Affenpinscher. Jerome Cushman
Royal dogs from the late Kay Wurtz. Bouldin’s Tajar Affenpinschers have had an impact on England as well as America. Barbara and Jenna Gresser in Arizona have used and exhibited the Tajar dogs and dogs from Marilyn Holt in Oregon to develop their breeding and exhibiting program under the name Black Forest. Among their important dogs is Ch. Black Forest Cookie Monster.
THE HAWAIIAN IMPACT
The tidal-wave event in the modern history of the Affenpinscher was the birth of the famous Hawaiian litter. This occurred when Ellen and Gil Stoewsand, from Geneva, New York, bought a male whose name was Deer Run Goblin Del Cocagi from Tobin Jackson. After completing Goblin’s championship, Mrs. Stoewsand searched for several years before she managed to obtain a female from Lucille Meystedt, Ch. Balu’s Schwartz Diamant. Unexpectedly the Stoewsands received a six-month appointment to go to the University of Hawaii. Dr. Gil Stoewsand is a researcher for Cornell University. A few days into the new year of 1976, Gil, Ellen and their two daughters, Corrine and Cathy, with their two Affens landed in Honolulu. Because Hawaii is rabies free, the dogs had to remain in quarantine for four months. In February of 1976, while in quarantine, a litter of six puppies was delivered by C-section from Ch. Balu’s Schwartz Diamant, who was called “Dema.” Dr. and Mrs. Stoewsand had high praise for the concern and care their dogs received while in quarantine. They were allowed to visit them daily and the facilities were excellent. This information is included here to allay some of the fears associated with putting dogs into quarantine, as is necessary in England, parts of Europe and many of the rabies-free islands. Dogs, from most reports, come out of the experience in good condition and well adjusted.
Of these six puppies out of Goblin and Dema, one did not survive the first week. Another male was very weak and lived only through the heroic efforts of the Stoewsands’ youngest daughter, Cathy, and was later kept at their home as a pet. A third male was sold to a woman in Hawaii who later took the dog back to Germany. Of the four brought back to the mainland, two were kept and shown by Mrs. Stoewsand, Ch. El Cocagi Alii, whose name means “Royalty,” and Ch. El Cocagi Eli Eli Wahine, which means “Black Girl” in Hawaiian. Alii was called “Taz” and was later sold to Julianna Bitter in California. “Posey,” which was Eli Eli Wahine’s call name, had a prestigious show career, starting with winning Best of Breed at the Affenpinscher Club of America’s first specialty match in 1976. She was even more influential as a top-producing female.
Here’s Ch. El Cocagi’s Panda Bear, an important sire in the breed.
The fourth puppy was a male bought by professional handler Robert Sharp for his daughter Jennifer. This dog was named Ch. El Cocagi Kamehameha (named for the last king of Hawaii) and called “Bear.” He was the top-winning Affenpinscher for several years. On June 11, 1978, Bear became the first Affenpinscher to receive an all-breed Best in Show, under judge Robert Wills at the Tonawanda Valley Kennel Club in upstate New York. In 1980 he won Best of Breed at the first officially supported entry for Affenpinschers. Champion El Cocagi Kamehameha was a wonderful show dog and attracted many enthusiasts to the breed.
Ch. Balu’s Schwartz Zucker Fuss, bred by Lucille Meystedt.
Mr. Sharp’s assistant at the time, who conditioned, groomed and later owned Bear, was Bonnie (Hawkins) Sellner. She has had a long and continuing association with the breed as a handler, owner and breeder. Her kennel name is Wyn Willow. Several dogs from her breeding out of Kamehameha or his offspring have made an impact on the breed. Giancarlo Volante, from California, showed a triple Kamehameha great-grandson, Ch. Puff Von Apache Rauchen, who became the third Affenpinscher to win an all-breed Best in Show. He repeated this feat with several more Bests, including two in Mexico.
The second all-breed Best in Show winning Affenpinscher, and first female to do so, was Ch. Christina v. Silber Wald, owned by Jack and Joann Beutel of Portland, Oregon and handled by Paul and Pauline Booher. Because there were so few Affenpinschers in the area where “Chrissy” lived and was shown, she had to finish her championship by winning the Toy Group. Margret Lewis of Tuxedo, New York bred Chrissy. Mrs. Lewis came from Germany and imported her original breeding stock from there. Chrissy’s sire was Ch. Von Tiki’s My Pal Joey and her dam was Primrose v. Silber Wald. Linda and Dorothy Strydio, who bred and exhibited a number of Affens during the 1970 and ’80s, bred the sire.
AFFEN SMOKE IN OBEDIENCE
In 1980 there was another first for the Affenpinscher breed. Vicki Hart Schierer’s Ch. Me Own T G’s Smoke Signal became the first conformation champion and Utility Dog obedience title winner. Theresa Battle bred “Smokey.” His remarkable achievement was accomplished in just nine shows. There have been a large number of obedience title winners, and several breeders work hard in this ring with great success. Terry Graham, Lois Brockson, Birdee Hills, Peggy Mershon, Mae Aspinall Dell, Barbara Swisher, Dr. Alice Schotlenstein, and Gilly Rank have been leaders for the breed in obedience training and work in agility as well. The Affenpinscher is very intelligent and loves to work if you begin training early on.
During the 1980s the Stoewsands continued the El Cocagi line and bred the top show dogs as well as top producers. Most of the top-winning Affenpinschers in the show ring during the 1980s and ’90s had one or more of the three champions from that Hawaiian litter in their pedigrees. These three dogs significantly changed the quality and type of the breed all over the world. Another of the notable dogs was Ch. El Cocagi Black Baron, who had been purchased and shown by Quentin and Blanche Roberts from California. They made him one of the top show dogs in the early ’80s.
Marjorie and David Saylor, who had finished a number of Deer Run Affens, bought Ch. El Cocagi Vampira who was out of Ch. Balu’s Schwartz Zucker and El Cocagi Scarlet O’Hare. She became a top producer with nine champions. She was bred to the Saylors’ little red dog, Ch. Deer Run’s Eric the Red. The Saylors’ Mountain View Affenpinschers are behind a number of fine red and black Affens.
One of Vampira’s sons by Ch. Flo-Star’s Little Tiam, Ch. El Cocagi Wilhelm, went to England, where he joined some other of the Flo-Star Affens at Wendy Boorer’s Furstin kennels. Wilhelm and a grandson out of Ch. Hilane’s Lonesome Cowboy have contributed greatly to the Affenpinschers in the UK. Mrs. Rita Turner, whose kennel name is Gerbrae, and the late Mrs. Pat Patchen, whose prefix was Zipaty, imported five American Affenpinschers. These dogs from Hilane and Tajar added to Balu, Flo-Star, Vroni Kleine and El Cocagi lines comprise the majority of the American influence in England. According to The First Fifty Affenpinscher Champions, compiled by Dr. M. Brown and Mrs. S. Pirrie, every current-day chanpion goes back to these lines.
One of the Hilane Affens added to the breeding program of Patricia and Dr. Christine Dresser, this is Ch. Hilane’s Dress Circle Sunray, the black and tan sire of Ch. Dress Circle Good Grrief.
Ch. Dress Circle Good Grrief, bred by Patricia and Dr. Christine Dresser, won ten all-breed Bests in Show, expertly handled by Tom Glassford.
Owned and exhibited by Patricia and Dr. Christine Dresser, Ch. Hilane Dress Circle Best Bet is seen here winning the Toy Group from the Puppy Class at the 1980 Detroit Kennel Club Dog Show under famous all-breed judge Maxwell Riddle.
FURTHER WAVES OF SUCCESS
Because of the success of the El Cocagi Affenpinschers, more of the established kennels began to share their bloodlines more readily. Aff-Kins, Balu and Flo-Star kennels, with a number of new enthusiasts, eagerly crossed out to one another’s stock and improved on each of their lines. Behind all of the top contemporary show