Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Westminster Win Brings Onslaught of Memories

Last week I was watching a live-streaming broadcast of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in NYC on my iPhone - wonders will never cease!!

Anyway, I managed to capture a screen shot of the Best of Breed, a female I later found out is GCH Mephisto's Speak of the Devil, a Canadian (Vancouver) bred boxer from a kennel which we knew back in the day when we were also showing boxers (though never at that level!) and Mephisto hadn't yet made the move to BC from Ontario. (I'm talking 40+ years ago) By the way, GCH is Grand Champion.

This is the screenshot from my phone

This is the official show photo that appeared in my facebook feed from Mephisto Boxers


The blurb on the Facebook post mentioned that Devlin, as she is commonly known, was Reserve Winner at the American Boxer Club show at only 9 months old and subsequently was #1 Working Dog in the USA. Here she is at 3 years of age, winning her second Best of Breed at Westminster. 

The judge was Ms. Judith Ann Smith and this win was on February 16, 2016. Devlin went on to place second in the Working Group, losing out to the Samoyed* which then lost out for Best in Show to the German Shorthaired Pointer. Best in Show judge was Canadian, Dr. Richard Meen.

* This Sammy, GCH Pebbles' Run Play It Again Ham, by the way, is also a Canadian dog and a multi-winner of Best of Breed at Westminster. Click here for a pic.

Here's a somewhat better photo of Devlin from her 2015 win:


I haven't kept up with dog shows/judging in the last 40 years, but way back when it was considered unusual for a female to win a high-profile dog show such as Westminster because males were considered to portray more definitely the breed traits that were the standard. 

By the way, it is completely possible that Devlin is distantly related to our very first boxer, Ch Scher-Khoun's Night Song (Sasha) because I believe that Monika and Walter Pinsker of Mephisto Boxers owned a pup, also their first, from that same 1968 litter. 

Scher-Khoun Kennels was owned and operated in Thornhill Ontario by Ben and Shirley DeBoer, who bred Can/Am Ch. Scher-Khoun's Shadrack, son of Can/Am Ch. Milan's Fashion Hint. Both of these dogs, well-bred in their own right, would be considered the basis of many modern North American boxer lines. 

Sasha was also a Fashion Hint daughter and did well in the Canadian dog show circuit in spite of being both non-flashy and owner-handled. We bred her twice and then retired from dog breeding and showing, deciding to concentrate on our young growing family instead. 

Those were the days!

Milan's Fashion Hint

Shirley DeBoer with Shadrack


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