ABOUT ANGEL'S LAIR
Once upon a time, on a Bouvier list from which I have long since been expelled
for telling the truth and being smarter than the censor, I was called the
"Angel of Marengo" in a moment of frustration. Since "Engel"
is angel in German, and since the implication was more of the fallen
variety, the name immediately became well accepted.
Although it took a decade to fully realize it and accept it, I came to believe in
the Bouvier as a working dog in an era when his slide into oblivion was
just passing the point of no return, when the hypocrisy of the breeders
and leadership, in Europe as well as America, was destroying the last vestige
of the gift of the founders. A few of us thought we could turn the tide
of history, but we underestimated the power of the show breeders, for whom
the dog show game is in the most fundamental sense a political process dedicated
to vanity, stupidity and greed. Time and again efforts to restore the breed
as a working dog have been perverted into more self serving propaganda in
the service the age old show breeder lie: "Show dogs can do it to
All of the clubs,
the magazines, the breeders and the judges talk nice in public, affirm
that they really do believe that the Bouvier is a working dog, have ringing
slogans about the character of the breed. But its a pack of lies, pure
and simple. In reality all they care about is show ring winning and a
case full of phony trophies. You can see the results in every show ring
in the world.
My purpose here is
to bear witness to the heritage, to honor the men and woman who brought
this noble breed into existence and those who even today through their
personal standards of training and breeding remain faithful onto the heritage,
even as the forces of history sweep it away before their eyes.
LEGAL EAGLE STUFF
The material presented here is protected by Copyright, and can not be reproduced,
reprinted or used in any other way without my permission. Official club
publications are normally granted limited reprint permission, but must
first contact us. In addition to da law, we are protected by a Witch
with a contract to cast a spell on the violators, turning all the show
dogs into old time Dutch working dogs, right in the middle of the show
ring at the most critical moment, and the real Bouviers into the fluffy
bait and gait show dogs, the infamous "Bouviers des Boudoir,"
the moment before the test of courage. |