Re: [pyrnet] Paul Strang

[JGentzel@aol.com]

In a message dated 3/27/01 8:01:08 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
lmweisser@home.com writes:


> ?  I assume that you have some
> vague idea of how old Paul is and how many decades it has been since he has
> been involved in the breed.  Appeals to authority about things not directly
> bearing on that authority lack a certain substance.  I'm totally with
> Charlotte here.  The longer I'm involved (30+ years at this point) the more
> strongly I believe in spay/neuter. 


Linda is right about Paul's age.  Paul has been in Pyrs longer than I'll bet 
anyone on the lists age.  He saw his first Pyr in Paris in the 1920''s.  Mrs. 
Crane respected him enough that he wrote chapters in every book on the breed 
she ever wrote and compiled.  His reported from France on the breed in the 
1936 book, her first, having seen her first Pyr in just 1931.  Paul bred for 
many years as well.  He also started the really great magazine with Sonja 
Larsen, the International Great Pyrenees Review and wrote very excellent in 
it for much of its existence.  Paul has judged some, but not extensively.  
Everyone knows of his books, which is now out of print officially i.e. the 
New Complete Great Pyrenees.

I think we are very fortunate to still count him amongst us after all these 
years.  He is a highly educated man, who is a  breed scholar.  We may have 
disagreed with his breeding or choice of dogs over the years, but when I go 
back and reread what he wrote 65 years ago, it is mostly relevant to today.  

By accident I have a change to talk with him just a couple weeks ago.  He was 
planning on attending the World Show in Portugal in June.  Part of his 
purpose was to continue studying the breed and those breeds that some feel 
may be close relatives to the Pyr.  I am not sure how one would imply that he 
has lost touch with the breed or even if any one has implied such.  I did not 
find him out of touch.  I found him very keen and interested still in the 
breed now after over 70 years.  

He is the last living link to those first dogs in North America.  We are very 
fortunate to still have him with us.  Father time will take us all out of 
contact with the breed one day, but few of us will have the CV that Paul has. 
 He is one of our treasures.  I would hope we could celebrate his continued 
interest, much as many of us still celebrate Seaver Smith's continued 
interest and involvement where he is able.  

I am not very old (Kerry says I am not old enough to see Porn <G>), but as I 
age I believe the old axiom that "The more things change, the more they 
remain the same."  In my mind that has always meant at least partially lets 
pay attention to those who came before us and study what they did.  We 
certainly can disagree, but more times than not there will be value there 
even with disagreement.  

Joe