Oh-Lala in Memory

Sél. OH-LALA des Monts d'en Crauzille

Those we love don't go away,
They walk beside us every day,
Unseen, unheard, but always near,
Still loved, still missed and very dear.

Sélectionnée France 1999, Italy 2001
HD 0/0, CEA/FD/PHTVL/PHPV/PRA/CATARACT clear, ERG clear, CSNB Carrier * full breeding confirmation in France, Italy, Austria

January 23, 1998 (France) to April 14, 2010, 3:50 p.m.
Sire: IATUS des Sources des Fontassault (Pré-Sélectionné France)
Dam: PENELOPE du Clos des Cèdres (confirmée France)

Oh-Lala came to me shortly before her third birthday. I learned that the breeder of my Zabou wanted to rehome this girl and immediately asked if she could come to me. Pascale hadn't wanted to give her to a breeder because she was a CSNB carrier, but when she learned that I test my puppies if a parent carries this genetic defect, she agreed. This fulfilled a long-held wish of mine: I had wanted a grey Briard puppy for a long time, and now I even had an adult female who was hip dysplasia-free, had passed the French selection process, and was fully approved for breeding (she had already had two litters with Pascale).

So, on December 14, 2000, I set off for Belgium to pick up Oh-Lala. I had seen some photos of her, but meeting her in person was even better: a wonderful personality, cuddly, funny, the perfect size...... at our first meeting, she acted like we'd known each other forever - simply a dream dog. I spent one night in Belgium, then Oh-Lala and I headed home. Everything went perfectly. She didn't hesitate to get into my car, we took breaks along the way, and once home, she went for a walk off-leash and came back immediately when called.

I had expected to have to keep Oh-Lala separate from my then heavily pregnant Yazoo, but I was wrong. From the very first moment, the two interacted very positively, and from the first night onward, they slept together by the bed. And when Yazoo's puppies were three weeks old, Oh-Lala was allowed to help with raising them, which she absolutely loved, and Yazoo enjoyed her well-deserved breaks from her pups.

Oh-Lala met all the requirements for breeding in Austria. In February 2002, I traveled to the Netherlands for her to be bred, and in April 2002, Oh-Lala gave birth to my G-litter. A second attempt to breed her unfortunately failed: she aborted the pregnancy after our Frizzy in the autumn of 2005, and I didn't try again because I wanted to breed with Zabou (unaware that she would contract an "incurable" bacterial infection during their first mating, and that I would face significant challenges in the years to come).

I didn't show Oh-Lala very often, as I was relatively infrequent at shows when she was at her prime for the show ring, but whenever she did appear, she achieved excellent results. In October 2001, she and Yazoo attended the Italian Selection and Club Show and came home with an outstanding result: she not only became the best dog of all the dogs presented in the character test, but also received a V3 rating among 11 fawn bitches (she had been classified as fawn by the show management because her pedigree incorrectly states that she is grey, although she was born black).

Even when Oh-Lala was older, no one noticed. She enjoyed life so much right up until shortly before she left me. She played with the others, and she especially loved playing with puppies and small dogs. She was a wonderful playmate for all my litters, including the Chinese Cresteds and Yorkies. They loved to romp around on her and had so much fun with her. She leaves a huge void for all future puppies. I still can't believe she's gone; it was so unexpected.

I thank Pascale for entrusting this dog to me. She was a blessing to my family, and I wouldn't trade a single day with Oh-Lala. And thank you to Oh-Lala for all the love, joy, fun, and success she brought to this home. I will never forget her; I miss her so much ...…

Oh-Lala's special success:

Sambo in Memory

SAMBO de la Chaume du Bois Dieu 

April 8, 2001 - April 13, 2013
Sire: WW Multi-Champ. Sél. VOODOO du Noble Nid (Belgium * HD A/A, PRA clear, SNB clear * Champion Germany 2002, Worldwinner 2001, Champion Luxembourg/France 2001 * Sélectionnée France/Belgium 1999)
Dam: XEBEC du Mas de Chantranne (France * HD A/A, SNB clear)

Sambo only came to me when he was 11 years old. His owners were moving to an apartment and didn't want to take him with them. His breeder, Corinne, searched tirelessly for a long time for someone who would take this senior dog, but to no avail. When I heard about this, I decided to take Sambo in if there was any way to bring him somewhere in Austria. So Corinne decided to bring him with her on her trip to the World Dog Show in Salzburg and picked him up from his owners a few days before her departure. As she discovered there, Sambo was in a pitiful state: he was too thin, and his coat hadn't seen a bath or a brush in years... and he smelled terrible. His gait was poor; he had probably been in an accident at some point and had never received treatment—and he had arthritis. Sambo had apparently never learned anything; he couldn't walk on a leash, didn't even know what a collar was, couldn't play, lived outdoors, and only had shelter in the garage—no dog bed or blanket. When Corinne arrived at her home, she started to shave Sambo as best she could, but she couldn't manage his head before leaving for Salzburg, and she couldn't bathe him. On May 19, 2012, I took Sambo in from Salzburg and immediately drove him home. He was very restless in the car, and Corinne had said the leash should stay up during the drive because he couldn't be leashed in confined spaces.

During the first few days, Sambo was very restless and only dared to come inside with gentle coaxing. He soon ran back outside and spent most of his time on the patio. So, I left the patio door open at night so Sambo could come and go as he pleased. There were no problems with the other dogs from the start. He was introduced to the Chinese Crested dogs immediately, and to the Briards a few days after his arrival, and he got along well with them too. Nevertheless, he was separated from the other dogs when no one was around to check on him—simply for safety, since he'd never been trained to do that.

During his first few days here, Sambo had his neck and head shaved to remove the last of the matted fur. With a lot of patience, it went quite well. When he'd had enough of being groomed, he'd get up and walk away, and then continue to endure it when he lay down again. Since the weather was very warm, I was also able to give him a short, much-needed bath in the garden.

May 24, 2012 - 5 days after his moving in

Thankfully, Sambo ate very well from day one and gained a little weight. Because of his physical condition, I made sure he didn't get too fat. When he realized there was a person caring for him, he started barking whenever he wanted something. And every morning, by 7 a.m. at the latest, he would loudly demand his food, whether I was still asleep or not.

From autumn onward, Sambo accepted that the patio door was no longer open day and night and would let me know when he wanted to go out. He was a lovable, friendly dog ​​with a wonderful character. Over time, he even learned to play, which he picked up from the other dogs. On some days, he overexerted himself, which affected his gait. He had to be forced to rest. He had probably missed out on so much in his life that he desperately wanted to make up for, without understanding that it wasn't good for his weakened bones and out-of-shape body. He was as full of energy as a young dog. My vet gave me depot tablets, which Sambo thankfully tolerated very well and responded to positively – even half the dose. This made his life a little more worth living. Soon, no visitor even noticed that this dog had only recently moved in with me.

January 2013 - his coat has grown back a bit

Sambo had become very dear to me. He cherished the affection he seemed to have never received in his life and always tried to keep an eye on me when he was lying in the house. If he lost sight of me, he would start barking and wait for me to come to him. In the garden, he didn't care whether he was alone or not, and he only barked when someone walked past the garden fence.

Unfortunately, Sambo's arthritis worsened over the winter, and I had to increase his medication dosage. When he was in pain, he would growl, and none of the other dogs were allowed near him. Soon, even the maximum dose of medication was no longer effective, and Sambo became aggressive towards the other dogs and even towards me when I brushed against him as I walked by. Therefore, even though it went completely against my grain, I had to make the very difficult decision to let the poor boy go. On April 13^th, 2013, just five days after his 12^th birthday, Sambo crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Even though he wasn't with me for long, he took a piece of my heart with him—just like everyone else who's ever been here. My comfort is that he's now at peace and can run free on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge with all the other members of his family and those from here. RIP sweet Sambo...

April 11, 2013

This wonderful dog wasn't even granted a year of the life he should have had from the very beginning with his previous owners. Aside from the fact that they simply wanted to get rid of him because he no longer fit into their lives, they completely failed to give him a good life. Such people should get a stuffed animal.

My thanks go to Corinne for trusting me and allowing this dog from her breeding program to come here, even if only for a short time. I hope that during the nearly 11 months I spent with Sambo, I was able to give him at least a tiny part of what he had been denied his entire life. I wish he had had more time to be pampered by me and to be my companion...

Frizzy

Click on a thumbnail to enlarge and to go through the slideshows. If you don't want to have it running automatically (Play/Pause down below the photo) you can move with the mouse left or right on the upper part of the enlarged photo and use previous or next to go back or forth. For the video click here. More photos can be found in the F-litter photo gallery.

Frizzy	Shows
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Video          May 31, 2004

Frizzy in Memory 

FRIZZANTE FURIOSO GRIS de la Maison du Garde-Barrière

If tears could build a stairway
and memories a lane,
I'd walk right up to heaven
and bring you home again.

HD 0/0, CSNB clear (by parentage) * BGH-A * full breeding confirmation

born Dec. 24, 2000 - Jan. 6, 2014, 1:15 p.m.
Sire: Ch. Sél. NESCAFE des Pierrailles (France * grey, born black * HD clear, CSNB clear * Champion Germany (VDH), Selected France and Italy)
Dam: Sél. ÖJch. LOULOU dite YAZOO des Cèdres de la Montagne Noire, CGC (Import from France * black * HD 1/0 * CSNB clear * Austrian Junior Champion, Pre-Selected USA, Selected Slovakia, USA and Italy, breeding confirmation France, Austria, Slovakia, USA and Italy * Winners Bitch USA 2000)

Frizzy was the firstborn of my F Litter. He and his sister Femme Fatale were lighter in color than the others at birth, so I assumed Frizzy would turn grey. This led me to decide soon after his birth that I might keep him, and I even added "gris" to his name. Frizzy remained lighter than the others, but he was black-stained and (unfortunately) not grey. Only when I completely shaved his coat at the age of eight did he look just like my grey female, Oh-Lala, with his fur entirely gray.

The deciding factor in my keeping him, however, was that after an operation at four months old, I couldn't be sure he would have problems in the future: while playing with his two brothers, Ferre and Fendi, he had swallowed three stones that unfortunately wouldn't pass on their own, requiring surgery to open his stomach. Fortunately, Frizzy suffered no lasting negative effects from this procedure.

Frizzy was a very funny, spirited, sociable, proud, and affectionate male dog. There were never any problems between him and the other male dogs in the house: he always accepted the older dogs' rank in the pack, and the smaller breeds were his friends, not competition. He was a patient and wonderful friend to all the puppies born here, and he was especially delightful with the litter of my Yorkie, Gizmo.

Once Frizzy was used for stud service once: I bred him with my Oh-Lala, but unfortunately, she aborted the pregnancy, and my dream of a Yazoo grandchild from an interesting pairing was dashed. Frizzy's sperm was tested and found to be fine, so it wasn't his fault. I had several requests to breed with him, but I declined because, firstly, I preferred line breeding with my Briards, secondly, I would certainly never pair a dog from a grey line with a fawn, and thirdly, because I valued quality over quantity.

On January 6, 2014, at the age of 13 years and 14 days, I had to say goodbye to Frizzy. After he survived stomach and intestinal surgery at the end of May 2013 (he had eaten a stuffed animal) and fully recovered within 10 days, he began suffering from arthritis in the fall of 2013. The arthritis in his right elbow became so severe that I decided if his quality of life was no longer possible, I would have to open my arms and let him go. With this farewell, the "Yazoo book" closed forever for me. I thank Frizzy for the unconditional love he showed me throughout his life. And above all, I thank him for always being a loving friend and companion to everyone in this house—even the youngest.

With Frizzy, the very last direct descendant of Yazoo crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Like all those who have ever left me, he will never be forgotten and will always live on in my heart, even though a part of myself has gone ......

Frizzy's special success: