C & P Swissy Licks Providing fun activities, information, and support to Swissy enthusiasts www.cpgreaterswiss.com April Pack Hike Rousing Success! Many thanks to Andi Lage and hubby Christopher Woltemade for organizing the club s first official activity with the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Club of America! Andi and Porter Christopher and Porter May 2009 Volume 2 Issue 5 Pack Hikes Report, April 25-26! By Christopher Woltemade photos pgs 3-5 HOT DOG! With high temperatures of 90 degrees for the two-day pack hike, staying cool was the name of the game. Four Swissies, a cocker spaniel, and 13 people did the Saturday hike along the Appalachian Trail in southern Pennsylvania. We had a wonderful time, especially stopping for dogs to cool off in the many spring-fed streams that are flowing at this time of year. After the hike we gathered at Christopher and Andi s house for cool drinks and canine entertainment as the dogs romped in the back yard. I m afraid the neighbors may have been serenaded by a Swissy chorus for a couple of hours, as we lined up crates under the ceiling fan and headed for the local pub. The 2-mile drive to the pub put us just out of earshot of the yodeling or maybe the beer just tasted so good that we weren t listening! Saturday hikers included Jenna Starr-Farling with Izzy (and her dad, Al), David Bretz with Dimples, Jennifer Leopold with Autumn, Christopher Woltemade with Porter, Kris F. with Daisy (the super-cocker), and hike coordinator Andrea Lage. Also with us were Jurgen, visiting from Germany and counting the days until his next Swissy pup is born across the border in Switzerland, along with several family members from New Jersey and South Carolina. They enjoyed the hike as a family reunion and for Jurgen to see a few American-bred Swissies, which he remarked are very similar to the Swissies in his home area near Basel. We got started early on Sunday morning, but by 8:30 it was already warming up fast and, since the trees were not yet leafed out, there was little escape from the sun. The Buck Ridge Trail (from Pine Grove Furnace State Park) did offer plenty of cool streams for cooling off. The two dogs on this hike Autumn and Porter made full use of the opportunity, while Jennifer, Christopher, and Andrea were able to stay (mostly) dry. We are happy to report that Izzy earned a leg toward his NWPD title and both Autumn and Porter earned two legs towards their WPD titles. Let s hope they can earn the remaining legs in cooler weather. Thanks to all those who came to share our neck of the woods on these hikes. Fight Global Warming car pool to your next Swissy Pack Hike! P.S. Look for information later on a possible fall hike on the Cumberland Valley Rail Trail (flat!) and Swissy drafting in the Shippensburg Halloween Parade October 17, 2009. Downright spooky fun! Chesapeake and Potomac Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Club
C & P does the Tidal Basin at Cherry Blossom Time! At the suggestion of Mercedes Meyer and Stephen Hewitt, several members of the C & P Club basked in the sun and cherry blossoms the day after Washington s annual Cherry Blossom Festival. Parking was an issue due to spring break, the Cherry Blossom 5K Run (which closed many streets in the District until noon), and the blossoms themselves, of course, drawing many visitors. Next year we ll have to think of a way to get down there and parked. Several club members tried, in vain, to find a spot and chose another District location to enjoy. Deb Martin describes their adventure, We really did try!!! We spun around DC twice trying to find parking. We finally caved and went to the Theodore Roosevelt Island and tooled around there all afternoon. We toyed with bringing our Swissy girl on the metro but decided against it. ;-) Next time we'll leave at 8 AM!!! We got to DC at 9AM and it took us awhile to find parking, says Kris F. By the time we got to the tidal basin it was 10:00 on the nose. We left Sterling at 8:30. Got kinda lucky on our parking spot, too. Today was a ton of fun. There were so many people taking photos of all the Swissies and we couldn't keep the kids away. I think it would be a great idea to piggy-back on Stephen & Mercedes' tradition and do this every year. I'm sure next year if we plan this right we could get a really nice turnout. 2
Pack Hike Fun Saturday! 3
Cooling off Saturday Night!! For more photos, click HERE 4
More Hot Dogs Sunday!! 5
Membership Renewal Please renew your membership if you joined the club before March 2009. See page 9 for the form. Charter memberships are also available until June 30th so if you ve been thinking of joining during our inaugural year, please do so soon! Charter membership form on page 10. Upcoming Events April 27-May 1 GSMDCA National Specialty www.gsmdca.org May 2 Pet Fiesta, Reston Town Center www.petfiesta.org September 26 Eastern Regional Specialty, C & P Club Meeting & Picnic, Warrenton, VA October 17 Haloween Parade, Shippensburg, PA Do you know??? Past issues of the C & P Swissy Licks are on our website at www.cpgreaterswiss.com The Russians are Here! Some of you may remember that Cathy Cooper judged a dog show in Russia last fall and wrote two great articles for Swissy Licks (see the November 2008 newsletter at www.cpgreaterswiss.com/newsletters.html). Cathy visited an estate, where Swissies are bred, and met the dog handler (Nicolas) and travel agent (Natalia). Those two people, three Swissies and a Basenji made their way to the USA! Natalia, from Moscow, and Nicholas, from Argentina now living in Moscow, have been attending dogs shows up and down the Eastern Seaboard for the past several weeks and will make their way to Utah for Nationals. Danya has been making quite a splash he earned his American Championship in just a couple of weekends and took Best of Breed several times. Their girl, Aplena, is well on her way to earning an American championship, too. She has been Winners Bitch, Best of Winners and Best of Opposite at a number of shows. Tatoose, another female from their kennel, is a sweet girl here in the states. Niki, the Basenji, has also been in the breed ring. Please say a special Hello! if you see them at a show. Read about their boy, Danya, in the Brags Section of this newsletter. Membership Renewal! Yes, it has been almost one year since we had our first club meeting and BBQ! And what a year it has been! We have over 60 charter members, had several parties, hosted our first official event (see the lead story!), been chosen by the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Club of America to host the Eastern Regional Specialty, held a draft clinic, and smelled the roses (actually, cherry blossoms!). We hope the club has offered you opportunities to meet and stay in touch with Swissy owners. Please take a moment to complete and send the Membership Renewal form, on page 9, to Phyllis Walker, our Membership Chairperson. Charter Memberships Available! If you ve been thinking about joining the club, please do so before June 30th to receive charter member status. There are no extrinsic rewards for being a charter member it simply means you ve been part of us from the outset! The Charter Membership Form is found on page 10. Eastern Regional Specialty! The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Club of America s Board of Directors voted to designate our September regional specialty as the national club s Eastern Regional Specialty for 2009! This means that C & P GSMDC is hosting the event on behalf of the national club. Everything stays the same except the GSMDCA sponsors a number of trophies. What an honor to have this happen during our club s inaugural year! It shows what a group of enthusiastic folks can do. Many thanks to the Board of Directors for their vote of confidence in our club! A huge shout out goes to Robin Ney, who is embroidering a digitized version of our logo onto the trophies for the specialty. She donated her services of digitizing the logo typically a $150 set up fee. Thank you, Robin! We officially welcome you as a member of the club! 6
Over the Rainbow Dublin and Sutter Dublin lost her battle with epilepsy. She look her last breath with her head in my lap. She just turned five. I keep expecting to feel her nudging my hand as I type this. Just last week she was running around enjoying warm weather. Of course, as long as there are plenty of raw femur bones and cat poop at the rainbow bridge, I m sure she is content. But my home and heart are empty. Thank you to everyone in the Swissy community who welcomed us and became good friends. Dublin was the most amazing introduction to the breed. Her heart was bigger and braver than I ever could have imagined. Dr. Amy, Jon and Sutter C & P GSMDC Pro tem Board Members Mike Starn - President Jean Measell - Vice President Jim Rasmussen - Treasurer Mary Jo Rasmussen - Secretary Huck Bothner - Director Cathy Cooper - Director Kris F. - Director Phyllis Walker Director Additional Positions Jan Collins Photographer Kris F. Webmaster Suzy Fuquea Events Coordinator Mary Jo Rasmussen Newsletter Editor Audrey Starn Rescue Coordinator Phyllis Walker Membership To remove your name for our e-mail list, please CLICK HERE. Questions or comments? Email us at info@cpgreaterswiss.com or call 734-645-0899 C & P Club Member BRAGS! Walter Likevich earned his Master Draft Dog title in what Lesley Fisher described as, frightful weather 40 degrees with rain, hail and windstorms. Great job under any circumstances, Dori, but Q-ing under those conditions deserves extra-special recognition! Burley earned his Novice FAST agility title (with a first place!) at the Westminster, MD trial. He also qualified in two MXJ runs (two third places). With Jim handling in Chesterfield, VA, Burley earned his first Excellent Standard leg (it s been two years since his last Standard leg so maybe the drought has ended!), an Open FAST leg and an MXJ leg. Doreen Holly s Titan joined a handful of Swissies when he earned his Rally Excellent title in Harrisburg with two 97-point legs!! You can call him CH Seavaridge's Victorious Titan CGC, TDI, RE Kelly Nevin s Titan earned a perfect score in his very first agility standard run! YIPPEE! Kristin Krumpe s Bowie and Lori Price s Oola went Best of Breed and Best of Opposite Friday in Harrisburg! Cash went Best of Breed in Harrisburg Saturday, with Animal Planet taping the show. Tracy was interviewed on camera so look for her shining face in July! Kathy and Ken s Tino took Best of Breed in Harrisburg Sunday! He s following in Bruno s footsteps! Janelle Kaiser s Tippy earned her championship with a 5-point major in Perry, GA. Mayday took Best Puppy in Sweeps wonderful Easter weekend! Russian boy, Danya, has taken the US by storm, earning a 3-point major in Charlotte and a 5-point major in Perry. He also took Best of Breed in the Harrisburg and Timonium shows! News flash he took a Group 4 placement in West Virginia this past weekend! Cathy and Mary Beth s Donald took Best Stud Dog in Perry Sophia thinks he s kinda studly! Kris, Kathleen, and Liam s 4 month old Gabby earned a STAR through AKC s new program. Great accomplishment at such a young age! Send brags as often as you like to mjrasmus@gmail.com The Mailbarks General Comments Another great newsletter!! I look forward to receiving them. Rita Rimler As always...great information! Kris F. Nicolas handling Danya Titan Holly 7
Kids BAROO! Here is your chance to be a published author, artist, photographer whatever!! Please send stories (real or not), photos, drawings, games or anything else you can think of to be included in the Kids BAROO! section of the newsletter. Please send submissions to mjrasmus@gmail.com Or you can snail mail it to the newsletter editor and she will scan it and mail it back to you! Now there s something to BAROO about! Mary Jo Rasmussen 3152 Holmes Run Road Falls Church, VA 22042 Sixteen year old Drew Bailey with Tangee in Louisville, KY take Best of Opposite! Answer to last month s Word Find: Answers next month! 8
Chesapeake & Potomac (C & P GSMDC) Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Club Application for Renewal Membership July 1, 2009 June 30, 2010 NAME(S) ADDRESS TELEPHONE E-MAIL ADDRESS Allow contact information to be posted in club directory? Yes No Please list any Swissies that have joined your family in the past year: I (We) agree to abide by the Constitution and Bylaws of this Club and the rules of the American Kennel Club. Signature and Date Signature and Date Yearly Membership Fees are $35 for Family Membership, $25 per Individual Member. While membership is unrestricted as to residence, the C & P GSMDC strongly encourages members outside of the Club s geographical area (DC, DE, MD, Eastern PA, VA) to apply for Associate Membership. Those who wish to learn more about the GSMD but do not own a GSMD may join as an Associate Member. Associate Membership Fees are $35 for Family Membership, $25 per Individual Member. Associate members are not able to vote or hold office in the C & P GSMD Club. New memberships paid after March 1, 2009 will be carried over through June, 2010. Contact Phyllis Walker at pgwalkerphd@gmail.com if you are uncertain. This is YOUR club--let us know what you d like to do! Please let us know what events you would like C & P to provide and how you would like to support the club. Also, add any additional information you d like to share about yourself and/or your dogs: Please send a check payable to the C & P GSMD Club along with this application to the Membership Chairperson: Phyllis Walker, 5933 Sixth Street, Falls Church, VA 22041 9
Chesapeake & Potomac (C & P GSMDC) GREATER SWISS MOUNTAIN DOG CLUB Application for CHARTER Membership July 1, 2008 June 30, 2009 NAME(S) ADDRESS TELEPHONE CELL PHONE Allow contact information to be posted in club directory? Yes No Registered Name of GSMD Call Name Registration # Breeder Name Date of Birth Please check all that apply: Breeder (registered a litter within past 3 years) Exhibitor (handled dog at AKC event within past 2 years) Dog Owner (of AKC registered dog) Judge (AKClicensed judge) I (We) agree to abide by the Constitution and Bylaws of this Club and the rules of the American Kennel Club. Signature and Date Signature and Date Yearly Membership Fees are $35 for Family Membership, $25 per Individual Member. While membership is unrestricted as to residence, the C & P GSMDC strongly encourages members outside of the Club s geographical area (DC, DE, MD, Eastern PA, VA) to apply for Associate Membership. Those who wish to learn more about the GSMD but do not own a GSMD may join as an Associate Member. Associate Membership Fees are $35 for Family Membership, $25 per Individual Member. Associate members are not able to vote or hold office in the C & P GSMD Club. Please let us know what events you would like C & P to provide and how you would like to support the club. Also, add any additional information you d like to share about yourself and/or your dogs. This is YOUR club--let us know what you d like to do! BBQ s, parties, etc. Conformation Agility Obedience/Rally Dog show help Weight pull Breed information Health issues Packing Write Newsletter articles Drafting Rescue Serve on board Herding Therapy In what ways would you like to volunteer for the club: Please send a check payable to the C & P GSMD Club along with this application to the Membership Chairperson, Phyllis Walker, 5933 Sixth Street, Falls Church, VA 22041 10