Jane Saunders

I had my first keeshond bitch in 1957, when a chance conversation directed my Mother to the local children's' home where a litter were looking for good homes. Many decades later I found out that the parents of Sally were Van Zaandam breeding from Mrs Gwendoline Wingfield-Digby's famous kennel. She was an old fashioned type and it was easy to see how Mrs Wingfield Digby had thought the dogs she first saw on the Dutch barges were little German Shepherds.

Sadly Sally succumbed to late onset seizures but we were enchanted by the breed and Penny followed in 1966. She was a beautiful bitch, a daughter of Ch Sinterklaas Big Noise of Evenlode.I was tempted to attend a few local shows with her.

Education came first but after I graduated I returned to the idea of showing and breeding in a small way. My foundation bitch was a Duroya, from the late Audrey Woodiwiss and I now have generation eight (8) with my young bitch Liefkees Adina who is a successful showgirl at Championship level.

My main passion in recent years has been to work for the health of our beautiful breed. This started when my home bred bitch Anni was diagnosed with PHPT and treated at Cambridge Veterinary School Hospital. The realisation that we were looking at an inherited disease started the research of Dr Barbara Skelly and when the test became available in the USA I commenced the open registers to record the status of dogs. Originally it was to be for UK bred dogs but following requests from breeders in several European Countries, including Finland, I launched the International Open Register for PHPT where all Finnish dogs are listed.

Health work has enabled me to make contacts worldwide and I feel privileged to work alongside so many dedicated breeders for the health of our wonderful breed.