Re: [pyrnet] company

[JGentzel@aol.com]

In a message dated 11/1/00 1:04:21 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
closetothesky@webtv.net writes:

<< Joe---I know your website was intended to see the difference in the
 French GP's and the American bred but I was really thrilled to
 look----I've saved it--there is suo much to look at! Thanks,  Bonnie >>

That might be the result somewhat, but not a conscious goal.  Just reporting 
what was going on in France was some of the intent and the history was 
another.  All my years since 1972 until Maryann and I started going over 
every year to their National Specialty show about 16 years ago, France and 
USA had almost no communication.  We knew nothing really about them, except 
for an occasional article that Guy Mansencal did for the Old International 
Great Pyrenees Review magazine.  So we mostly all existed in a vacuum of all 
the stereo types and misinformation that still exists today.  I also wondered 
why the few dogs that were brought over from France never seemed to make any 
contribution in our breeding lines over here (we are talking, after Mary 
Crane now).  Except for one really outstanding example of an exception to 
what I am going to say, I found out that most that had gone over just seemed 
to buy a dog from a breeder without knowing anything other than they were 
French.  Maybe not a fair assessment, but the dogs purchased and the breeders 
were not the top kennels in France.  No offense intended to those who did 
this.  That's just what it looks like to me and I have absolutely no agenda 
here.  I realized because of the Language barrier we really did not know who 
was doing really good breeding and surmised that we maybe were not getting 
the best.  The one exception to this were Phil & Arlene Oraby in New York.  
They did their homework and purchased a really special bitch, Bonbelle du 
Comte de Foix.  Bonbelle did and continues to make a difference.  There were 
a few good French dogs that went through Western Canada on their way to being 
brokered to Japan.  There was some offspring from one bitch that rested in 
Washington State and I understand that there is one descendant of that get 
now back in Washington State.  Because the bitch that produced the get was 
heavy in Comte de Foix and Pontoise, it was very good on paper.  I am told 
that phenotypically it was very good as well, which is no surprise. 

You can find there as well a series of articles on Quibbletown I did several 
years ago that was published in the Bulletin of the GPCA. I had intent to do 
much more on Cote de Neige and someday Basquaerie.

Many contemporary breeders here in North America really do not know what 
Quibbletown was and what it ultimately meant to the breed.   So I hope that 
people will read and see what I have learned about the Quibbletown bloodlines 
here in North America as well.  Seaver Smith is still here with us and a 
treasure to us all.  He is judging next year the futurity Sweepstakes being 
held near Boston at the GPCA National Specialty and he is also judging the 
breed classes at the PFNE Specialty show in Connecticut in the winter at the 
Working Group Show.  Anyone in these areas should come to these shows for 
history in the making.  

Did not mean to be so long winded, but hopefully some of the information will 
benefit someone like it has me.

Joe