Those Who Sit and Wait

Since creating this page two of our beloved pets below crossed over the Rainbow Bridge to Doggie Heaven in 2001. Forever in our hearts - Haiti and Sparky.

While the Herkimer/Montgomery Counties volunteers spend hours organizing, corresponding and coding, our canine companions wait patiently for us to turn off the monitors and give them more of the attention they deserve. They've strongly alluded to us that they'd take a more personal interest in the GenWeb project if we put up information about their own families and heritage! On this page we present Logan, the Standard Poodle, whose heritage goes back to Germany; Haiti, whose ancestors hail from the Emerald Isle; Sparky, who like most of us is of mixed background; Charlee the Tawny Boxer; Puppy Girl the Puppy Pie; and the Princess Dobrinya, better known as Dobie, whose illustrious family heritage traces back to the courts of Ancient Egypt.

Logan is a white Standard poodle, born in Phoenix, Arizona, on Leap Year Day in 2000. His original name was Echo, but he refused to answer to it. Instead, he responded only to his brother's name: Logan. When the name Logan was called, both would gallop into the house, careen around the corner together, and skid to a stop. ("You called, Mom?") Thus, Logan chose his own name.

Logan's favorite things are car rides, dog cookies, cold yogurt, soft pillows (lots, please!), wrestling with his nieces, howling to the "Law & Order" theme song, goosing appliance repairmen, and trying to climb into hamburger establishments through their drive-up windows. He lives in Tempe, Arizona, and carefully supervises all of his mom's genealogy research to be sure it is "doggone" accurate.

April 2, 1992 - 1:21 PM, June 21, 2001

Your Gentle Smiling Soul Inspired Us Every Day, Mommy and Daddy's Little Girl

Haiti, more formally known as Kerry-Eire Odyssey, was born April 2, 1992, the daughter of Ch. Kerry-Eire Tap Dancin' (known to his friends as Kyle) and Ch. Hazelhill Sweet Cakes (known to her friends as Charlotte). Her mother and father had a brief but romantic December-May liaison along the shores of Lake Erie. Yes, the family secret is that her mother liked younger men. Although we don't discuss it around her, Haiti is both the granddaughter on her mother's side and great-granddaughter on her father's side of Ch. Kerry-Eire Revolutionary, top Irish Setter in the country in 1980 and a dog who made quite a name for himself in television commercials in the early '80s. She loves it when we tell her that she looks just like him! She's also the granddaughter of famous setter mommy of champions Ch. Kerry-Eire Coral Charm. Haiti's father's half-brother, Ch. Quailfield's Mak'n Business, won best of breed at Westminster Dog Show in 1993, so she has younger cousins too numerous to mention spread all across the country. Although she doesn't get to see any of her relatives too often, it's quite alright with her as for some interesting reason Haiti is her own cousin many times over!

Several years ago I traced one of Haiti's lines, through her ggg-grandfather Ch. Legend of Varagon, UDT, back 24 generations to Ireland, by way of St. Petersburg, Russia, where her illustrious ancestor Elcho dallied for some time. Until his human bought him a one-way ticket to emigrate to St. Louis, MO in 1875. In light of the fact that she has 32 ggg-grandparents whose ancestors happened to have short generation spans, I feel I've done my genealogical duty to her for the present, and selfishly have continued to look for my own ggg-grandparents. I can only focus on her 95% of the time!

Haiti herself is the end of one twig on her great family tree due to a surgical procedure. As her adoptive parent I was not enthused about being temporary mother to a prospective and typical 8-12 offspring in a close urban environment! Not to mention placing her descendants with good families! Although it has often been rumored that her ancestors were ...sshhh...not too bright, she indignantly insists that this is a "catty" untruth typical of the ethnic joking phenomenon found world-wide. She is joyful, brilliant and gainfully self-employed as a private "cuisine tester". An altruistic sort, she volunteers as an ex-officio ambassador of international goodwill, happily and eagerly posing for tourists' cameras in lower Manhattan. If Ellis Island were still open for business as usual she would no doubt have been hired as the official greeter.

Uh,oh. Haiti just carried over a short list of her favorite sites, some showing distant cousins whose adoptive parents have posted their lineages. Okay, I can take a hint. And after I'm done coding it in I promise we'll go out!

Irish Setter Club of America, Inc.
Lucy & Gracie

Puppy Girl is registered with the UKC, The United Kennel Club of America. Someone told me there are about 7 different kennel clubs. I guess if someone wouldn't register a dog they would make up their own! The AKC just started registering Jack Russell Terriers this year. That's why there is a JRTCA; some folks got together and decided to heck with them, we'll make our own! The JRTCA stands for The Jack Russell Terrier Club of America, and you can't register a JRT until it's at least a year old (even if the parents are registered) to make sure that the dogs comes up to their standards. They don't registered litters, they register the dog based on it's markings, height, weight and personality (no cowards allowed)! Even their teeth have to be aligned right! You also have to get them Vet checked not more than 30 days before applying for registration with a special JRTCA check up! So far I think Puppy is up to their standards, though I haven't checked her teeth yet! Seriously, they have to have them checked too, no crooked teeth! You also have to send them photos of your JRT, left, right and frontal photos with their feet in view. YEP, they look at those too! It sounds like a big hassle and if I take her off the UKC and she doesn't get registered with the JRTCA, well then, Puppy Girl will just be a plain ol' mutt! But mom will still love her and the kids couldn't care less! But I want to show her and take her to the trials so I'm going for it. Puppy Girl was recently bred and we're waiting for signs that she might be expecting. If so, stay tuned for reports as she'll expecting the babies in May!

Jack Russell Terriers were first developed in the 19th century by an English clergyman, Parson Jack Russell. Formerly used for hunting small game, they are now popular companion dogs.

She was first seen at the local Humane Society in 1996, sitting in the corner of a large cage, looking very regal and lonely. The notice on the cage said "Boxer mix", "Reason for Leaving - Divorcing". The other information stated that "she was 3 years old, liked other animals, loved children, spent 24 hours a day outside, but was housebroken." Her name read as "Charlie, spayed."

After her selection, she hopped up into the back of a pick-up truck and looked very pleased to be on her way to a new life. We decided to keep her name, but changed the spelling to "Charlee".

After owning a number of dogs through the years, the one before her a gorgeous Dalmation, we have concluded Charlee is the most sweet, lovable, intelligent and unusual dog this family has ever had. She doesn't care for a ball, won't retrieve a Frisbee, but adores carrying around stuffed toys, never breaking a stitch. She lies down, front paws at the left and right of her dish of food. She nibbles daintily at each piece of dry good, and can take all day before the dish is empty. Charlee loves going anywhere in a car. When she climbs inside, she quickly curls up and goes to sleep. Charlee is a social creature, and thoroughly loves being in the middle of a group, kissing everyone, especially little children. She shows devotion to both her owners, Bill and Nina. She greets most other dogs in a friendly manner, and is cautious, but interested in playing with cats, such as her new friend Kittie.

When we got her the vet thought Charlee was a boxer mix as she had her tail docked but did not have her ears clipped. We have since found out that her background was as regal as she is - but she wasn't letting on. Charlee's ancestors hailed from Munich in the 1850s, and she is a type of boxer called a "Tawny Boxer.".

In Loving Memory of Sparky

Sparky waits for someone to play with him. A creature of comfort, he frequently waits in his house while he watches the resident chipmunks and robins. Living in Fairfield, Herkimer County, provides a dog with frequent climate changes. Thunderstorms and driving rain or snow drive Sparky into his favorite chair in the Dieffenbacher den.

Sparky has lived in Fairfield since his rescue from the Herkimer County Humane Society about six years ago. Of mixed parentage, he mostly resembles the Border Collie, so that is what he is considered to be by his family. The only herding to be done in the Dieffenbacher yard is that of grandchildren. They are greeted with joy in hope of a romp.

Sparky's pals are a white lab and a brown chow who come with their masters on visits from Syracuse. Recently Sparky discovered a persistent intruder, a Border Collie who looks just like him and lives in the reflecting ball in the Dieffenbacher garden. Despite his best efforts to scare him away, the intruder still lurks in the flower bed!

Close-up of Sparky

When Martha suggested a page for our pets, I was somewhat reticent because the Egyptian Rakalbi is one of the world's best kept secrets in the canine breeding field.

When my wife died, my son Craig decided that I must focus my attention on a new companion, and one evening presented me with a furry bundle of activity. Not recognizing the breed, I asked Craig and was told that one of his friends who was working in Egypt brought the pup on his scheduled rotation back to the States ...... and that she was a Rakalbi. If I were not deeply involved in genealogy, I might have dropped the ball right there!

However, I named her "Princess Dobrinya", and began my quest to find information on her background. Without going into the boring sources of data, I found that the Rakalbi was bred especially for Cleopatra and had specific qualifications:

1. As a bodyguard, they were trained to attack on command,
   or if a person came within 10' of Cleopatra, and since
   they weighed in at 150-175#, they were seldom challenged.
2. They were bred for intelligence, loyality, speed, and
   endurance. Legend has it that they would run alongside
   the chariots all day, without fatigue.
3. Beauty was another requirement that the Queen insisted
   upon, and you can still see the oriental sloe eyes, the
   eyelid liner, and delicate features.

Perhaps you have noticed that every painting and statue of Cleopatra has a dog sitting immediately at her right hand. That is the Rakalbi! Another interesting feature is that the forelegs were somewhat lengthened, in order to guarantee an alert and regal posture when sitting next to the Queen.

And all this was accomplished before DNA became a household word.

Fortunately for me, the breed has been down-sized over the years, to what I refer to as the condo-size model!

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