I'm Chris Lembrechs. Married to Jan Van Beirendonck in 1976. As a little girl I always loved animals, especially dogs. After much nagging, my parents finally gave me a dog when I was 13, but it wasn't allowed to be big.
When my grandfather bought a Dachshund for himself and I proudly showed it to my parents, permission was immediately given to purchase a second one, her sister.
When I got married she was of course taken with me. A year later our son Tom was born and the following year our son Wim. Flappy became their best playmate, but she also grew older and suffered from the dreaded "Dachshund Paralysis".
We had to look for another dog, but this time it would have to be a large dog that is kind to children and a good playmate. All kinds of books were read and chosen together with the children.
Our choice quickly fell on a Bobtail, an Old English Sheepdog. Of course, we first informed ourselves thoroughly about the character and maintenance of such an animal. I immediately fell in love with this "hairy wool ball". Unfortunately, in 1979 they were not yet so numerous in Belgium and that is why our first Bobtail was purchased in England.
We wanted a puppy from a certain combination at Marie Duffin's "Longdorhams Kennel". The order was placed but the bitch turned out not to be pregnant so we had to wait another 9 months for the new puppy. On September 3, 1979, "Hush" was born, Londorham's Melody with one blue eye, both well pigmented. Father was Ch. Wenalt Andrew and the mother Ch. Longdorham's Follies by George.
She was incredibly affectionate and especially sweet to the children who became inseparable together.
A second Bobtail was soon added: Field Flower of Ragtime Bobby's with the pet name "Flo". The breeder already asked me to do shows with her. I made an attempt, but with two little boys aged 3 and 4, both working out all day and then building a new house, this was an impossible task to do well.
After we started with two dogs, more and more were added, including adoptees at that time:
1. F- Irresistible of Ragtime Bobbies
2. F- Inasha of Woodland Cottage
3. M - Lonely Surprise of Cheerful Fellow
4. F - Fomalhaut Sun's Night-and-Day
5. F - Fanny Silver Blue Shine
6. F - Hairy Fellow Mistique Blossom
7. F - Fieldflower I'm Timeless
8. M - El-Cordobes of Ragtime Bobby's
9. M - Tuckels Old Fashion
In 1981 we decided to breed a litter with "Longdorhams Melody".
But in the years 1985 to 1990, the Bobtail became very popular in Belgium due to a TV series. There was an abundance of puppies, which resulted in bad and incorrect combinations in breeding. Aggressive dogs came onto the market, deaf and blind dogs, dogs with bad hips. The number of registered puppies at Sint-Hubertus increased from the annual 40 to more than 400, not to mention the puppies with a kennel pedigree or without papers that we have no knowledge of. People only bred for money and did not take character and health into account.
We then temporarily stopped breeding because the prospective buyers did not want to listen to our well-intentioned explanation and that they had to pay attention to those deviations and had to buy a dog from a recognized breeder and not from a "puppy mill".
In 1990 we built a new house, far outside the center of the village, somewhere in the fields between the cows and fields
on a site of more than 4000 m². Enough space for the dogs and no problems with nearby neighbors. That was the start of a new period in our lives. We also requested an official kennel name "Of Snowboot Bears".
To make matters worse, my stud dog drowned in the pool a few months before we moved. He had gotten out of his cage during a heavy nighttime storm and fell into the bath. No one had heard or noticed anything and I bought a new stud dog in England: Stourvale Question Mark, from the combination: Ch. Zottels Flamboyant & Ch. Stourvale Rosanne, pet name "Quest". This time too, the breeder also asked to do shows with him. As a novice in this world, to everyone's surprise, I became German Champion in no time. That became the start of a new passion: dog shows.
Then I bought a second male in the Netherlands and he became my greatest show champion ever and rode many 10000 kilometers throughout Europe: "Our Snowboot Bear of Fool's Paradise", nicknamed Snow. He became International, Belgian, Luxembourg, Polish, VDH, Dutch, European Champion and Europasieger 1998, Luxembourg Junior Winner, Brussels Winner, Belgian Winner etc... .
This is how I also bought from other kennels and made them champions:
1. T - Ch. Prima Donna de Romanico
2. R - Ch. Stourvale Question Mark
3. R - Ch. Uppercut Of the Black Orchid
4. R - Our Snowboot Bear of Fool's Paradise
5. R - Ch. First Love Aus dem Elbe Urstromtal
6. R - Ch. Givmtome Aus dem Elbe Urstromtal
7. T - Ch. Piraza Mayflower
8. T - Ch. Koko Chanel Aus dem Elbe Urstromtal
9. T - Ch. Grace Kelly of Mary People
10. T - Ch. Ideal Inimini de l'Ame des Bergers
11. R - Ch. Macoes Bacardi Snowboot Bear
12. R - Ch. Bagatelle Deja Blue Moon
13. T - Ch. Czarlinda's Quisit Ulla
I have also bred several champions myself:
1. F - Ch. Quitina Of Snowboot Bears
2. F - Ch. Shaggy Of Snowboot Bears
3. F - Ch. Vampy Girl Of Snowboot Bears
4. M - Ch. Vicking Of Snowboot Bears
5. M - Ch. Xchyne Of Snowboot Bears
6. F - Ch. Xineblue Of Snowboot Bears
7. F - Ch. Y'Wild Thing Of Snowboot Bears
8. F - Ch. Zjin Zjin Of Snowboot Bears
9. F - Ch. All The Best Of Snowboot Bears
10. M - Ch. All For You Of Snowboot Bears
11. F - Ch. Arconina Of Snowboot Bears
12. F - Ch. Artistic Of Snowboot Bears
13. M - Ch. Call Me Blue Of Snowboot Bears
14. M - Ch. Cartouche Of Snowboot Bears
15. M - Ch. Dandillion Of Snowboot Bears
16. F - Ch. Dirty Mind Of Snowboot Bears
17. F - Ch. Dolly Dot Of Snowboot Bears
18. F - Ch. Eden Flower Of Snowboot Bears
19. M - Ch. Even Better Of Snowboot Bears
20. F - Ch. Fatal Beauty Of Snowboot Bears
21. M - Ch. Forest Gump Of Snowboot Bears
22. M - Ch. Fairbancks Of Snowboot Bears
23. F - Ch. Fary People Of Snowboot Bears
24. F - Ch. Gipsy Girl Of Snowboot Bears
25. M - Ch. Incognito Of Snowboot Bears
26. T - Ch. Homepage of Snowboot Bears
27. F - Ch. Incredible of Snowboot Bears
28. M - Ch. Jarco of Snowboot Bears
29. F - Ch. Kisseble of Snowboot Bears
30. M - Ch. Koboy of Snowboot Bears
31. F - Ch. Look At Me of Snowboot Bears
32. F - Ch. Nice Lady Nadezda of Snowboot Bears
33. M - Ch. Pecker Woody of Snowboot Bears
34. F - Ch. Pippa's Secret of Snowboot Bears
35. F - Ch. Quick Kiss Me Quick of Snowboot Bears
36. F - Ch. Quality Time of Snowboot Bears
37. F - Ch. Quality Time Law of Paris of Snowboot Bears
38. M - Ch. Quality Time Only For Us of Snowboot Bears
39. F - Ch. Romantic Rendez-Vous With Kate of Snowboot Bears
40. F - Ch. Remember The Sweet Dreams of Snowboot Bears
41. F - Ch. Sugar Babe of Snowboot Bears
42. F - Ch. She Is The One of Snowboot Bears
43. F - Ch. The Amazing Piper of Snowboot Bears
44. F - Ch. Up To Date of Snowboot Bears
45. F - Ch. The Stunning Stien of Snowboot Bears
46. M - Ch. Ursa Major Louicke of Snowboot Bears
Since my debut in the show world, I have been told to definitely participate in the annual European OES shows, which are held every year in a different European country. In 1993 my first EURO OES Show was in Spain and since then I have been going to the EURO OES every year (about 150 Bobtails from all over the world).
Every year I also made the crossing to England to watch the famous show "CRUFTS" in which about 120 Bobtails participate. Participating was impossible at the time, as your dog had to be quarantined for several weeks before being allowed into the country. Well, I had planned to “if the opportunity arises, and the opportunity is there, to be among the first to participate.” And from 2001 that was possible - after almost a year of preparation (vaccinations and blood tests). From my first participation in Crufts I was always among the placed dogs.
After I already won Reserve Best Bitch with Ch. Y'Wild Thing Of Snowboot Bears in 2003 and Ch. Arconina Of Snowboot Bears in 2005, I achieved a fantastic result in 2011:
Ch. Incognito Of Snowboot Bears became Best Male!