Steffi (1996 - 2003)
Registered Name: CH
Eweimar Asterisksteffi of Ghostwing
LHC
Call Name: Steffi
Date of Birth: 27 July 1996
Sire: Brierdell Royaldebonaire
Dam: Nalaaufvilliera
Hip score: HD00
Litter stats: 2000 (Ghostwing 'A' Litter) 4
dogs, 4 bitches
2002 (Ghostwing 'B' Litter) 2 dogs, 7 bitches
We have attached the abbreviation LHC behind Steffi's
name denoting that she must have been a long hair carrier as her son from
her 'A' litter, Ghostwing Ash Armagh (Taxi) has produced long hair
puppies.
Our Hero
Ghostwing's foundation bitch, Steffi, died on 6 January 2003, defending
her pack against a cape cobra that had entered her puppy enclosure in our
garden. Present at the time was her 2 1/2 year old son Taxi, her 10 week old
daughter Cassie and our 8 month old imported puppy bitch, Sally.
Our brave girl was a dedicated mother, a faithful companion, an
enthusiastic hunter. She will be missed, always.
Sally was also bitten by the same snake, but survived the ordeal. It was
her that sounded the alarm, giving us the opportunity to get the 2 bitches to
the vet.
The Hunter
Steffi impressed us at an early age with her natural
hunting ability and her eagerness to learn. She was only 8 months old when she
was awarded her Natural Ability Certificate by the Transvaal Hunt Point Retrieve
Field Trial Club. To qualify for this certificate, the dogs are judged on their
conformation to the breed standard, their temperament and their tractability,
i.e. willingness to accept discipline. They must demonstrate a desire to hunt,
use their nose to find game, point the game (clear and unmistakeable as such)
and an eager retrieve of the shot game. To test the dog for gun shyness, a
shotgun is shot off not more 2 metres away. A tall order for a pup, I think, but
Steffi did it!
I was her biggest limitation in the field. As a
city boy, I have never devoted enough time to the field events, as maybe I could
have. We have shared many hours in the bush, training, hunting guinea fowl and
accompanying falconers on their hunts. We enjoyed ourselves tremendously, both
learning a lot. There is nothing more exciting than to see a dog’s instincts
awaken, instincts that have been instilled in the breed over centuries. The same
excitement that I’m sure a shepherd feels when his puppy collie first starts
stalking and herding sheep. You add discipline and direction with whistles and
commands, but the rest the dog does naturally.
The Show Girl
Steffi qualified as a South African Breed Champion, earning 14 Challenge Certificates,
9 Best of Breeds and 4 Reserve Best of Breeds. She was the Weimaraner Club of the Transvaal’s ‘Puppy of
the Year’ for 1997 and was invited to represent the breed at the Goldfields
Kennel Club’s ‘Dogmor Dog of the Year’ competition in 1998. We showed in
Port Elizabeth, Kimberley, Bloemfontein, Outdshoorn, George, Worcestor and Cape
Town.
The Model
As a 4
month old she modelled a life belt for dogs in a German sports equipment
magazine and as a 4 year old she appeared with Italian models in a German
fashion magazine.
The Actress
During 2000 she appeared in a breakfast cereal
commercial and in 2001 in a dog food commercial, both filmed by a British crew
in Cape Town for UK television screening.
In 2002 appeared in a TV commercial for a Belgian Bank, appearing also in
a magazine ad, a billboard ad for the same bank. The picture above of the
billboard was taken near the banks of the River Danube in Vienna.
There are opinions in dogdom circles frowning on the
practice of using dogs in films and commercials. However, my views are that,
whilst I share their concerns about dogs becoming fashionable because of movies
like 101 Dalmatians, responsible breeders always interview prospective owners of
their puppies, hopefully identifying those who are acquiring the puppies for the
right reasons.
Even going to all this trouble to home your pups,
mistakes will still be made. Despite there always being breeders that will
exploit fashionable dogs, there are always good people who will see a breed for
the first time, be drawn to them, research their history, give then good homes,
and lo and behold we have another breed fanatic to soldier the cause and to
fight for the rights of their breed.
Who wants to only see Labradors and Border
Collies, Great Danes and Dalmatians on TV anyway?
The Dam
We waited a long time before having our 1st
litter. We had dreams of having a very special litter. She was 4 years old when
we took the plunge with some trepidation. She is very protective of us and is
constantly following us from room to room. We had visions of her rushing out to
greet us with puppies hanging from her teats, growling at prospective owners and
snapping at hands trying to touch puppies. How wrong we were!
We decided, believe it or not, to
have the puppies in our bedroom. That way she would not have to come looking for
us when it was bedtime. It can take a long time for the bitch to carry puppies
from room to room, which is what we were convinced she would do. We were sure we
would have to lock her away with her pups. We lifted our bedroom furniture, put
down industrial plastic, and spent the next 8 weeks in the dog box! She gladly
shared her pups with us and was a real proud mother and thrived on the attention
she and her pups we getting, including from strangers.
Living with the pups all
day, handling them frequently and keeping the place clean and tidy, it was our
bedroom after all, contributed to puppies with lovely, friendly, relaxed and
confident temperaments. What is more, they left for their new homes house
trained!
For her 2nd litter Steffi was mated to SA &
Greek CH Greydove Desert Storm, CDX (Silver) belonging to Dimitris Kougioulis of Port
Elizabeth. Silver was originally imported to Greece from Australia. Silver
received his 4th CACIB at the KUSA FCI Show on 18 October 2002, qualifing him as an International Show Champion. The
1st Weimaraner to receive this distinction in South Africa. Silver has since
earned the Working title, CDX (Companion Dog Excellent).
Whilst having many American and Australian
Show Champions in his pedigree, Silver also has American Dual (Field and Show)
Champions in the 5th and 6th generation on his Sire's side of the pedigree.
Besides his achievements in the show ring, Silver
has also qualified as an Obedience Champion (the 1st and only Weimaraner to do
this!) . His temperament both in and out of
the ring is impeccable.
We are also excited that the blood lines on
Silver's Sire's side, going back to the Dual Champions, can also be found in the pedigree of
Sally the bitch that we
have imported. Both on her Sire's and Dam's sides.
Silver
Steffi's 2nd and final litter was also home-reared. The
bitch that we kept, Ghostwing Ash Brackenfire (Storm) made her show debut in
2003 and was made up as a Show Champion in 2004.
One of the bitches, Ghostwing Ash Brightstar (Bungu-Liza) has gone to a working home on a game farm on the banks
of the Limpopo and by all accounts is an accomplished hunter.
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