History

The Schipperke  Dolette de Veeweyde

Dolette 
de Veeweyde

During WWI, a young American woman who could speak French volunteered to write letters to the wounded Belgian soldiers. Through those letters, she made friends; and after the war, those friends began to send her pictures of their homeland, including pictures of their dogs - Schipperkes. These intrigued her, and in the early 1920's, Isabel Ormiston went to Belgium to learn about and buy a Schipperke.

After quite a bit of searching, in 1924, Ms. Ormiston selected a little Schipperke bitch by the name of Flore de Veeweyde to take home with her. It was then that she saw Dolette de Veeweyde (Flore's half sister), who, at a year old, was known as "La plus Belle chienne de la Belgique" (The most beautiful dog in Belgium). As she had just bought Flore, she did not attempt to buy this dog, and it would be 6 more years before she would see her again.

Dolette was instead purchased by a prominent Belgian breeder, Mr. Provost ("du Bois des Mures" kennels), and she began a glorious show career with him. Dolette became a two time all-breed Best in Show winner, making several wins towards her "Internationale Championnate des Beaute", and, in 1928, she became a Belgian champion.

When Dolette finished her Belgium championship she became one of a select few - this title was very difficult to attain. Dolette was only the 14th Schipperke to make title since the first championship given to Exter Ida in 1905 - and by 1949 (almost 50 years), only a total of 29 dogs completed this prestigious title.

The requirements were complicated. Belgium did not base their shows on a point system, as AKC does, but on "Certificate Aptitude Championat", known as CAC's. CAC's have been compared to winning a 5 point major over here, as three are required for a championship, but that wasn't accurate - a CAC was much more difficult to win. Not every show offered a CAC - only designated ones - and then there was only one CAC offered for each sex (for which champions and non champions alike competed). Further, because a Schipperke was a "Chien de race Belge" (a Belgian breed), they could only be judged by a specialist in the breed - who could withhold the award if none were deemed worthy of it. When a dog finally did win a CAC, it was not recorded until it was sent to the St Hubert Club in Brussels and approved. And if the dog was under a year old, it was not recorded at all.

Yet all of this was not what made it truly hard for a Schipperke to complete this title. One of those CAC's that a dog must win was the one awarded at the official show of the St Hubert Club in Brussels. According to Ms. Ormiston, some dogs had won as many as 17 CAC's without making title.

So, by the 1930's, Dolette not only had become a great winner, but she had the honor of being "the greatest Belgian winner ever bred." (The Book of the Schipperke Club of America, Inc., p. 11)

Yet Dolette's truest contribution to the breed came not with a show career, but with motherhood. She had a major influence on the breed worldwide, which few, if any, could beat.

In 1927, Dolette was bred back to her sire, Marouf, and she produced Celtic des Bois-Mures. Celtic was acclaimed by many to be even more beautiful than her dam, though Isabel Ormistin, who eventually owned both, never felt this was so. Celtic began her show career with a surprise - in 1928, at only a year old, she went Best in Show in Brussels over the favorite (CH Arsouille de l'Erebe). She never had the chance to complete her Belgian title, however, as she was exported to France. While there, she completed both her French and International championships, and became the mother to one of their more important champions at the time, CH Dolette de Valencay. Eventually, she was bought by Ms. Ormiston and traveled to America, where she added yet another championship to her roster. She became one of the more important dogs in the Kelso breeding program, and there are very few dogs today who do not trace their linage back to her (one of the more famous dogs to do so is CH Deldorel's Stardom).

In 1928, while her daughter took the Belgian show world by storm, Dolette was back in the whelping box with another litter - this time by CH Toto de l'Esperance. As these were two of the top winners of their time, this litter should have been an extraordinary one - instead, it was only a disappointment to the breeder. So Mr. Provost sold the entire litter (two girls and a boy) to a pair of French breeders for a very low price, where they played a very interesting role in history - one that every breeder should take to heart.

The two French breeders divided the litter between themselves: the two girls went to Mr. Robert (des "Lutins Noir" kennels) and the boy went to Georges Arin ("de Ker Mano" kennels). Mr. Arin described the litter as follows: "The male... had a bad front stance (knock-kneed) and lacked sufficient chest. The better [female]... had a rounded skull and round eye. The other was too slender on the whole." (The Schipperke Anthology, Root, p.17)

In 1929, Mr. Arin bred the male, Demon des Bois-Mures, to his foundation bitch, Alba des Lutins Noirs (who was primarily from Belgium linage). He got three boys and a girl, and all were better than either parent. One boy, in particular, was outstanding, and was said to be the "best Schipperke of the moment" by Mr. Vander Snickt (de l'Esperance kennels) in 1930 (The Schipperke Anthology, Root, p. 17). His name was CH Tip de Ker Mano.

Mr. Arin sold Tip to Mr. Roberts, who promptly bred him back to his aunt, Perle des Bois-Mures (the better of the two females). Before the litter was even whelped, Mr. Roberts promised the pick to Mr. Vander Snickt in thanks for judging a Schipperke Specialty in Paris. When the puppies were born, he selected a male and sent him to his new owner via one of Mr. Arin's brothers. That puppy became CH Marius des Lutins Noirs.

Marius completed his title in 1932, and he became not only one of Belgium's greatest winners, but one of their greatest producers as well. A son of his was sent to England, and more than one of his get went to America. The male that went to England was the grandfather of a dog sent to South Africa, which became one of their best producers. As for the ones that came to the US, Isobel Ormiston's last special, CH Othello of Kelso II, was a great-grandson of Marius. So Marius had a worldwide impact on his own merits.

So, even though the original combination between Dolette and Toto only produced mediocre dogs, the right genes were there, and a line breeding on the match produced something truly exceptional.

In 1930, Dolette was bred for the last time. Mr. Provost had decided to close his kennels, and so he sold most of his dogs into France (Celtic was exported there at this time). Dolette, however, was bought by Isobel Ormiston.

Ms. Ormiston wrote a detailed description from seeing Dolette for the second time: "When I saw her at seven years old... she was very hard to fault. She was short in body with a heavy ruff and an excellent coat of good texture and length and very harsh; her eye was small, oval and dark; her muzzle tapering but not weak; her head, with just enough suggestion of a stop, was finished by a pair of tiny pointed ears; her front was still perfect and her culotte finished off a well rounded outline; her hind legs, with well bent hocks, were finished off with small round cat feet and not the elongated hare's foot we see too often. She weighed about eleven pounds in condition." (The Schipperke Comes of Age, Ormiston, p. 42)

Ms. Ormiston brought Dolette back to the states on an ocean liner called the "Pennland" with three other dogs (CH Dion de Veeweyde of Kelso, CH Abs de Veeweyde of Kelso, and Gallant of Kelso). Dolette was already in whelp to Gallant by this time; it is not clear whether this match was planned by Ms. Ormiston or Mr. Provost.

One month after her arrival, Dolette died. Isobel Ormiston wrote this of her, "Dolette had always been a pet, and I made the mistake of expecting her to raise a family in the kennel, and because she could not live that way, she died leaving me her five pups one day old, of which I raised two on a medicine dropper in a belated atonement." (The Schipperke Comes of Age, Ormiston, p. 27)

Both of those puppies had important futures in the Kelso breeding program. The male, Gilles de Binche of Kelso, never finished his championship; but he did sire a champion producing line. CH Deldorel's Stardom can trace his lineage back to him through his sire's side. The bitch became CH Dolette of Kelso, and she had an even more important role. Dolette was the mother of CH Arlette of Kelso, and Arlette was, in turn, the mother to the incomparible CH Maroufke of Kelso.

In so many ways, Dolette can tell us the story of the Schipperke in the 1920's. Born in Belgium at a time when showing was becoming more and more popular, she became a great show dog. She become a greater mother, and she eventually began a long journey to the US; as did so many other Schipperkes (and people!) of her day. Though only here for a short time, she still managed to leave us with an incredible legacy. What was the secret of her success? Perhaps Isobel Ormiston gave us the answer: "The secret of the beauty of Dolette was that she was perfectly balanced." (The Schipperke Comes of Age, Ormiston, p. 42).