Kay

Background

I’ve been around German Shepherd Dogs (GSDs) all my life. My family’s association with and love of the breed started with my Grandmother during the First World War when a British Officer turned up at her house in Montreuil sur Mer with a GSD. The British High Command had commandeered her house and the soldier, unable to care for the dog himself, left the dog there. The German military used GSDs as dispatch carriers, to help locate wounded soldiers, and to accompany soldiers during silent patrols. The British Officer, who later died at the Front, had apparently captured one of their dogs.

Flock, 1918

While my grandmother’s brothers were off to war, she and her three sisters took the dog in. They named him Flock. Later, after the war, they left France and took Flock to live in England where he was a rarity and caused quite a stir. She often recalled the scene to me when they arrived at Waterloo Station and Flock’s cage was surrounded on the platform by hoards of onlookers. At the time, ‘German Shepherd Dog’ was not considered an appropriate name and the more politically correct ‘Alsatian’ was used.

Anyway, from that point on, my grandmother was hooked. She went on to own quite a succession of GSDs. My mother was raised with them, and so was I.

Tessa with Mum and Tessa's pup Brutus (right)

Today

It is with the recent arrival of my latest GSD puppy, Molly, that I decided to start a club for all those who, like myself, love the breed.

Molly at 10 weeks.

Molly was only 10 weeks old when I brought her home. The first night she cried all night. The second night she had me sleeping in the kitchen with her. It took Molly and I a good couple of weeks to get used to each other. We are now inseparable. She waits patiently in the car wherever I go. She even went with me for a job interview – and actually managed to set the car alarm off while I was in the interview!

Molly is always in the background somewhere.

When Molly was 13 weeks old she met her first boyfriend – a GSD called Storm. It was love at first sight. With only 2 days in age between the puppies, they formed a strong bond and have a very special and unusual friendship.

Molly and Storm - love at first sight.

It was during the first months of Molly and Storm’s courtship that I discussed the idea of a GSD club with Storm’s owners, Rose and Graham. The three of us became quite excited about the idea. A few months later, Tracy and Alistair joined our little group. Without the encouragement and help of these friends (and including some not mentioned here), all of whom are an integral part in the founding of WAGS, there would be no club.

Molls

We were surprised we could not find a Wiltshire GSD club or organization that would allow us to make contact with other GSD owners. Similarly, although willing to travel, there were no GSD clubs in Hampshire or Dorset. Thus, we decided our club would cover all these areas and more and hence the imprecise name of Wessex Area German Shepherd Dog Club (WAGS Dog Club).

Top