SNOWEY RIVER
Home of South Africa's First White Swiss Shepherd Dogs ......from the snow capped mountains of Austria, to the rolling green hills of Kwa-Zulu Natal
KUSA
Registered
Kennel
ALL ABOUT US
SNOWEY RIVER............IT STARTED WITH A KISS !
My first White Swiss Shepherd Dog and 'ground' bitch for my kennel in Austria, was Diva-Lady of White Valley bred by Kurt & Heike Angerer in Niedernsill, Austria in 1994.
Diva successfully completed her BH exam with the Himberg Abrichte Verein (OHU), Vienna and went on to qualify in fine style her FH-1 (tracking exam) in Salzburg under instructor Andy Grogl. She later participated in schutz training in Austria as well as in South Africa (also passing her Canine Good Citizen exam). She was known to be a reliable tracker and was awarded V2, Austrian Provincial Champs and V3 World Champs, Sigmarswanden - Germany (World Specialist Show in 1996) as a showdog. She was a strikingly beautiful short coat and turned heads wherever she went.........in her old age she became a wise old owl - she was REGAL and had superb quality. Thank you Kurt & Heike for such an awesome girl !
photo: Diva-Lady of White Valley, Austria
She accompanied me on my
travels around Europe
and was my soul mate
MY DOGS TODAY & SOME HISTORY
We relocated from Summerveld in the heart of the lush, rolling green hills of kwa-Zulu Natal at the end of May 2014.(the area of Summerveld is well - known in horse racing circles as the training ground of many of the countries top race horses and trainee Jockey Academy - many of the locals are either horsey or dog people or both). We settled for a while in a little beach cottage in the Eastern Cape until 2017, enjoying its sandy and pristine beaches, however, it soon made sense to relocate to Gauteng province where I could continue my studies to become a qualified judge at dog shows.
I am the proud owner and breeder of 7 awesome White Swiss Shepherd dogs, who I call affectionately my ''children with fur''. My dogs are free to roam their spacious garden as they wish and when puppies are born ''the pack'' takes a keen interest in their arrival. I adore my dogs and they have been a large part of my life since my first serious involvement with dogs as far back as the early 1990's in Vienna, Austria. We have loads of fun together - on weekends they are taken to show training and for exercise off lead. They are included in any 'braai's' (barbeques) I may have by taking up their places around the braai area. They have been trained since 8 weeks of age to socialize and behave in public and are a pleasure to take anywhere. We love our holiday trips to Dullstroom and Magaliesburg where they can swim in the rivers and dams.
My dogs are fun-loving, have an excellent 'sense of humor', are inquisitive and intelligent.........I love their loyalty and above all else - they have incredible heart.
Shepherds need stimulation as well as moderate exercise and hence my dogs are taken to a nearby field regularly for exercise during the week - this means running and playng OFFLEAD which aids especially in the development of my younger dogs. My dogs make wonderful family companion dogs and great all-rounders in dogsports and are a LIFETIME OF LOVE.
SNOWEY RIVER IS BORN ....the start of my breeding
Diva was a quality dog - she was the epitome of sound breeding and because of this I decided to try my hand at the breeding game.
So how did we get our kennel name ?
Jogging along the Salzachtal River which flows through the historic town of Salzburg, Austria shortly before the White Shepherd Dog World Championships in 1996, Germany, Diva suddenly stopped and stood on a patch of snow. The icey waters of the river gave a mirror image of the wintery trees on its surface and the wild ducks skimmed its waters - as she stood silhouetted against the river, the name of SNOWEY RIVER was born !
My first litter of WSSD's were born in 1997 on a mountain high in the little village of Horbranz, Austria (the sire was carefully chosen Bhajar Condor von Bieselsberg, Germany owned by Petra-Arnold Wrapp).
During this time, I received the news that I would have to return home to South Africa , the sweet smell of the Indian Ocean and the rolling green hills of my province - a pleasant reminder of home in Africa.
Diva and I did not return home alone - the beautiful and showy Arizona, Diva's daughter from her first litter flew beside her mom on the long journey to Africa.
Both Diva and her daughter Arizona arrived in Durban in 1997 as South Africa's first purebred and registered White Swiss Shepherd dogs.(in fact both were registered abroad as American-Canadian White Shepherds at the time).
KUSA RECOGNITION - PAVING THE WAY
At the end of 1997, my kennel established the 1.SPA WSDC SA - the first ever White Shepherd Dog Club in South Africa. The Club was for the development of our breed and all it's members wore the logo with overwhelming pride. In 1998, I imported a male puppy Lord Canto vom Sutumer-Grund, bred by Ingo & Manuela Bortel, Germany. Canto was later to become a GRANDSIRE !
In the meantime, I discovered a young South African bred male who proved to be a tremendous asset to my breeding program, Zac of Villa Bianca bred by small time breeder Loretta Dalias, Cape Town.
The doors of the 1. SPA WSDCC SA finally closed after I sent in a proposal to the Kennel Union of SA (KUSA) for recognition of our breed in 2000. The breed was accepted and recognised by KUSA in 2001 - MY WORK WAS LARGELY DONE ! I had achieved a milestone for our breed and had opened many doors for all of us !
With this, my biggest goal achieved in the history of our breed here, I could finally dedicate my time into growing my kennel and spending more time with my personal dogs.
I would like to take this opportunity to show special ''THANKS'' to Brigitte Toll who believed in me and my vision to have our breed recognised in South Africa - for all her advice over the years and for being a special and trusting friend.
I give special THANKS to all White Shepherd members of the former 1.SPA WSDC SA and admirers of the breed who supported my dream to establish and unite the breed in South Africa and who gave so selflessly of their time to this our wonderful breed.
Today no show ring in South Africa is complete without our lovely white dogs which are admired and supported by many show-goers.
