My mother has told me that when I was two years old I refused to eat at the table… It had to happen under the table! I also demanded to wear a collar…  Whenever my parents asked what would I like to have for a birthday or Christmas present, the answer was always : A DOG! Even my best friends were dogs from the neighbourhood - there was a very aggressive Airedale Terrier  and a German Shepherd which was said to be aggressive;-)  Neither of them ever showed any aggression to me!

Anyway, my parents never bought me a dog.  They were sure that I wouldn´t take care of it as I promised and they didn´t have time for one themselves. So I had to settle for playing and going out for walks with the dogs in my neighbourhood.

I am afraid that  I was quite a pain in their necks - always asking for their dogs to come out with me.

When I was 14 years old I bought a dog myself! I had saved money by working during the school holidays and my parents couldn´t  stop me anymore. When I came home with a 6 months old German shepherd "puppy" my mother was standing in front of the door telling me that "only over my dead body"… Luckily, the dog was clever enough to slip into the house between her legs!

Somehow it turned into a way of living - everything in my life was connected to dogs.   On the other hand, without dogs,  I probably would  never  have  got so many wonderful friends around the world.

Fennican Jaxon

Unfortunately he lived only 5 years because he was poisoned by a sick woman who succeeded in poisoning several dogs in my neighbourhood.

He was unforgetable dog!

This is him, my first dog. His name was Rex (naturally, what else could the name have been - Rinty, perhaps ;-) ). He is 14 years old in  this picture.

He lived 17½ years which is the longest life for a German shepherd I ever have heard. He was not so very beautiful, but he had something, we don´t see among German shepherds in these days

- he was totally healthy his whole long life. They don´t breed  shepherds like him anymore!

Rex was not officially registered because he had only one testicle. That is why I was not allowed to shows or compete with him, but I trained him anyway. He could do everything that was needed in the highest class in obedience and tracking.

When Rex was 4 years, I got my second Shepherd. He was the one from whom I got  my kennel name. His name was Fennican Jaxon, "Jaska".  It was true destiny, that I got him. When I first time saw the "coming litter" ad of this combination (INT CH Edo v Schippkapass - FIN CH Beringens Linda) I immediately called Inga Kahlman, the breeder. She put me on the waiting list making me the third person. When the puppies were born, there were only two males  and I didn´t get a puppy.

Next time I saw one of the male puppies in Kuopio, in a puppy show. I didn´t recognise him, but I fell in love with him immediately. He was just like the  shepherd I loved - strong bones, beautiful colour, absolutely self confident and open to everyone and everything.- guess, how sad I was, when I noticed who he actually was…

After 6  months Inga Kahlman phoned me to say that one of the male puppies had been returned  because he was too difficult to handle. She found no trouble handling him and asked, if I still was interested in him?  I was not sure which of the males he was, until I saw him and it really was love at second sight.

Jaska and I went to shows and competitions and he was the start of my "official" dog-life.

How did it start?

I think it started when I was born… from the beginning I was exceptionally interested in animals, specially dogs. Why is that? I have no answer but if someone has, tell it to me, too ;-)