26 Breed Notes – June 2020

Some more sad news this week, as I have to say that Val Taylor died unexpectedly last week, she was aged 83. She was a regular supporter of the NoEKC and although hadn’t been ringside for a few years, she still kept ‘abreast of current affairs’. Val loved chatting on the phone and will be missed by many, she was a real character.

As far as I’m aware Val’s first keesie was Duroya Just One, born in 1980 and her second Keesie – Venway Komeet was born in 1986. I think this was around the time that she retired from the police force for whom she had worked for all her life; they were followed in 1992 by Ch Keenote Kopper. Val had to wait until Kopper was almost a veteran (he was aged 6½.) before he got his crown, which came at the NoEKC’s Ch show in 1998 from Peke judge Jack Mitchell and a couple of years later he was joined by Ash – Reesburg Rock-A-Fella.

Val joined the Keeshond Club committee in 1999 (the same year she got Gavimir Marauder (Smokey)) and in 2000 became Cup Steward (taking over from Maureen Elliott). That must have been a baptism of fire, as her first Ch show as Cup Steward was the club’s 75th Anniversary Show at Sherbourne. During her stint ‘overseeing the silverware’ Val introduced the current system of colour coding each cup/trophy for the show where it’s presented; she resigned from the committee at the 2009 AGM.

Her last keesie was Reesburg Ringleader (Echo) who died around a year ago and I know she missed him dreadfully.

Anji Marfleet