Jose Cornellisse, Fionnmae Irish Wolfhounds and Portuguese Podengo Medios, from Holland, in eastern Pennsylvania to judge an Irish Wolfhound specialty. We traveled with Evita and Pico just to meet her and so she could see her other breed on American soil.Evita was imported in October 2004 by chance by someone who had nothing to do with our (mine and my internet Podengo buddies) 1990's pipe dreams. Evita had supposedly been bullying the other puppies at this person's home and was rehomed to another of the 4 of us early internet Podengo dreamers.
Then, with no time to devote to her, my internet friend rehomed her to me in June 2005. I was enthralled and quickly took her out to United Kennel Club shows (in the 90's I had studied the Americn Rare Breed Association- ARBA- showing system. By 2004, ARBA was in its death throes as an organization so I concentrated on UKC). She was the first Champion of record Wirehaired Podengo Medio (as I began calling them, WPM). The following summer I travelled to the Quebec countryside to show her at an FCI (European) style show and she became the first Canadian Champion of any kind of Podengo. We had a great deal of accomplishments in those first 2 years.
There was excitement and energy and the other 3 early Podengo internet friends all got their Podengos, too. The internet made all of this possible, as breeders in Portugal and Holland (the first country to bring the dogs outside of Portugal) had presences on the web. And they spoke basic English! My biggest fear. I didn't have to rely on my friend (at the time) who spoke Brazilian Portuguese, as I'd thought I would.
A local friend had imported a male, Guiso de Veiros, from Portugal also in 2005 and we made plans to breed him to Evita. We tried in Summer 2005 but she refused him.
Also in mid-2005, Pico (Paco, as his former owner called him) was imported via a puppy brokerage run by a group out east with Portuguese breeder contacts.
He was way too much dog for his importer, who had no idea what she was getting into.
All she saw was the cute fuzzy face. Then he entered into his intact male adolescence!
What she wasn't told was that these dogs are very primitive, digging networks of holes and divots in previously flat dog yards.
They will get to barking all day long at insects, leaves in the trees or anything that moves (or doesn't!). Their bark is the loudest and longest-carrying of any in the dog kingdom (it was bred that way for hunting in the Portuguese hillside).
They will run off at full speed if allowed to be outside their fenced yard. They are capable of killing the family cats or small dogs.
They start nasty fights with other dogs for little or no reason.
They guard resources with the fullest defense.
Some have feral reversion temperaments or reactions due in part from improper (or no) socialization (or at least not the type that American homes require for modern life).
But otherwise, they are good to their people. If the people can keep them with the above reasons.
However, that information was not available then and consequently, many, many dogs ended up in poor fitting homes as you shall see in further postings. After many online and phone training help conversations, in October 2005, we drove 4.5 hours west to pick up Pico from his original owner.
I had already purchased a puppy from Evita's breeder in Holland, Hali V.D. Kleiheuvel and she arrived here in October 2005. She had a major undershot bite, a showing disqualification. She was sold as a show dog and the breeder at first did not take responsibility for that. But after some negotiations I got him to agree to a discount on a future puppy (which I never bothered with). I rehomed Hali to a new fancier in Michigan.
