Kennel Casfan ... In loving memory

This page is dedicated to our wonderful dogs, who unfortunately isn´t with us anymore.

We imported her mother Tessa from Italy in 2004, and we had followed her father Bandit since 2001 with the intention to use him for breed with one of our females, and he was the perfect match for Tessa. Unfortunately different circumstances did, that we had to replace Tessa, when she was about 2 years old. She was sold to Kennel Jatoba, who a year later followed our recommendation to use Bandit for Tessa´s first litter. Unfortunately there were only 3 puppies in that litter, but superb puppies! Super characters and strong build types. We were so fortunate to be allowed to buy one of the females - Regina. She fully lived up to her name. A queen who was raised above all the small disagreements, that often occur in a pack. She was number 2 in the pack under the leadership of Imoni, and those 2 were a marvellous pair. She never challenged Imoni for the leadership, because she didn´t have to. When we lost Imoni, then Regina quite naturally was leader of the pack and accepted as such.

Regina as a youngster showed talent at training and at shows. A little bit stubborn, but then we just had to be more creative in our training. Unfortunately she hurt her right frontpaw badly, when she was around 1 year old. It took quite some time to heal, and in the process she also had a toe removed. As she was sick, she got very spoiled, which she took advantage of the rest of her life. She was quite the actress to gain pity-points with people by limping. But when nobody was looking, she could run and jump a fence 1½ meters high without limping afterwards. She had another funny thing, as did also her mother and grandmother - when they growled, it sounded like a pigeon. That has caused a lot of laughter during the years.

Regina had 2 litters: M-litter born october 2010 and O-litter born may 2014. First litter went without any problems, but the second litter had to come into the world by cesarean, after she had given birth to 2 puppies, and 1 of them was stillborn. The birth started 6 days before term. We should have neutered her during the operation, and we don´t know, why we didn´t. She recovered very well and was again a super mother for the puppies. With the first litter she was carrying one of the puppies around for the first 2 days. As soon as we approached her and the puppies, she picked one of them out of the pack and took it in her mouth. Of course we ended up keeping that female puppy.

Regina suddenly got ill shortly after her 11th birthday, so off we went to the veterinarian, who diagnosed an uterine inflammation. She got a checkup, and the vet had never seen such an old dog in such good condition and with such good muscle mass, strong heart and lungs. So it was no problem for narcosis and removal of the uterus. But oh dear - when she was opened, everything was full of cysts, and there was no more to do.

Sleep well, miss forever happy...

We are deeply grateful to have shared our life with this once-in-a-lifetime dog for 13 years!

She was "ordered" half a year, before she was born. The waiting time was long, but the worlds most lovely, cheeky, beautiful and wonderful girl entered our home and hearts in may 2003.

Unfortunately she didn´t wanted to show herself at shows. She simply couldn´t see the fun in that, so her career in that direction was short.

Upbringing and training was also not a big issue, since she was born a good girl, and she just did, what she was asked to do. We have always very loving called her our "Golden Retriever" with a mind of her own.

She became mother of 3 litters (G-litter 2006, J-litter 2008 og N-litter 2011) and a not planned litter in 2005, who unfortunately didn´t get pedigrees, because the male wasn´t x-rayed at the time of mating (he was too young).

We must have done something right, when we jumped in as some of the first to have her breedinglines, since today they are widely represented among the lines of many wellknown breeders in DK and abroad. For example came these lines to Kennel Grimmendans in Belgium over 1 year later (van de Pillendijk Darco - same father as Imoni), and first when they started to breed with these lines, other breeders in Denmark and abroad saw the qualities of this breedingline.

Imoni had a huge personality. She was a natural packleader despite her young age, when she had to "take over" the responsibility for the pack.

We can´t describe with words, what this dog has meant to us.... She was EVERYTHING, that we have ever wanted! In daily life she was sovereign and completely unique in her way of being.

Wilda came into our family, when she was almost 3 months old. I had been following her at Eternity´s homepage, since she was 3-4 weeks old. But it took a little time, before the decision was made to buy her.
Wilda was a nice, social and sweet female. She loved to cuddle up in the arms, and she could charm her way with all people. She was a really naughty girl, and she loved to get the other dogs to do the running game. She was also an amazing digger, so she regularly applied several holes in the garden ;-)
She has always had problems with gaining weight. But when she was a little over 7 years old, she started to put on weight, and she was really nice to look at.
When she was younger, she participated at several shows - with various results. We were looking forward to show her in the veterans class.
Wilda had 1 litter of puppies in 2009, and it was not planned at that time.
After a fight with another female in 2010, she got some musclecramps in one hindleg. She had no cramps after fights later on. She was thoroughly examined by 3 veterinarians during 2011, and they came to the conclusion, that the cramps were caused by the muscles not being warmed up, before she got involved in the fight. We chose to give the breed the benefit of doubt, and she got no more litters after that. Until her death she had no more cramps of any kind.
A brain-haemorrhage took her away from us too soon. Sleep well, Wilda-Mathilda. We miss you immensely!

We have chosen to make a memory-page about Tessa, not only because she is mother of our Jatoba Black Regina of Vanessa, but also because she left a huge impression with us.

Tessa came to Danmark from Italy in 2004. A wonderful and cheeky puppy, who quickly gained lots of friends. At the arrival at Copenhagen Airport, Jette came along to pick up Tessa, and the first night was spent at Jette and Frank (Kennel Jatoba).
Tessa moved to a fosterhome, but unfortunately she came home again, when she was almost 2 years. She was a very strong female, so it was not possible to integrate her into the pack of other strong females. The decision was made to find a new home for her. The first call was to Kennel Jatoba, who as so many others, had been in love with Tessa-girl, since she was a puppy. So she moved to Kennel Jatoba, where she later got 2 litters. We have been so lucky to get her daughter Jatoba Black Regina of Vanessa from her first litter.
Frank - I can never thank you enough for opening your heart and your home to this fantastic girl, when she needed a new family.
A severe inflammation in the uterus put a sudden stop to Tessa´s life - only 2 days before her 10th birthday.
Tessa-girl... Strongly missed!

Henrik got Eaton, when he was about 3 months old. He was always happy and had a very kind character. He was very social with everything and everybody, but he was especially fond of children. Eaton was trained in obedience, and he was very good at it. He loved to come along on trips in the car, whether it was to visit people, walking in the town or his favourite - to be at the beach in all kinds of weather. In town Eaton quickly got known as a very kind and friendly dog, and he was spoiled with treats by some of the people in the shops. Especially the "sausage-man" was a good friend, and he always had a sausage for him.
During 2012 Eaton got sick, and after a longer period with testing all kinds of things, it was concluded, that his metabolism didn´t work, as it should. He got medication to adjust it, and he had no problems with that anymore.
But the joy didn´t last long, because he got sick again during summer 2013. Tests were done, and he was examined from a to z. It turned out, that his large intestine and rectum were irritated, and he couldn´t get his stools out. It got stuck in the intestine, and in the end he needed surgery. The veterinarian diagnosed a cronical inflammation of the small intestine. The first days after the operation, everything looked a little better, but suddenly Eaton wouldn´t eat or drink anymore, and there was fluid from the wound. Tests were made, and it turned out to be a multi-resistant bacteria.
Since Eaton was very weak, we chose to give him peace. His body didn´t have the strength to overcome more complications.
He leaves a huge gap with all of us, but especially with his owner Henrik.

Devil was our first male. We had followed his father Ylan during some years, and when we heard, that he sired a litter in Belgium with the wonderful female Lapanya - well, the decision was made. We just had to have a puppy from this litter. After a very long and exhausting trip with snow, hail and ice we finally got our lovely boy from Belgium home.
Devil did well at shows (CAC, BOB, CACIB), but he also got a 0 (disqualified) due to a useless judge. Devil was trained in obedience and tracking, which he really liked and did well.
After living with us for a couple of years, we could see, that he didn´t do well in the pack. Especially when the females were in season, he lost a lot of weight and was very stressed. So we chose to replace him - but he stayed in the family ;-) He lived with Edda and Hans Christian (Karin´s foster-parents), where he adjusted very well, gained weight and really bloomed. He developed a lot during the years, he lived with them, and he became a handsome and selfconfident male. We can never thank you enough, for opening your home and your hearts for this very special boy.
Devil became father of 4 litters in 4 countries. First litter in Germany with the french female Miss des Crétuz Neufs. Second litter here with us with the czech female Kaya Deabei. Third litter in Belgium at his breeder with the belgian female Elze of the Home Port. Fourth and last litter in Sweden with the swedish female Thunderwolf´s National Treasure, who is a littermate of our other male Thunderwolf´s Red Rock West. From all 4 litters are kept / sold puppies for future breeding.
Devil got problems with enlarged prostate in 2010, and the medical treatment didn´t work, so the only solution was, to get him castrated.
His illness and sudden death came as a shock for us all... The vet couldn´t get closer to a diagnosis than, either he got a sudden failure of the kidneys, or he had cancer in the liver or in the kidneys.
We miss him immensely... He was only 7 years and 2 months old...

Daffy came to us from Czech Republic, when she was 4 years old. An insecure dog, who apparently had no trust in people or used to anything else than an outdoor run. She came to us on a leasing agreement for 1 year and 1 litter of puppies. But we wanted to give her more time to adjust, so when the year was over, we asked to buy her, which we could. Otherwise she should have moved on to a breeder in Finland for 1 year and a litter.
Daffy had 2 litters in Czech, before she came to us.
During the first year we succeded to find a sweet and lovely dog behind the insecure outer. She had become calm, more happy and had adjusted well in the pack. She had become more free, and she had got used to be with us in the house. Yet it took another year, before she wanted to lay on the sofa. Since then it has been obvious for her to be there ;-) She was an extremely happy dog - she barked out of joy on the daily walks, and she was sparkling of life-joy. Everybody who has seen her on these walks have smiled and been happy over her incredible joy and happiness, that was shining out of her.
After a year with us she was mated to a lovely french bred male, Magic de la Prairie de la Sommerau - but unfortunately no puppies came from that. The year after she was mated to Risky Black of Dark Brightness, which resulted in our F-litter with 2 males and 4 females.
1½ years later she got our H-litter with 1 male and 1 female sired by the dutch male Duc Nicolas Bergers du Rayon. Since this litter had to be delivered by caesarean, then Daffy got sterilised in the same operation.
After the last litter Daffy was retired, and she enjoyed that very much.
The last 2 winters she lost a lot of weight, when it got really cold, even though she got extra food etc. She went regularly to the veterinarian for checkup, bloodtest and urinetest. Nothing wrong with her. The vet couldn´t find any other explanation for her weightloss than her age. With age she also got rheumatism in her hindlegs and her sight and hearing became bad.
Now she is gone quiet to sleep... Sleep well, you happy and crazy girl... She leaves a huge gap... She was almost 11 years old.

Xeni came to us, when she was 1 year old. I needed a new dog for work, when Koira was put to sleep because of epilepsy. The choise was between a working Malinois (Xeni) and a German Shepherd. And it ended up with the Malinois - of course...
It was quite an experience to get a dog from pure working-lines after having had only dogs from show-lines or mixed show- and working-lines. Xeni was quite different from the other dogs - not only in looks, but also in behaviour. She was the clown in the house - always funny.
She was one hell of a good colleague at work! She learned very fast what to do, and also on the training field, she was great to work with. Of course - she had her ideas like all dogs, but we worked our way around most of them. I could not have got a better dog for my work as a security guard. She learned quick, when it was ok for people to be there - and when not! She really saved me a lot of walking into corners of the big warehouses, where she just as the most natural thing ran out and checked it for me.
Xeni has always been gaining and loosing weight during her life, but during 2007 it got worse. She lost more, than she gained. She got very quick exhausted, when she was working. Her coat got greasy, and she was smelling bad. We heard, that 2 of her brothers had been put down due to problems with the heart, so that´s what we started to examine, and it showed, that one of her heart-valves did not close properly. So training and working with her was stopped immediately. Further examinations also showed, that she had cancer in the liver, her numbers for red bloodcells were way too high, and there was something wrong with the gallbladder. We didn´t pay attention to the last things, the vet told us...
She is strongly missed - my one and only - forever in my heart!

Raya came to us, when she was 3 years old. A very tough girl with a mind of her own. She was everything, I wanted from character. I started training and socializing with her, and she came along very well. She was very happy doing tracking and defence-work, but she thought, obedience was boring. Since I got her so late, she became 4 years old, before I went to x-ray with her. The x-ray showed quite some deposits on one of her hips, and the result showed it as well – her hips were rated B/C. Her x-ray of elbows was perfect with 0 on both. During the cold wintertime she has had bad days with pain from the hindlegs and hips. Her training was reduced some during this time.
One day she jumped the fence after the cat. She has never done that. She hurt her leg really bad, and the veterinarian told me, that she needed at least one operation, and she would be in a lot of pain and would have to be heavily medicated during this long period. Her chances for complete recovery were very small. Chances were that she would probably have lost the leg in the end. After a day with many thoughts and a broken heart, I decided, that it would be best to let her go. She would never have regained normal use of her leg again, and she would have to have medication for the pain for the rest of her life.
We miss her so much... She was truly one of a kind...

Gaïa came to us, when she was 2 years old. She developed a lot during the first year at our place. She became a very self-confident female with a strong character, very calm and well-balanced. This secureness and calmness she inherited to her puppies, which she unfortunately only got 2 of.
She died of a heart-attack during a normal walk. We massaged her heart and were breathing thru her nose, and very briefly she had an irregular heartbeat and was breathing on her own 3 times, and then her heart stopped again. The following attempts to bring her back to life failed.
Both our own veterinarian and the specialist for heart-diseases at the Research- and Education-Centre for Veterinarians could not give us any reason for Gaïa´s sudden death other than, it unfortunately happens.
She was in a top-condition, and a health-check shortly before her death showed, that everything was perfectly fine.
She died only few weeks before, she was going to be mated to become the mother of our F-litter.
We miss her so much... The girl who stole our hearts...

Koira was our first Groenendael-bitch. She was primary my working-dog. She was acknowledged as a security-dog. She was trained in tracking, obedience and defence.
But it was also the plan, that she should be the foundation-bitch of my future breeding of Groenendael. But when it got known, that there was many cases of epilepsy in her family, I chose together with her breeder not to breed with Koira. At that point she was still working as a security-dog without any problems.
But after her season spring 2003, Koira started to have epileptic seizures. It got very quick worse during the summer, and when she had several seizures in one night, I decided to give her peace.
She is strongly missed... The first black love...