The Swedish kennel Ullalvas, which bred and showed Icelandic Sheepdogs in Northern Europe, belonged to Lillemor Kullman who worked with Arne Hakon Tunheim, who bred and showed dogs under the Norwegian kennel Isheim. (I currently have Bear [Bersi av Isheim] who is 15 years old now. There are some photos of Bear at the end. Bear is one of Smari's sons. ) Icelandic Sheepdogs traveled with the Vikings to Iceland more than a thousand years ago, then back to Europe and now to America. Clicking on photos will enlarge them.
Ullalvas Smari was a multiple country champion (Finland, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Luxembourg) bred by Lillemor. She passed away more than ten years ago now. Arne has been storing some of Smari's frozen semen, which was collected in 2006, with the Norwegian Kennel Club (NKK). I hope one day to be able to use his semen myself perhaps with my Kit and also with a few other selected female Icelandic Sheepdogs.
Smari won championships in many of those countries. Here is a list of the champion titles I've had in my BreedMate data base for many years: INTUCH, NORDUCH, SUCH, LUXUCH, DKUCH, NUCH, FINUCH. He was a spectacular example of the breed. Lillemor Kullman and Arne Hakon Tunheim bred amazing dogs. Some of those dogs now have descendants in North America.
Arne has been working with me for several years now in order to make some of Smari's frozen semen available to North American female Icelandic Sheepdogs. We have followed the instructions of the American Kennel Club, AKC, regarding imported semen. The certified pedigree from Sweden has been accepted by the AKC. The ownership of the semen has been transferred from Arne to me and a statement stating that has been accepted by the AKC. The collection facility, The Norwegian Kennel Club, NKK, has issued their statement to the AKC stating the number of straws collected by them in May, 2006. Of course Smari was registered with the Swedish Kennel Club but now his semen has an AKC identifying registration number. A DNA sample has been collected and identified for inclusion with data stored by the AKC. Smari had an identifying tattoo which has also been recorded with the AKC. The number of units/vials has also been recorded.
The shipment from Norway to Michigan was not without issues but wonderful and special people in the Norwegian Kennel Club especially Dr. Ragnar Thomassen, FedEx, Customs, and Joe and Dr. William Schultz helped us, patiently helped us, along the way for which I will forever be grateful. Arne has been especially helpful, calming, and tolerant; I really appreciate what he has done for all of us.
Smari's frozen Semen is being stored at the Schultz Veterinary Clinic on Bennett Road in Okemos, Michigan. Implantations of semen will be accomplished by Dr. Schultz. (We don't want to increase the possibility of problems by any further traveling of the semen.) Dr. Schultz and Joe took the DNA samples and sent them to GeneSeek: A Neogen Company in Lincoln, Nebraska.
I am humbled and honored to be able to share this wonderful gift with a few special Icelandic Sheepdog breeders here in the US and/or in Canada.
The selection of breeders and their female Icies will not be easy I believe. We've been told that the best candidates are females that have already had one successful litter. I suppose that's to make sure that everything works. She must have good hip scores. (Smari has HD-A hips.) and good eye test results. The owner/breeder must be willing to travel to Okemos, Michigan which is next to Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. (AKC shows/trials are often held in that area.)
If anyone is interested, I can be contacted for more details using my Frontier email. Caution: my email address must be typed in each in order for the email to reach me. (Instead of just simply hitting "reply". Those "reply" emails often leave and disappear into the ether. I don't get them.) I am now and have always been interested in doing what is best for the breed. I try very hard not to get involved in the intrigues and issues that sometimes complicate things. I will, we will, always try to do what's best for Icelandic Sheepdogs regardless of "complications.
jaimehansen1@frontier.com
Some photos of Bear - son of Smari
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