AFGHAN HOUND BREEDER EXTRODINAIRE

ETA PAUPIT

FOUNDER OF THE vdOM KENNELS IN HOLLAND

This piece was written by LILA WADSWORTH (House Of Oranja Afghan Hounds) for the Afghan Hound Review.

We have Lila's kind permission to reproduce it in full.

Eta Pauptit was for sure a survivor, but lost her battle with death on 16th January 2008 at the age of 94. Her contributions to the Afghan Hound breed were enormous… she created her line of Oranje Manege Afghans guided by her image of the ideal Ghazni (Mountail type) and her knowledge of anatomy and movement. Her Afghans were making history long before the second World War. They survived incredible hardships during the was, and were instrumental in imposing and preserving the high quality of the breed in Europe during the following 25 years of peace.

Eta was fiercely independent, with a sharp inquisitive mind and fantastic memory that served her well when she wrote a book of her memories in Dutch, German and English a few years ago. Profits from the sales have been donated to animal rescue in Europe and in America.

Her love for animals was apparent at an early age and she became an accomplished horsewoman by the age of 16. She wrote that when she attended a dog show she “saw a pair of Afghans with a most beautiful gait and fell in love instantly”…. They were among the first imports from England and were both sired by Sirdar of Ghazni. Eta waited for over a year for a puppy and in 1930 Barukhzy’s Khan was born… he was to become the founding sire of the vdOM Afghan Hounds. Khan finished his championship in 1933…the fifth Afghan Hound champion in Holland.

In 1934 Eta designed and founded her riding school… the Oranje Manege. It flourished and accommodated about 50 horses, occasionally boarding horses from the royal family in summertime. In later years it was filled with Eta’s horses all year round. She was an active member of the Dutch Riding Team…horses she owned and trained were successful at horse shows and cross country expositions.

Although she considered herself first a horsewoman, she researched all available pedigrees and breeders and when Khan was six years old Eta imported Aruna of Enraillic, from Mr Croneen in Ireland, to mate to him.Aruna arrived on a boat from Ireland and had been selected form her litter for her refined elegant head and dark eyes. She had some Bell-Murray blood, but was mostly Ghazni and was the first black and tan and the twelfth Afghan Hound import into Holland. Eta’s first litter of pups from Khan and Aruna was born in 1938. Aruna finished her Dutch Championship in 1939.

In 1940 Holland was bombed and invaded… Eta’s riding school was seized and became a German frontier post. Her family was allowed to stay in a temporary shelter in the stable yard and she even dared to breed two litters in 1942. Her horses were confiscated and her family was ordered out. For survival sake, she and a close friend travelled with everything they could save, two horses goat and seven Afghans to a small village in the north of Holland. They lived day to day and were grateful to live near a local slaughter house where they could obtain leftovers for themselves and the dogs. At night Eta spun Afghan hair by candlelight and traded yarn for food.

She was bombed out seven times and lost almost all of her old documents and photos, but never lost her determination to expand her breeding programme. Aided by many friends, she was able to place her young dogs in several different homes with hopes of avoiding war violence and infections that would destroy her building pedigrees.

During and following the war Afghan Hounds suffered along with their masters in Holland from lack of food, illness and many other problems. Breeding opportunities were very limited, but in spite of this Eta decided that she must have a new Afghan to strengthen her line. Although it was almost impossible to bring dogs over the frontiers to Holland, Eta had a friend in Belgium who was able to obtain two bitch puppies from a litter out of Nadhia of Pushtikuh (a bitch that Eta had seen and admired in Luxembourg) who was a daughter of the beautiful Marika of Baberbaugh. Her friend managed to get both puppies from France into Belgium and late one night he smuggled one of them in a row boat into the province of Limburg. His maid then delivered her to Eta…. Thus Rashna du Chateau des Roches arrived in Holland.

After the war ended she wrote that she “was left with nothing but a pack of sturdy healthy loving animals” and the determination to survive and continue to develop a line that would exemplify her image of the standard. She was given blankets and a few clothes, and then went to the underground organisation in which she had been active all through the was, shepherding allied pilots from place to place o their way back home. She was “grateful to be free and still alive” and rode her horse again at the first Royal Birthday Festival in 1945.

The following years her Afghans were winners in the show rings and their offspring were instrumental in founding some of the top Afghan kennels in Europe and other parts of the world. She finished, bred and then shared some of her finest champions that became foundation stock for breeders in Europe, Scandinavia, Australia, South Africa and America.

Int., Swed. & French Ch Xenos vdOM was only five generations removed from Sirdar. He was exported to Sweden, where he became one of the greatest sires in Scandinavia… his children were in turn exported to South America, Australia, Finland, Canada and America.

Eta considered Rex to be one of her foundation sires… he was brought to Italy from Afghanistan by the Italian Ambassador and his owner also had a Xenos puppy. In 1964, Eta travelled with her best bitch to Rex in Italy…she chose him for his genetic balance and stated that “Rex was really Kingly and deserved my finest bitch”. His influence can still be seen in modern vdOM pedigrees.

Badin vdOM was one of Eta’s biggest show winners…she kept him until he was five years old and had won Dutch, German, Luxembourg and International championsips. He was then sent to Australia where he finished his Australian championship…a unique list of honours never before won by any Afghan.

Badin was the sire of Ned. & Int. Ch Xingu vdOM who produced many International and Dutch champion children and grandchildren. Xingu sired two litters in Germany from Ch Yasmin vdOM that resulted in five great champions for Erica Rodde’s famous von Katwiga kennels. Xingu was exported to England and later travelled with his new owners to America where he was bred to Int Ch Icarie vdOM….four of their litter in Arizona finished Canadian, field and American Champions.

Eta’s best known export to America was Ophaal, who was sent to Kay Finch of Crown Crest after he completed his Dutch, Belgian and German Championships in Europe. He finished in the US and produced 28 American champions in three litters from Crown Crest bitches.

During her 33 years as n Afghan Hound breeder Eta bred a total of 65 litters. She loved to combine exhibiting and racing and when asked why this was so important to her, she stated”.. for me that is the pure Afghan, and most in accordance with his purpose. He should be able survive without the help of humans and to be able to look after himself by hunting. He must be well built anatomically, otherwise he cannot hunt well. I bred very clearly for this purpose and always raced my Afghans even when I was showing them,”

Eta finished breeding Afghan litters in 1971…she also bred 28 Shih Tzu litters and 13 Saluki litters. In 1972 she began a new life of travel that included a long anticipated trip to Afghanistan, visits to friends in New York and Arizona, tours of the Amazon and the Galapogos, and a trip around the world with stops to see how her transplanted Afghans and Shih Tzus were faring in their new homes. She spent happy months for many years with her dear friend and his family in Africa.

In 1970 a ‘vdOMers club’ was organised, with over 60 members from all over the world that plan to preserve and carry on her line into the future. They are now publishing their 29th newsletter.

Although she was no longer participating in breeding and exhibiting, Eta’s concern with the preservation of the unique qualities of her beloved Afghan Hounds continued the rest of her life. She was actively involved in world-wide correspondence and always available to breeders and fanciers. She was an accomplished artist and combined her ‘eye’ for balance and beauty with an expensive knowledge of pedigrees and their potential in order to make strict selection of her breeding pairs. Her considered inclusion of other related lines or Afghan imports contributed to a viable gene pool of Afghan Hounds that after 37 years still breed amazingly true in physical structure, balance and superb temperament.

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All content © Lila Wadsworth - 2008