It was three days into a 2006 search for a woman missing in a boating accident near the Highland Park Bridge, and the team led by Blawnox Fire Chief George McBriar could find nothing in the muddy Allegheny River.

Then Saber, ... Read more]]> April 17, 2012 12:00 am

It was three days into a 2006 search for a woman missing in a boating accident near the Highland Park Bridge, and the team led by Blawnox Fire Chief George McBriar could find nothing in the muddy Allegheny River.

Then Saber, a cadaver dog for the Allegheny County coroner’s office, boarded a search boat and began sniffing the air above the river. Soon, he alerted investigators to a body at least 15 feet underwater.

“That dog was amazing,” Chief McBriar said Monday. “It told us exactly where she was at. And it proved to be true.”

Saber, a 96-pound Doberman Pinscher who was the first and only cadaver dog to work for the Allegheny County coroner’s office, died Sunday at age 10 in a Monroeville veterinarian’s office, where he was put down because of to declining health.

Next to him at the end was Joe Angotti, the former deputy coroner who found Saber, named him, trained him and who was his partner on more than 70 cases.

Mr. Angotti had worked with police canine units as an officer with the Wilmerding and East McKeesport police departments, and when he became a deputy coroner, he suggested to Cyril Wecht, the Allegheny County coroner at the time, that the office hire a cadaver dog. Cadaver dogs aid in finding bodies by tracking down the scents released by decomposing human remains.

Dr. Wecht gave Mr. Angotti the go-ahead, and in 2002 he headed to Clymer, Indiana County, to see a breeder about Doberman puppies.

Out of a litter of 4-month-old puppies, the one that ran up to Mr. Angotti was the dog that stood out.

“He just seemed like he had a lot of energy in him, and that’s something that would need to be a requirement, to get up and go,” he said.

And after the training period — about eight months of obedience classes and cadaver training in California — there was plenty of get up and go.

Saber and Mr. Angotti responded to calls throughout Western Pennsylvania.

Mr. Angotti always knew when Saber had found something. The dog would make a low growl, then give a bark, and Mr. Angotti would alert the authorities either to where they should search or that they could rule out a location as a possibility.

“They were surprised to see how accurate a dog can be,” Mr. Angotti said.

It was morbid work, but Saber loved it.

“It’s all a game to him,” Mr. Angotti said. “He doesn’t realize what the end result is. All he knows is that when he finds his end result, he gets highly praised and rewarded.”

Saber’s four-year career ended in 2007, when the cadaver dog program was discontinued at the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office, which replaced the coroner’s office. Saber spent his retirement at Mr. Angotti’s home.

Mr. Angotti left the medical examiner’s office a year after Saber and now runs his own construction company. He buried the Doberman at his home in Wilkins.

Six years after he first met Saber, Chief McBriar, who remains fire chief in Blawnox, is still marveling at the dog’s ability to pinpoint a location at the bottom of the Allegheny River.

“I will never forget that, honestly. It was amazing,” he said.

A representative from the Great Dane Club of America was talking to me about having the Dane National in Ft. Mitchell; he recently stopped by the hotel to check it out and they were already making renovations, he said ... Read more]]> Dear Members I wanted to share with you some good news.

A representative from the Great Dane Club of America was talking to me about having the Dane National in Ft. Mitchell; he recently stopped by the hotel to check it out and they were already making renovations, he said it looked very nice and the new owners were talking about a new restaurant in the hotel.

Hopefully we will have a pleasant surprise when we arrive at Ft. Mitchell.

Jeff Brucker

DPCA President

Please be advised that you will be receiving a second ballot for voting on the 2013 DPCA National Judges.

The below letter will be included with the new ballot.

Thank you,

Jeff Brucker

President —————————–

DPCA Members,

You had previously received an “OFFICIAL JUDGES BALLOT” ... Read more]]> Dear DPCA Member,

Please be advised that you will be receiving a second ballot for voting on the 2013 DPCA National Judges.

The below letter will be included with the new ballot.

Thank you,

Jeff Brucker

President
—————————–

DPCA Members,

You had previously received an “OFFICIAL JUDGES BALLOT” for the 2013 National Specialty to be held in Pomona, CA. That ballot was found to be in error, as a qualified candidate was inadvertently omitted and another judge who declined the assignment was included in the ballot. In order to be fair to all concerned, the DPCA Board decided to invalidate the prior ballot and send out a new, corrected ballot.

Enclosed is the new ballot. Note that it and the ballot envelope have been printed on blue paper. Please utilize this ballot to vote. Any prior ballots that were received by the CPA firm were/will be disregarded. Only these blue ballots will be counted. So, if you have previously voted, please be sure to vote again.

My apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Debi Sternberg

DPCA Recording Secretary.

The architect of this letter was board member Julie Stade, thank you Julie.

Thank you,

Jeff Brucker

DPCA President

======================================================

Dear Mr. Singer:

In regards to the request for all ... Read more]]> I want to thank the members that were so kind with their comments about the DPCA’s position letter on Crufts.

The architect of this letter was board member Julie Stade, thank you Julie.

Thank you,

Jeff Brucker

DPCA President

======================================================

Dear Mr. Singer:

In regards to the request for all Parent Clubs to designate a Crufts Qualifying Event in 2012, the Doberman Pinscher Club of America finds itself unable, in all good conscience, to accommodate your directive. As we are sure you already know, the Doberman Pinscher in the United States is traditionally a cropped and docked breed, as described in our AKC standard.

Unlike many other European countries where cropping has been banned for domestic competitors only, The Kennel Club of England has, additionally, chosen to ban the exhibition of cropped foreign dogs which originate from countries where cropping is still both legal and accepted. Even in the U.S.
where our breed standard calls for a cropped and docked dog, we do not now, nor have we ever, disqualified foreign or domestic Dobermans with natural ears or tails from the breed ring. Thus, we find an “invitation” to encourage our top conformation dogs to attempt to qualify for Crufts somewhat disingenuous at best when they would obviously be disqualified upon merely entering the English show ring.

With all due respect, Doberman fanciers in this country are currently fighting a public relations “war” against the well-funded animal rights agenda here; we have no wish to be subject to the laws of an even more extreme AR faction overseas. While the DPCA is certainly supportive of AKC and Eukanuba events, we cannot endorse, on principle, a meaningful partnership with either the Crufts show or The Kennel Club of England for the aforementioned reasons.

Thank you for your time and consideration,

Jeffrey Brucker
DPCA President

Pam Foulk was inadvertently left off the ballot, with her permission we are notifying the membership via this message.

The CPA has been instructed to count all write in votes for Pam.

We are very sorry for this oversight.

Please share this ... Read more]]> You should be receiving your 2013 judging ballots.

Pam Foulk was inadvertently left off the ballot, with her permission we are notifying the membership via this message.

The CPA has been instructed to count all write in votes for Pam.

We are very sorry for this oversight.

Please share this message with all DPCA member friends.

Respectfully,

Jeff Brucker

DPCA President

This is our first time offering back-to-back specialties. Our spring specialty has always drawn majors, so we’re doubling the opportunity for exhibitors! These shows will be followed by two days of all-breed shows put on ... Read more]]> DATE: Friday, June 1, 2012 ENTRIES CLOSE: Wednesday, May 16th
WHERE: Crackerbarrel Fairgrounds, Wrentham, MA

This is our first time offering back-to-back specialties. Our spring specialty has always drawn majors, so we’re doubling the opportunity for exhibitors! These shows will be followed by two days of all-breed shows put on by Ladies Dog Club and Framingham
District Kennel Club.

Between specialties, our usual catered lunch is offered at a reasonable price. An array of delicious brownies, bars and pastries will be made by Tracy Lariviere and Heather Harding will bring her popular and incredible chocolate covered strawberries, all included in the luncheon price.

All shows are at the same location, and plenty of parking is available, including parking for motorhomes.

Judges ~
Friday, June 1 Specialty ~ AM Puppy and Veteran Sweepstakes: Abby Patrizio
Friday, June 1, Specialty ~ AM Conformation Classes: Ms. Estelle Corr
Friday, June 1, Specialty ~ PM Conformation Classes: Mr. Steven G. Schorr
Saturday, June 2, Ladies Dog Club ~ Ms. Pamela DeHetre
Sunday, June 3, Framingham District Kennel Club ~ Ms. Cathleen A. Rubens

We hope you’ll join us! ~ kathy

Kathryn Semple
Show Chair, Corresponding Secretary
Pilgrim DPC

SYLACAUGA – Ellie ... Read more]]> 16-year-old and her dog spread smiles

Rebekah Rawlinson, 16, visits a kindergarten class at Indian Valley Elementary School Wednesday with her 4-year-old Doberman Pincher, Ellie. The class enjoyed playing with Ellie and watching her perform some tricks. Photo by Bob Crisp/The Daily Home

SYLACAUGA – Ellie is a girl on the town.

The four-year-old Doberman Pincher is a frequent visitor at schools, nursing homes, libraries and more, spreading smiles wherever she goes.

“She has a lot of friends,” said 16-year-old Rebekah Rawlinson, Ellie’s owner and dedicated trainer.

Along with more than 30 competition ribbons and six titles, Ellie is also a certified therapy dog.

Rebekah, who has been training Ellie for three years, said they got the idea to get her certified after visiting a nursing home.

“My great aunt was in the nursing home, and she loved dogs so we wanted to take Ellie to see her,” she said. “We were at the nursing home one day, and somebody suggested we get insurance on Ellie, so we started looking at different organizations.”

She soon located Therapy Dogs International, a national register of dogs and handlers certified to visit public groups for therapy purposes.

Since becoming certified, Ellie has made an impact during her many public visits. Jo Rawlinson, Rebekah’s mother, said people react strongly to Ellie.

“People warm up to her really fast,” Jo said. “She has all the patience in the world, and if you put her in a crowded room, she will find the person who needs her attention.”

This week, Ellie visited a kindergarten class at Indian Valley Elementary School, where Rebekah said the children were enthusiastic about petting and playing with her.

“It’s really neat to see how people react to her,” she said. “They just run right up.”

Rebekah works with Talladega-based dog trainer Julie Moon. Jo credits Moon for encouraging Rebekah to compete in American Kennel Club events.

“When we began training, our end result we hoped for was for Ellie to be a therapy dog, but it has turned into much more than that,” Jo said.

Ellie recently earned the title of RAE, or rally advanced excellent, which means Rebekah is competing in the professional ranks. Moon said Rebekah’s level of achievement is unusual for a teenager.

“RAE is quite a title for an adult, much less a 16-year-old,” Moon said. “Normally teenagers aren’t the best trainers, but Rebekah is really determined and works well with Ellie.”

Moon said dog training requires a consistent commitment of 15-30 minutes a day.

“It doesn’t sound like much time, but if it were easy, everyone would have a trained dog,” Moon said. “There are so many more things to do with your time now, but Rebekah really made a commitment to it. Whatever she puts her mind to, she achieves.”

Rebekah said being the youngest competitor in many of her events is fun.

“A lot of people at the competitions are very encouraging,” she said. “They love that I’m doing it, because not many young people are interested in dog training, and they don’t want the sport to die out.”

Rebekah and Ellie have attended competitions in Atlanta, Birmingham, Montgomery and Nashville, and Rebekah is considering moving to the national level with the Doberman Nationals in September.

Dog training is just the beginning of her hobbies, however. Rebekah is involved in multiple school organizations as well as tennis and piano.

As to how she finds the time for dog training, Rebekah said Ellie gives her no choice.

“She gets mad if I don’t pay her enough attention,” Rebekah said. “Her favorite way to get back at me is to hide my shoes.”

Rebekah, who hopes to make dog training a lifelong hobby, said she and Ellie have no intention of stopping their visits or competitions any time soon.

“I just really enjoy it,” she said. “We’ve had a lot of experiences we wouldn’t have had without Ellie.”

Contact Emily Adams at eadams@dailyhome.com.

Read more:The Daily Home – 16 year old and her dog spread smiles

The Fort Mitchell hotel, a Northern Kentucky landmark since 1970, was sold to Franklin Public Finance, the property’s mortgage holder.

The auction took place at the Kenton County Justice Center.

A court-appointed receiver has been operating the 382-room ... Read more]]> The Drawbridge Inn was purchased at public auction Tuesday for $4.5 million

The Fort Mitchell hotel, a Northern Kentucky landmark since 1970, was sold to Franklin Public Finance, the property’s mortgage holder.

The auction took place at the Kenton County Justice Center.

A court-appointed receiver has been operating the 382-room hotel since Drawbridge Inn LLC defaulted on its mortgage, which had a principal sum of more than $8.5 million in June, 2010.

The property has been appraised at $5.2 million.

Gary Hall, who spoke on behalf of the purchaser, said the Drawbridge Inn will remain a hotel.

“There has never been any discussion of the property being run as anything other than a hotel,” Hall said. “The plans are to continue improving the property at a faster rate now.”

Hall expects to spend more than $2 million on additional renovations at the property

A member of our Doberman family has passed.

As in Life it will be in death Her reputation will precede her.  Patty Edwards D.V.M. passed away Friday evening after complications from pneumonia.

Patty had been a member of the DPCA prior to 1987, a lifetime member ... Read more]]>

Patty Edwards DVM

A member of our Doberman family has passed.

As in Life it will be in death Her reputation will precede her.  Patty Edwards D.V.M. passed away Friday evening after complications from pneumonia.

Patty had been a member of the DPCA prior to 1987, a lifetime member of the Atlanta Kennel Club, and a graduate of the University of Georgia School of Veterinary Medicine.  Her artistry with ear crops was known nationwide as she had clients from around the country who came to her for her expertise.  She was also an extraordinary diagnostician.  She loved all animals but especially the Doberman.  She bred and showed Dobermans in the confirmation ring for many years under the kennel name Barchet.  Generous with her time, she mentored her clients and friends sharing her knowledge and consulting after hours when needed about health issues.  Her passing leaves a gap in our institutional knowledge and expertise and the hearts of those who knew her.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday the 25th of February with visitation at 1:00 p.m. and service at 2:00 p.m. at Tom M. Wages Funeral home on Highway 78, Snellville, GA.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the University of Georgia School of Veterinary Medicine Building Fund, as per Patty’s wishes.

Jeff Brucker
DPCA President