For years the same words were written on top of my list for Christmas presents - A HORSE, A DOG! The thing was, I could never decide which I wanted the most. Before I was born my family had a Miniature Poodle. And our neighbors had horses. Growing up I used to look after German Shepherds and Airedale Terriers and when not spending my time in the horse stable, I used to visit Mrs. Ulla Timander´s Airedale kennel Memphis or the Obedience Club in Lidingö outside Stockholm, where I grew up. The dream of having a dog and a horse of my very own grew stronger during these years, and today I am fortunate that my dreams have been fulfilled. |
Malya Flipper,Malya Diky-Diky,Basirius Zaza och Triumph Elka (1976) |
In 1973 we bought a lovely German Shepherd bitch from the world famous breeder/judge Mr. Bo Nyman. Her name was Triumphs Elka. With her I competed in obedience and working trials. She was a lovely dog and healthy and well during her 15 years. We decided that we wanted one more dog. Not another German Shepherd, but a smaller dog, that still had the attitude of a big one and suited our one-room apartment. My (to become) sister-in-law, Catharina Almroth, had a Miniature Schnauzer bitch - Wigsands Z Galinka - bred by Mrs. Asta Lindgren in Finland. When we met this dog we knew this was what we were looking for. But where should we find one? |
So we called Signora Pozzi and asked if we could come and visit and were very pleased that the answer was "yes". Getting there, it felt like time almost stood still! I could have stayed forever. At the time she bred Airedales and all three sizes of Schnauzers. Besides that we found a male puppy for ourselves - Malya Bouxi, the memory stays of having seen Mimi Dei Diavoli Neri, a 12 year old black Standard Schnauzer bitch with a perfect shape and an amazing background. I will always remember her. Coming back home and having had Boxie put into quarantine in Finland together with Asta´s pair from Holland my interest of breeding and blood-lines started. I subscribed on the German Schnauzer/Pinscher magazine and send for stud books from the 40s, 50s and 60s. We were happy to have our Bouxi out of quarantine after four months but the happiness should not last very long. A few months later he died, suffering from a bad urine infection, being wrongly diagnosed by a veterinarian. We had at that time already booked a bitch puppy from Jonny and Milly Olsson´s kennel Basirius in Sweden. Bouxi was very deeply missed but thinking of our new puppy - Basirius Zaza, - we tried to look forward again. |
Sign Pozzi-Tarlarini, kennel Malya outside her house in Italy 1975 |
But we could not really get rid of the idea to get another dog from the Malya kennels. We had contact with Mrs. Pozzi all the time and as soon as we asked to have a new one she offered us a black dog puppy - Malya Flipper. We decided to have him but had no company for him in the quarantine, so that is why the bitch Malya Diky-Diky came along as well. She was a half sister to Flipper and time would tell that she was to be the best brood bitch we could ever wish for. Diky became the foundation bitch of kennel Fixus. She later became Int and Scand Ch, KBSG, and a specialty BIS winner and was also placed in group finals in Finland as well as in Norway. Diky was sound and healthy all her life and was the natural leaders in the kennel. When she finally, due to old age, gave up some of her ranger ship to the younger bitches, she still kept total control over her favorite place in the kitchen. She just had to give them a look and they moved away from the place that belonged to her as long as she lived, which was for 15 years. Flipper, a real SCHNAUZER, was a big winner and a very good ambassador for his color in Sweden. At the time they still competed in mixed classes. He was extremely short, a bit thin for a male but with a very showy and outgoing temperament. He loved the show-ring. He got his Int and Scand Ch and KBSG titles and was for all time my very special dog. He would do everything for me. If I was away he picked one of my sweaters, pulled it to the front door and stayed there waiting for me. He would go out to do his things but that was all. Flipper lived until the age of 12.
The best of Diky´s daughters that we kept were Fixus Accara (by Flipper) and Fixus BaCaril (by Jamo). They never managed to get their titles even if BaCaril got two cc´s. Both had very good details, which they also passed on to their offspring, but as I said, the over-all balance was still missing. |
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Husband Jan with Basirius Zaza |
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