"Walker "~

was my first Deerhound, acquired in 1972 from Frieda Pilat. He was a sweet and gentle soul who illustrated dignity and elegance as well as the flowing, shapely lines I admire in the breed. Walker was also my first show dog, my first Group placer and my first champion.

"Kelda"-

was my second Deerhound, a half-sister to Walker, acquired in 1974 from Rusty Kingery. She remains forever young in my memory, not having lived to maturity.

"Funny"-

was acquired in 1975 as a senior puppy after I saw her and fell in love with her on a visit to Shanid. She was the first of a line of bitches who were very special to me. Funny was extremely intelligent and full of personality; I absolutely adored her beyond reason. A lovely bitch with shape, good movement and a good coat, Funny had a couple of Group placements from the classes. She gave me my “I” litter, which cost her her life — a tragedy from which I have never quite recovered. Her son and daughter, Innes and Isleen, were Winners Dog and Winners Bitch respectively at the 1982 SDCA National Specialty. Every Lehigh hound alive today goes back to Funny

"Germaine"-

didn’t actually belong to me, but was leased by me for my first (and her only) litter, which was the Lehigh “G” litter. Germaine was a stunning bitch of great quality and presence as well as type, soundness and substance. Despite a serious leg injury in her youth which required a pin through one pastern joint, Germaine finished with a Group placement and, shown by me, won a very large SDCA Supported Entry under British breeder-judge Dr. Phyllis Poyner-Wall over top-ranked dogs of that time, including two Best in Show winners. A great deal descends from her today through my Ch. Lehigh Gilda G. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to breed from this exceptional bitch.

"Gillie"-

was my first homebred, out of the fabulous Germaine. She was a Group-placing bitch from the classes, and the dam of my “H” litter; tragically, she died only days after whelping that — her only — litter. Her children were very successful; five became champions and several of them have had an impact on the breed, particularly her son, Hollister.

"Hollis"-

...Gillie’s son, became my first stud dog, and he became a Top Producer with 18 champion offspring from his six litters. He was also a successful show dog, with multiple Group placements and BOS at the 1983 SDCA National Specialty, at which he also won the Stud Dog class. In addition, he was an avid lure courser and my first ASFA field champion. He was a shapely, sound dog with a lovely head and expression. A great many of today’s hounds feature Hollis in their pedigrees. He was tragically killed by a car before reaching his prime.

"Lona"-

was also out of Gillie, and she was Winners Bitch and Best of Winners at the 1981 National Specialty and had Group placements to her credit. Much later in life, she gained lasting fame by winning the largest SDCA National Specialty ever held to date at age nine (from the Veteran Bitch class), in 1988. This was the first Deerhound specialty for my husband, Grant, who handled Lona on that day! This feminine bitch had great presence, a beautiful head and expression and a wonderful coat. Lona produced my “J” and “L” litters, containing seven champions.

Ch Lehigh Isleen

"Ily"-

was a daughter of Funny, and she stepped neatly into her mother’s pawprints and became one of my all-time favorites. An incredibly sweet and beautiful, feminine bitch, she was my “Little Doll” and I loved her with a deep passion. She was Winners Bitch at the 1982 SDCA National Specialty, my first Group winner and the winner of numerous Group placements, and was Best of Breed in a large entry at the AKC Centennial show in 1984. She produced my “K” litter of four champions, another which has had a lasting impact on the breed.

"Jilly"-

was by Innes out of Lona, and was quite a successful show dog. She was BOS in Sweeps at the 1983 SDCA National Specialty, and was the final bitch being considered along with the eventual winner of Best in Show at the 1985 National. She was a Group winner with many placements — at one point she placed in the Group at seven consecutive shows, no mean feat for an owner-handled Deerhound. She was also an excellent lure courser and my second ASFA field champion. One day she placed in the Group at a show and went Best in Field at a field trial on the same afternoon! A strong bitch of bone, substance and exceptional front construction, Jilly produced my “M” litter, which contained three champions.

"Keitha"-

was Ily’s daughter, the third consecutive very special bitch in my heart and life. She picked me when still in the whelping box, and I quite agreed at the time and ever after. Possessed of a silly sweetness and boundless great cheer, every day we shared was wonderful. She went Reserve Winners Bitch at the 1985 SDCA National Specialty, and the next year became my first National Specialty Best in Show winner — I still remember the precise feeling when we got the nod! She came close again in 1989, where she did go Best of Opposite Sex at the National. She produced my “O” and “Q” litters, each sadly containing only three surviving puppies; of these six, four finished, and the descendants of one of her sons, linebred on her, are top winners today. Keitha was a substantial yet feminine bitch of beautiful make and shape, and to this day I miss her terribly.

"Kincaid"-

was Ily’s son, and he became my second important stud dog. In his brief lifetime he sired six litters which contained 18 champions, leaving a lasting legacy to the breed. He came on the show scene by winning the SDCA Futurity as a Junior Puppy in 1984, almost repeating the following year when he went BOS in Futurity to his baby daughter. He was Winners Dog at the 1985 SDCA National Specialty, after which he finished undefeated in the classes. Tragically, he died very young, after a viral illness for which he was not receiving proper veterinary care; I was too naïve at the time to know better. Kincaid was a sweet and stunningly beautiful dog of classic outline and proportions.

"Freya"-

was my first stud fee puppy, by Kincaid out of BIS Ch. Jaraluv’s Bubble Gum, bred by Ray and Jana Brinlee. BOS in Sweeps at the 1986 SDCA National, she completely swept the boards in 1987 at age 19 months, going Best in Futurity and then Winners Bitch, Best of Winners and Best in Show from the Open class at the 1988 SDCA National Specialty! She stood proudly by her brothers Finn and Future Factor, who were Winners Dog and Best of Opposite Sex respectively at the same show! Freya finished with Group placements from the classes and went on to become my third Group winner. More importantly her one and only litter, my “N” litter, was a litter of great depth of quality and Freya made a significant contribution to the breed through a number of her puppies. Freya was a sweet and gentle bitch, tall but feminine, shapely and a lovely mover. She lived to be 12 years old, in good health all of her life. She was a great treasure.

"Jeanne"-

was Jilly’s daughter and had many of her dam’s qualities. She had barely started her life when she was lost to cancer at only two years of age.

"Neala"-

was originally my pick bitch out of Freya’s litter. She matured into a worthy bitch who moved well and had a lovely body. She finished easily, but it was inevitable that she would slip into the shadow of her sister Norrie. She produced one litter, which contained our Sloane and several other nice hounds.

"Nevin"-

was Freya’s “best boy,” and he became my next influential stud dog. He sired four litters resulting in 12 champions. He finished easily and had a Group placement or two but was not specialed, as I was campaigning his sister. A very tall dog of lovely lines and a big mover, Nevin sired some important dogs and lives on in the breed today through his descendants.

"Norrie"-

went virtually unnoticed as a baby, overlooked by all who saw the litter at early ages, including myself. Born at only 8 ounces, she was behind her siblings in size for a long time and became “the puppy nobody chose” after her siblings were purchased. What a stroke of luck that was, as she became my greatest winner and produced my most important males! She grew to be a big, strong bitch with a great body, marvelous bone and angulation and a lovely head and tail, and she was dead sound and a free, efficient mover. Norrie started out by winning Best in Futurity as well as Winners Bitch and Best of Winners, and even more importantly an Award of Merit, at the 1989 SDCA National Specialty. She went Best of Opposite Sex at the 1990 National, and in 1991 claimed Best in Show at the National! Two weeks later she won an all-breed Best in Show. Her career total was nine Group 1sts and many, many placements, always breeder/owner handled. In her first litter were four exceptional males, two of whom rose to serious importance: Ross and Renn. Norrie produced two more excellent dogs in her last litter, Ulrich and Urquhart. I consider Norrie a once-in-a-lifetime hound — we shared a tremendous bond and I was absolutely mad about her.

"Willie"-

was Keitha’s son, a big handsome boy with a wonderful outline and great bone and body. A good mover too, Willie had a number of Group placements. He was Reserve Winners Dog at the 1991 SDCA National Specialty, and took home an Award of Merit from the 1992 National. We were devastated by his infertility and stopped showing him when that was realized. He lived a long life and we think he could have passed along so much good if only he had reproduced.

"Quaila"-

was Willie’s sister, and was another exceptional hound of beautiful make and shape, and a lovely mover as well. She went Winners Bitch and Best of Winners at the 1992 SDCA National Specialty, at which the judge wanted to present her with an Award of Merit as well. She developed pyometra that summer and was spayed, at which time it was discovered that she had an extremely cystic uterus — interesting in light of the fact that her brother had a cystic prostate and was infertile. This litter had been just days old at the time of a chemical train derailment in our neighborhood, which necessitated evacuation; I have always wondered if the aftermath of that spill affected the reproductive organs of these puppies. What might have been…

"Renn"-

...one of Norrie’s sons, was earmarked as a puppy for export to Sweden, but we kept him for almost two years. During that time he finished his American championship with a Group placement from the classes and mated three bitches. A tall, angulated, big-bodied and big-moving dog of great personality, he went to Ray Lindholm in 1993 and he became nothing short of a sensation in Sweden. He was the top-winning Deerhound during his campaign and became the top-winning Best in Show sighthound of all time in Scandinavia with eight all-breed Bests in Show, always handled by his adoring owner. Bred to several bitches, Renn left an important legacy in his adopted country, producing among others Swe. Ch. Manticorn’s Botilda, herself a top-winning Deerhound, who in turn produced offspring who also became top winners in Sweden. Renn has impressive descendants in this country as well, and we hope to use frozen semen from him in the future.

"Ross"-

was also out of Norrie. He went BOS in Futurity at the 1992 SDCA National and subsequently finished very quickly and had several Group placements, but found his real niche as a stud dog. Bred to only six bitches, Ross currently claims 22 champion offspring from five of those litters. Many of these champions have gone far beyond the 15-point requirement and have taken major wins at specialties and supported entries as well as in the Group and BIS rings. Ross himself was a medium-sized dog with fabulous shoulders and wonderful movement like his dam’s, as well as a lovely head, neck, tail and body. Best of all, Ross was one of those rare dogs whose temperament and personality are absolutely beyond criticism — in his nine years of life I never knew of Ross to do a single thing wrong or objectionable, yet he was as outgoing and confident as a dog can be. I hope the breed will be blessed with more Ross puppies via his frozen semen in the future.

"Rune"-

was another of the fabulous “R” litter boys out of Norrie. He was a tall dog of beautiful outline and great movement, and we had high hopes for this sweet dog. He died totally unexpectedly in his youth, leaving one litter from which a lovely daughter finished.

"Sloane"-

was Neala’s daughter, much like her mother in a more refined package. She had three Group placements from the classes and attained Top Ten status on her way to her title. We never bred from Sloane but enjoyed her companionship for years.

"Munro"-

was one of many puppies in Ross’s first-sired litter and we were fortunate to obtain him from his breeder, Allyn Babitch. Taking majors from the Puppy class and BOS in Futurity at the 1994 SDCA National, Munro went on to a one-year specials career handled by Grant, during which he won a Group and placed in many others, earning the position of #4 Deerhound in the all-breed system in 1997. Munro won an Award of Merit at the 1995 SDCA National Specialty, pushing the BIS winner closely on that day. A smallish dog with exceptionally lovely movement and a beautiful expression, we bred him to his famous granddam Norrie and this, Munro’s only litter, produced our SBIS “Gordy” and two other champions; Munro’s son “Major” sired a lovely litter and the #1 Deerhound for 1999 and 2000, DC Windshift Bracken, was from that litter.