| One day, there was an advertisement in our local
paper for Great Pyrenees puppies, which I thought was very unusual because I had never
before see an advertisement for this breed, I told my husband and he said,
"Hmm." and that was it. Then one day he called me at home and asked me to ride
out to the rig with him, the oil business in those days. We drove to the rig and dropped
off his equipment and as we went to leave he turned in a different direction than I
thought he should be going. I asked "Where are you going?" He said, "I want
you to see something." We went to a farm and he said, "Okay, go get yourself a
puppy." He had brought me to Rita Snyder's she had a litter of puppies out of Soleil
Dinky Snyder, from Jack Magoffin and Soleil Kennel's. I was so excited and thought,
"This is great!" I walked up to the litter of puppies and picked up one white
female and said, " This is the one I want." Rita said "Don't you want to
look at the others?" I said, "No, this is my Schnee Bar. This is the one I
want." Schnee Bar in German means snow bear. So I took Schnee Bar home. During the first five years of having Pyrenees, I made a lot of phone calls, read books,
studied pedigrees and ordered anything I could find on this breed. In reading I realized
that Schnee Bar really had a nice pedigree. At this time I didn't know what dog shows were
all about and there weren't any close to our area. But I asked my daughter Shelly if she
would like to attend one with me. We went to one and thought it was utterly ridiculous to
drive 100-some miles to be in the ring for three or four minutes, show your dog, and then
leave the ring and maybe show your dog the next day or go home - but there was something
about it. I realized that my dog not only had a good pedigree, but she was a nice specimen
of the breed. She was a nice size, she moved nicely, had a wonderful temperament, and was
very intelligent. I talked with Jack Magoffin in the interim period and I asked him if he
had a male dog. If I was doing to go to dog shows, I didn't want to just take my dog.
After further discussions he told me he had a male to sell, Soleil Snow Bounder, if I was
interested. Jack lived 60 miles from my home which may not seem like much to some people
but I had only traveled back forth from town and church and went on one vacation trip to
Colorado with family. I had always lived a rather isolated lifestyle and had not gone
anyplace by myself but that day I went to Jack's 60 miles away. My husband thought I was
completely loosing it. I had a delightful time and brought back Soleil Snow Bounder, he
woofed and the way home and barked through every town. At first my husband David was a
little afraid of him and actually told me to take him back but, Jack talked David into
letting Snow Bounder stay for the week and by then we were all in love with him. Up until
my husband died in March of 1994, Bounder had been his best friend. Bounder died one month
after my husband died. We had Bounder for about fourteen years. |
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Schnee Bar and Snow Bounder were my foundation dogs and form the Soleil side of my
breeding program they added gentleness and sound healthy bone. The Karolaska dogs, the
other side of my foundation breeding program adds the beauty and intelligence, these dogs
are very sharp and alert. I feel these two lines really compliment one another. In my
breeding program I want a well-balanced dog. To me, well-balanced means a dog of great
size with high intelligence and a sound temperament the will adept itself to various
situations. I want the dog to be able to live comfortably in the city, on a farm or a
sheep ranch and have the intelligence to watch after a flock of sheep, and know how to
protect baby lambs being born from predators. It should not only have the most gentle
attributes, but the most vicious so that it will not be afraid to kill a coyote. It should
be able to stick up for itself and know when to fight and when not to fight. They must
have sound, balanced temperaments. |
