promising puppy, the entire preemie litter, the aging veteran that is too young to die. Yet, we all strive to produce that perfect specimen.
