Percy
Whitaker
The
announcement of the death of Mr Percy Whitaker filled me with
great sadness. He was a ‘gentleman’ in every sense
of the word. His contribution to the world of dogs should
always be remembered as a real connoisseur of dog flesh. He
showed and advised on breeding over many years to owners of
large kennels during his long association with our four legged
friends. Polite when showing, he carried this trait into the
judging arena. I first met him very early in my showing of
Basenjis; his knowledge was incredible. He found in my late
husband and myself avid listeners.
I was most fortunate at having met and listened to Mr Whitaker
and other great dog people of the past who were employed or
associated with great ‘hobby’ kennels which would
be likened to racehorse stables, Hound kennels and to a certain
degree livestock farming. It was instilled into me at an early
age whether on pad or hoof that breeding must be carefully
followed to produce stamina, flesh and appearance. The excuse
is made that they could or can afford it but when making such
statements no account is taken that these hobbies generate
employment. These hobbies would not be worthwhile unless the
owners or staff had the ‘eye’ for the best. It is
no good taking up anything unless one’s heart is in the
job and be prepared to learn from mistakes but particularly
to listen to people who have been through the ‘mill’
such as Mr Whitaker. Nowadays nobody listens whole-heartedly.
How fortunate I was to have met such a person who not only
had personality but deep down knowledge and affection for
the world of dogs.
Jayne Wilson Stringer
Lionel
Hamilton Renwick
An
importer of Dobermanns and Pharaoh Hounds and well renowned
for Miniature Pinschers, Lionel and I (I feel I have a right
to call him by his first name) met early on in my life with
dogs. First and foremost was his undying love for miniature
ponies, a hobby at which he excelled and I am sure that there
are others more informed than myself who will extol his virtues
in this field. My tribute to him must be in Dobermanns of
which he was one of the first importers and Pharaoh Hounds
with which he was associated early on. Both of us were members
of the Pharaoh Hound Club at its commencement and to his death
he was President with myself supporting him as one of the
Vice-Presidents.
He was extremely fond of the breed and judged the first time
Challenge Certificates were awarded to the breed. This honour
took place at Crufts where sometime later he was to have the
honour of awarding best in show at this Top Dog Show in UK
and possibly the world. He also had the honour of winning
the Toy Group at Crufts. No mean feat.
My real memories of him, however, are the times that we went
down to Monaco shows. Lionel was a dab hand at producing meals
on route whilst I did the driving. On one occasion we went
to see the Carmargue Horses and as I was very tired at driving,
stopped and found accommodation at Arles. It was late and
after settling our luggage into our rooms on the first and
second floors of a particularly good hotel went out to find
somewhere to eat.
Eventually we went down a small alleyway with a restaurant
open. As was his wont he pushed me in first and I told them
who we were and could they help us. ‘Yes’, was the
answer but I then had to tell the owners that we have very
little cash on us and asked for just one course. We were regaled
with a five course meal and the proprietor sat with us, nobody
else there, wine and liquors flowed and they would not take
money for anything.
You may say this has nothing to do with dogs but we did take
in the horses and three Monte Carlo shows and dinners and
on another occasion went to Venice. We extended our knowledge
of dogs and I learned a lot about the various breeds that
Lionel judged. To extend one’s insight in such a way
was beneficial in a lot of ways. We had great fun on these
trips and also during drives to Pharaoh Hound committee meetings
where we discussed the breed (not always agreeing) where its
future lay and what we could do to further the breed in all
ways. His death is a terrible loss to the breed because there
are very few original members alive.
My memories of Lionel are of fun and knowledge and I sincerely
hope he did not suffer too much. You Lionel should always
be remembered for together with a few others putting the breed
on the map. I trust that others will tell of his recognised
ability as a painter of horses those of the late Queen Mother
included. I particularly like the one of the Grand National
and look at a print every day. I begged him to paint his famous
Min Pins but whether or not he did so I do know. He will be
sadly missed in the Pharaoh breed. He has left me with wonderful
memories.
Jayne Wilson Stringer
Mr
Arnold Leadbitter
It
is with great sadness that I report the death on January 29th
of Mr Arnold Leadbitter, Vice President of the Manchu Shih
Tzu Society.
Arnold was a quiet reserved gentleman, but had the true Yorkshire
character. He was reluctant to take centre stage except with
his dogs.
The Shih Tzu world has lost one of our finest breeders, so
many of today’s leading kennels owe their success to
the Greenmoss dogs, it stretches worldwide.
My first memory of Arnold some 30 or so years ago, I had just
won my first CC and he remarked, “Well done son, you
are getting the hang of it” I was more excited about
his remarks than winning. We who knew him have felt privileged
to have done so.
Our hearts and prayers go out to his wife.
John Carter, Chairman Manchu Shih Tzu Society
Thanks
THE
FAMILY of the late Jim Peat wish to thank all Dog Clubs and
the many friends of their brother for all Mass cards, sympathy
cards, letters of comfort and floral tributes. The support
of his friends from numerous Breed Clubs was much appreciated.
