“The Worst Puppy EVER”
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Around ’84, back when I was just getting started in Dachshunds and feeling my way around the Dog Fancy, I had been a little successful at DCA, the bigger Specialties and All-Breed Shows and had won WDs and BVs with a few Dachshunds I had bred, but, as a realist, none of the ones I liked and owned had the looks, conformation and style that the old time greats had and, for just a few dollars, I could breed to one of those family bred, older greats who had been producing that style for years and they would, hopefully, improve my bitches as I bred them. To me, that was a great bargain.
Finally, I just had my first daughter of the great CH Gerolf das Zwerglein L ROMO to breed and I loved her and her sister so much that I felt they would bring me even closer to what I wanted in my Kennel. I had been breeding to dogs like CH B’s Javelin de Bayard ROMO (whose body was exemplar), CH Von Dyck’s Johnny One Note L ROM (who literally was also a very stylish one as well) and this CH Gerolf who sired bitches that were, to me, very typy, sound, in good health and really full of themselves. My other litters gave me everything else I wanted in conformation and movemenn , but this new Dachshund style was exactly what I was looking for and I was sure hoping to get it through those bitches from then on. Now, I hoped, I would find a stud to breed them to.
A year or two before, Lorene Hogan from Colorado started showing at the Dachshund Specialties in the Midwest and at DCA with CH Han-Jo’s ‘Xtra Copy L ROMO, a dog that Hannelore sold as a pet to one of Lorene’s friends, Kenneth Maxwell, and someone (I won’t say John Cook) evidently made a wrong decision, because Eddie, as he was called, finished quickly and started winning Specialties all over the country. He was a beauty and was very sound and had great conformation. He could move like a dream and so often was beating Hannelore with her new Specials (which, after Gerolf, had a lot less quality than what Hannelore was used to showing). Eddie had a great temperament and Lorene would just sit around the ring before going back into the group and he would be lying down and his hair was all messed up and looked horrible, but it was such great texture that she could just brush it out and he would look great again. Wally Jones and I really loved this dog and wanted to use him at stud as I thought he would get me more of that style and once you had that locked in, the winning really took off. However, he was sired by CH Von Dyck’s Mr Bojangles L ROMX who was a great showman and had won a DCA BV already when he was the Number One Longhair in the Breed back in ’74, but unfortunately he developed a case of disc disease which was operated on and Bo was retired quickly. Eddie’s dam was CH Lady Rosalyn of Sirius L ROMX who was bred by Nancy Lockhart from Minnesota and she was sired by CH Han-Jo’s Flaming Flare L ROMO who was by CH Robert de Bayard ROMO and she was out of CH Han-Jo’s Zsa-Zsa L ROMO who was by CH B’s Javelin de Bayard L ROMO and out of CH Han-Jo’s Lollipop L ROMO. Zsa Zsa was a full sister to the great CH Han-Jo’s Ulyssis L ROMO who was also behind my bitch’s dam, CH Boondox Emma v Walmar ROMO, who I was going to breed to Eddie and also behind CH Gerolf as well. I cant really say which dog we linebred on, but they all came from Hannelore, were great quality and made me hope we could get some good ones on the ground. First though, I had to wait to see when Eddie would turn five years old so that I could use him safely. It made me nervous to wait very long, but I did. All I could think of was that we would get just what we wanted for that next round of Boondox show puppies in this new “P” litter and I hoped it would be lucky for me.
Finally, CH Boondox Emma v Walmar ROMO came into season right before DCA in June of ’84 so I shipped her off to Lorene to be bred and then picked her up at the show site after getting her bred and I felt happy and hopeful to see her again. Anyway, that was the DCA where I won WD, BW, BW and BOSV with my longhairs will all of them being sired by Hannelore’s Stud force and while doin so, lost a friend who said I could NEVER use her studs again. That was the shaker and it sure had me worried as I drove home after that DCA as I was wondering who WOULD I be breeding to as all my longhair Dachshunds were bred on Hannelore’s great old dogs. Little did I know what was awaiting me in my new litter.
Anyway, when Emma’s litter was born in August of ’84, I had to go to the airport that day to pick up a judge for our show the next day, so I whelped the first one and then drove to Indianapolis, then Bloomington and then back home and saw that Emma had whelped four puppies and all were doing OK. They were all red and there were three females and one male. All looked great to me. I watched them grow up and, to me. they were all real standouts and none ever took a bad turn. The male, to me, always caught me eye as he was just full of that Dachshund style that all four of them had in their make up and which would soon be put to good use winning at the shows I loved to go to, but that male just screamed ‘STAR’ to me every time that I looked at him.
As happened back then a lot, I talked to Wally every day on the phone and I said I had a dog here who was just making me drool as I had never had one that looked anything like him before. He had that great conformation I wanted, he could move like a dream and his style and presence just made my day. I said I hoped he would keep this good luck going for me. I also said that his litter sister, also out of CH Han-Jo’s ‘Xtra Copy L ROMO and CH Boondox Emma v Walmar L ROMO, who was almost as nice and that the Dachshund style and showmanship was really coming down from Gerolf and Ully and these two puppies were probably the the two best longhairs that I had ever raised. Wally already owned Emma’s half sister, CH Rose Farm’s Zesabel of Boondox ROMO(who also was out of Lardi, Rose Farm’s Black Berry Buff L ROMO and sired by CH B’s Javelin de Bayard ROMO), but said he wanted the bitch so I said yes, but that I would finish her and he could whelp her as she was going to be a great producer I thought. Wally and I sure were watching that little dog and absolutely loving him. I was really thankful that I had a dog that I wanted to breed to and, by then, thought he would grow up to be a great Dachshund which sadly he decided to go against my plans .
When the male hit three months, I finally put him on the table and opened his mouth and realized that his bite was WAY off. He could not even close his mouth as he had no underjaw. I was sick and, when I put him down, I saw that his tongue was escaping from his mouth by almost dragging it behind himself. What could I do? I took him to the Vet and she just said that he probably should be put down, but you could just watch him to see if it would improve. I really loved him and loved his eager personality that just wanted to please me, so I said I would watch him and try to place him in a pet home. I tried and tried and offered to give that little male for free to anyone who could take care of him, but no one at all was interested. I just kept taking him to shows and pleading with people to give him a great life as a loved pet. Every person said no.
Finally, when the litter hit six months, I started to show the females a few times and Pumpkin ROMX, the one I sold to Wally and Mary, started winning immediately and so we kept her back for DCA this coming year of 1985. I sold the other really nice red bitch, CH Boondox Pandemonium ROMX to Sidney Stafford where she had some decent Specialty wins and sold the other red bitch, CH Boondox Promise to some pet owners who had a couple of mine already and wanted to get a Champion which I did right after all the great ones finished! I was stuck with that God awful dog and could not even give him away.
Then Badger DC was coming up in March and so I went to Wally and Mary’s to stay for that show and their pet owners were there, too, and they had been wanting a male so, as usual, I offered this male which they took home and watched the food fall out of his mouth because of that horrible bite and they brought him back the next day and said they just couldn’t watch him die so sadly. They returned him and I thought ‘What in the Hell am I going to do with him?”
I returned home with that sad little puppy male and wondered what will happen to him, because I really loved that little guy, and I just wanted to find him a home and lead a happy life. I was working with the dogs and they were, by then, seven months old. I couldn’t help myself, as I loved the conformation, movement and Dachshund style he had, so I put the girls on the table and went over them and then put the male on the table and opened his mouth and the bite WAS getting better, It had been off about three inches and now it was down to two and a half! Could that possibly happen? Anyway, I know I got accused by so many people of fixing that bite, but, to be honest, I never even thought about it. If I did that, I would only be fooling myself, because that bad bite would still be there to pass on and he would be passing that gene to his offspring and I, for one, never wanted that to happen. Anyway, I called Wally and we talked about it as we usually did and I said I hope it closes for me as I sure did love that dog and the hope of possibly showing him was perhaps brightening my day a little.
As the next couple of weeks passed, it completely got better by itself and now I had this beautiful typy dog to start showing. I could not have been any happier. I named him CH Boondox Panama Jack ROMO and so decided to show him at the Great Lakes Specialty on June and the Badger Specialty in July. PJ was always a little fat growing up because I fed him so much to keep him alive and he was sitting around getting wider and wider and those shoulder were still a little wide when I entered Panama Jack to a couple of pretty good Judges, Julia Goulder and my favorite Judge, John Cook, and showing against him at both shows was Wally showing another dog that he raised and was a nice one himself, but all Wally could do was watch PJ walk around the Show Ring. Mrs Goulder gave Wally the class and I placed and John, of course, never missed those wide shoulders and so Wally won the class (and he was still watching my dog PJ because he REALLY wanted him!) and I think I got fourth place and when we went back to our spaces, Wally was still raving about him. Now, there are some exhibitors you can fool, but Wally is not one of them. He looked at the bite and said “Thank You” to whoever was listening and we had our usual fun time together at the Shows. I think I got a lot of teasing about his bite getting better and, as usual, a lot of doubt about me fixing it. All I can say is that I never did a darned thing to it and that bite did heal itself, and we will just blame God for that present! But having that happen was quite a thrill for me. John Cook was also not someone you could fool either and so I just never showed PJ to him again. He would remember those shoulders, but he always found those PJ kids all over the country, because he did love that conformation, movement and style which they all had.
I worked getting PJ’s shoulders tightened up and losing weight for his DCA trip and so I took Manon, Pumpkin and PJ along with a Smooth bitch as well to the ’85 Seattle DCA Specialty and we had a great trip indeed. On Saturday, Manon was WB in Longs, Pumpkin was Best Puppy In Show at the Host Club (under Judge Heck Rice) and PJ won his Puppy Class under Judge Bob Wlodkowski and, on Sunday, PJ won his class under Judge Ann Gordon and then she gave Manon WB, BW and BV and BB ! What a weekend and it looked like I was going to actually win a little in the Show Ring with my little PJ! Hallelujah!!!!!
I stopped showing for awhile but did finish Pumpkin, but still was not winning with my little dog PJ at all. Finally, by the time my Hoosier Specialty came along, I was thinking we could not even finish him, even though EVERYONE wanted to breed to him. Lon and John, Martha Grantham and Wally and Mary were almost demanding that their top bitches be bred to him. Personally, as someone who never bred to the dogs I whelped, and knowing about the bite trouble AND the loose shoulders, I was not really happy about using him at stud, because I, for one, did not want those kind of defects to be all over the Boondox line that I had spent ten years developing. I guess, in thinking back, that maybe these kind of decisions made me less flexible than I was originally. With all this talk, I, of course, said no and sort of explained why I was not going to go along with trying a new dog who had all these problems already and was only eighteen months old and had never won ANYTHING so far except for Arvilla Mayhall giving him Best in Sweeps at a Midwest Specialty back in August of ’85!
So I entered the Hoosier Specialty in ’86 and also entered Pumpkin who was my new Special because she had finished the weekend before at the Louisville Specialty and PJ was coming along in the classes. Ann Gordon was judging again and I was thrilled to win WD under her at the Hoosier Specialty with PJ as he looked so great and then I handed him to Wally to show when I took Pumpkin in and , after the work outs, Ann gave PJ BW and BV and Pumpkin BOSV so we had quite a sweep and then she went on to give PJ BB as well with Pumpkin BOSB. Needless to say, I was thrilled with all these ‘Xtra Copy wins coming down through Gerolf and it did make me understand about how the type and style of these dogs really put them over the other competition and that these new puppies were all truly ready to win!
My next show was the Mattoon KC held in Terre Haute so I never showed at Terre Haute because that was one of my Kennel Clubs, but did show to one of my favorite Judges, Peg Walton, the great Basset Hound breeder and cousin to our own John Cook. I entered PJ and Peg came up to him on the table and gripped his head and turned to me and just sighed because he truly did have a great head (even WITH that former bad bite) and then she went over his front and, even though he was still in the classes, she gave him BV Longhair AND a Group One to finish! Nothing for a year and now this unlucky puppy won nine points at the Hoosier Specialty and the day after it and then another five points with Peg Walton’s Group 1. I could not believe my luck as with all that I was still not breeding anything to him and I had all these people who were begging to use him at Stud. I just said No and they were all still really mad at me. PJ was still such a showboat in the ring as he was happy and beautiful and he could use his front like none other could. Watching PJ move made me the stickler that I still am in judging movement as I demanded it in my winners when judging or looking at breeding stock. That mattered to me.
My next show was a show in Wisconsin for two days with (before I knew Midge!) Roy Horn of Kaihorn Afghans judging and he started me out with BV from the classes with PJ and that finished him. I was so pleased and I then looked at the group Judge and it was Dachshund Judge Gordon Carvill who gave PJ a Group IV since he would always recognize that Bayard/Han-Jo front in his show ring. I could not have been happier as it was a VERY long road to get CH Boondox Panama Jack ROMO finished especially with all the problems he had as a baby puppy.
Next, John Brading, Martha Grantham and Wally and Mary still all wanted to breed to him and I was still scared of that bad bite which I thought would be in half the puppies and along with those very loose shoulders that I could probably never get rid of again! Finally, after a whole lot of begging, I said yes and would breed these bitches and so John Brading sent CH Rose Farms Honey v Boondox ROMX, a CH Javelin/Pammy bitch to be bred to him and then Wally and Mary sent our great producer CH Rose Farms Zesabel of Boondox ROMO, a Javelin/Lardi cross while I went ahead and bred CH Bayard le Manon, my DCA BB winner, to him and also I tried him on an absolutely gorgeous Gerolf/Pammy daughter that I loved, but sold as a pet. After seeing those litters, I thought I would know if he passed on that bad bite situation or the loose shoulders and that we would have the problem solved if we could use him. Remember, at this time I could not breed any of my bitches to Hannelore’s dogs and I was wondering where to go and just thought, in the back of my mind, that we would know after looking at those four litters.
While we were waiting to see the litters back in ’86, I started showing PJ and he took off like no other dog I had shown and, in a few months, had won BV and BB at the St Louis DC Specialty under the great Judge Paul Tolliver and BV and BB at the DC of Southwest Ohio under popular Judge Muriel Newhauser and was thrilled that I had the dog that was going to win for me all over. I think we won five Bests of Breeds and we were on our way. What a start for him.
Then the puppies started to arrive and to my delight, nothing bad had happened as all were happy and sound and really full of themselves with NO bad bites and NO loose shoulders. I think I took a puppy, Eclair, from Lon and John and then Wally and Mary’s showed up and we were again flabbergasted at their quality with Giggles being the pick, but we did repeat the litter and got Kismet, Kodiak and KK (DCA WB) in there. This quality was outstanding in every way and I was pretty sure that PJ was going to be kind of successful in the whelping pen, too. After seeing those litters first, Manon then had her litter and, to be honest, it just looked freaky to me because I always had really long, low and level dogs and this PJ litter was leggy and long necked and it just sort of threw me, I did keep one sort of promising male and he turned out to be a great Special, CH Boondox Sting v Kanawha ROMO who was a multiple Specialty winner and All Breed BIS winner. I guess he taught me, again, to keep my eyes open and, if they are the right type, they will always be what I like. That Dachshund style will always bring them through. That last litter was the pet bitch and I looked at the litter and fell in love with one little PJ girl and brought CH Coppertone v Boondox ROM home with me and she became quite a producer herself. After seeing all these great puppies, I decided to go ahead and start using him and keep our fingers crossed. Then, Martha called and she wanted to use a bitch I had co-owned with her, CH Rose Farms Orchid v Boondox ROMO, to PJ. We did that breeding and had another litter to wait on. From the looks of the puppies I had seen, I was going to have some great ones to show myself and even more great ones sired by PJ to beat in the Show Ring.
Thinking back on looking for a family bred Stud to use, PJ was the epitome of that and I was very happy to use him. I hated to not be able to breed to Hannelore’s dogs again as I sure did love what Java and Gerolf sired for me, but, when she said I couldn’t, I honored her wish and then miraculously came up with PJ here and started using him and then, gradually began using his half brother, CH Boondox Yorktown ROMX (who was linebred on Gerolf), CH Boondox Sting v Kanawha ROMO (PJ son from a nice Bayard bitch), CH Boondox Forrest Gump ROMO and CH Boondox Polo ROMX (who were both PJ double grandsons), That certainly helped me in the coming years and I often wonder if Hannelore missed me not using her Dachshunds at all, because I woud have raised more nice ones from those dogs, instead of becoming their competition.
It was fall now and PJ was out of coat, so I did not take him to DCA, but did go and had a great time at the DCA Specialty in Phoenix where Paul Tolliver gave Lorene Hogan and CH Han-Jo’s ‘Xtra Copy L ROMO BV in the longhair division. That was a sweet one for all of us who loved that dog. I always felt that he was outstanding and Eddie always drew me to him as he was so exquisite to watch show because he was so correct and Eddie always had that ever hard-to-get front piece that few can recognize how important it was to make a great moving Dachshund. To be honest, most people today don’t see it at all no matter how much I say that it matters.
Then, I heard about Martha Grantham’s PJ puppies and they again were raves about what quality she had, but, in that litter, the males stole the Show and the great CH Bermarg Shoney of Boondox ROMO (three times BV at the DCA Specialty) and CH Bermarg Boondox Adventure ROMO were there, but there was only one bitch and so I decided not to take her and let Martha have and finish her. She, in return, would repeat the litter and I could have the best bitch who turned out to be the PJ/Orchid daughter, CH Boondox Bermarg Treasure L ROMX, who I truly consider to be the Best Dachshund that I ever owned. She was just outstanding everywhere and she got that gorgeous outline at eight weeks and never lost it her whole life. She loved to be on that lead ahead of everyone else. She was truly a treasure for me.
Spring began and I started showing PJ again and, as much as I loved him and valued the Dachshund style, type and movement that came down from Eddie, Gerolf, Java, Ully and Robert and Tartare and all my great bitches behind him, PJ started losing to his puppy offspring as they all started winning from the puppy class and taking the wins all around the country. Just think about PJ, who with that All Breed and Specialty show winning behind him, then began to lose to the new look that PJ himself created. That was very hard to do, but, to me, as PJ’s breeder and owner, his whole hard life was quite a thrill for him and for me as well.
That next winter, I ran PJ and the VERY adolescent Sting together and they got along fine until one day they didn’t and got into a horrible fight. I was right there and got them separated at once, but, unfortunately, PJ was bitten in the testicles. I started PJ on antibiotics immediately and, by the next day, his testicles were swollen immensely and he was not doing well at all. I ran him to the Vet and the assistant looked at him and said there was nothing to worry about, we will just castrate him and he will be as good as new. Well, I must say that didn’t go over well with me, because I had seen all these great Dachshunds he was producing and in no way wanted this to be the end of his producing career by being castrated at twenty-four months. I said maybe we need to talk to the Vet that owned the business about this because I had been coming here with all my dogs the whole time I had been showing Dachshunds and they knew how much they all meant to me. When the Dr came in, he looked him over and said we will keep them in and medicate and try to get this infection under control. He gave PJ me the first pills and off I went home with the rest. After a couple of days, the infection cleared up and he was doing fine, but would he be fine and fertile? That was my test to wait and see about that. It was not easy, but we even managed to fight this off, too. What a relief those first Dachshund puppies were when they arrived, By the way, PJ and Sting never shared another run after that incident and I always owed the outcome to my Doctor who always tried to please me as well as my special Dogs…and they did know that PJ was very important to me.
It was an honor to have bred him, raised him and kept him through all his problems and, after all that “bad”‘ luck, to see him rise to the top and become the Top Longhair Producer across the World was quite an accomplishment. When he became the Number One Longhair producer, it made me proud and then, when he went over 100 Champions for the first time in Dachshunds, that made me even prouder.
PJ sired so many Top Specials and Specialty winners that we all lost count, but each success was appreciated. To see his offspring winning so much all across the USA and in other countries as well makes me appreciate all the time I spent promoting this Breed that I still love even with raising the worst puppy EVER-CH Boondox Panama Jack ROMO and I can say that because seeing the one that I thought was born great improve himself and be a huge winner and then start siring even better puppies, makes me very pleased with him, indeed.
I know I must have peeved everyone else because I was so wound up in showing Dachshunds and spent all my time on the phone (usually with Wally Jones), working them, taking care of them and planning my next breedings and shows. I probably should feel guilty about all the time I spent on Dachshunds, but, in my small way, I do believe that the work I did made a difference in Standard Smooths and Standard Longhairs and a little difference in Miniature Wires. I finished almost 300 AKC Champions and helped in a small way to breed better quality in my breeding lines and most of my time, since 1984, was spent working with and helping the worst little puppy ever, CH Boondox Panama Jack ROMO. He was a true gift and his presence made all of my dogs better in the long run, even though it did take a long time to get here.