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| :An Ancient
Passage A Modern Treasure by Debby Rothman |
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Originally published in
the Fall 2006 issue of The Lhasa Bulletin.
Easy reading text..
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An
Ancient Passage ... A Modern Treasure
As I stood silently in the
room awash with bright colors, I was struck by several
thoughts.
How could it be I am standing
inside a gompa, a real gompa? How could it be a lama’s
dog, an Apso named Dewa, was waiting outside? How could
it be I’m here in the rolling hillside of the Blue Ridge
Mountains outside Charlottesville, Virginia?
The Gompa dogs, bred by Lama
Gyen Yeshe, were imported from Nepal into Canada in the
mid-eighties by Gerald D’Aoust. Curious about the dogs, I
let my interest be known in the spring of 2001 after
discovering the group had been in the United States for
over a year, turned over to Cecile W. Clover. That led to
ten Gompa dogs being delivered to my doorstep August 31,
2001. Ceese and I talked off and on during the next
several years, but it was in July 2004 that Ceese, Ruth
Gerath and I formed a team. Working together, we expanded
Ceese’s Kennel Without Walls, establishing the Gompa Lhasa
Apso Preservation Program, now a legal trust.
Although the dogs are
registered with UKC, early on I explored other avenues for
keeping their records and possible methods of
registration. During this exploration I discovered the
Society for the Perpetuation of the Desert-Bred Saluki
(http://www.desertbred.org).
Originally started in the seventies as simply a means of
record keeping for Salukis not eligible for AKC
registration, in 1988 the Society was formed, and is now
an AKC recognized domestic registry. The Society’s Head
Registrar guided me through set-up, helping ensure our
internal registry meets stringent requirements.
After establishing the Gompa
Lhasa Apso Preservation Program, we expanded that internal
registry into a database, to include, along with UKC
registration records, DNA profiling and microchip
identification, many physical measurements (i.e., bite of
jaw and bite of teeth), health characteristics, breeding
priority, inbreeding coefficients (COI), coat color
(birth, six months and adult), litter size and many more
data. From this information we are able to generate
reports, tracking the progress of our breeding approach,
which is based on population genetics, diversity
principles and management of small populations.
My role in the Program is
Breeding Director. I plan upcoming breedings and make the
decisions associated with the actual breeding program.
Given that responsibility, I needed to see the rest of the
dogs in order to incorporate my own experience of
selective breeding into principles used in the management
of small populations. Measurements and evaluations were
needed to fill out the database. The Directors also wanted
to introduce the Program and other Directors to Ceese’s
Kennel Without Walls people.
Ceese’s original introduction
to this unique group of dogs came about during a quest to
find a Lhasa Apso for her teacher, Geshe Tenzin Wangyal
Rinpoche. The following spring 2000 Mr. D’Aoust could no
longer care for the dogs and the group was handed over to
Ceese. For a short time, the dogs lived on a farm
belonging to two friends, fellow students of Lama Tenzin.
Not a permanent answer, she came up with the Kennel
Without Walls (KWW) concept. KWW dogs live with wonderful,
caring – many very spiritual – people who agree to allow
the dog to participate in the breeding program.
It was time for me to meet
these people and the rest of the dogs. It was time to
share the Program’s hard work with the Kennel Without
Walls people. So….we had a Dog Party!
Arriving late Wednesday
evening, I was met at the small Charlottesville airport by
Ceese and Ruth. Within five minutes after arriving at
Ceese’s house – a beautiful old stone house named Stoat
Hall - Rincin and his caretaker stopped by on their way
out of town. For the next three days, what seemed like a
constant parade of people and dogs flowed in and out of
Stoat Hall. People drove from near and far. Some dogs,
including the lama’s dog, stayed overnight because their
families had other commitments. Dogs were ‘done up’ for
the occasion, washed, brushed and coiffed. Entire families
proudly accompanied their obviously well loved dogs. Dogs
came and went out the back door into the garden to
socialize. People stayed, talked and learned about our
work, including Dr. John, Ceese’s vet, a Gompa dog owner
himself.
Thursday morning Ruth and I
prepared gift bags, stuffing them with information,
resources and dog toys. In the afternoon Ceese gave us a
tour of Charlottesville, including the University of
Virginia (which houses the world’s second largest Tibetan
library) and Serenity Ridge, a Tibetan Bon Buddhist
retreat in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was there I
entered a Gompa for the first time in my life.
Using Ceese’s kitchen table,
Friday and Saturday, I measured, weighed, microchipped,
DNA swabbed a total 30 dogs while Ruth carefully recorded
the information for our database. I was very impressed
with the temperaments. With the exception of one dog, dogs
amiably allowed us to poke and prod their bodies, take all
kinds of measurements, examine their bites, collect DNA
from their cheeks, manipulate their patellas and insert
microchips.
Unfortunately, my photography
skills dismally affected the photographs taken of each
dog. Outstanding head type- particularly eye shape and
expression - was apparent in most of the population.
In addition to collecting data
on each individual, I made notes on the group as a whole.
Taken from those notes:
“General overall impressions
of the group…
Excellent temperaments
– I haven’t counted
exactly, but we gathered data on nearly 30 dogs. With one
exception, I was able to get all of this without incident,
including counting incisors, checking jaws and teeth. Most
of the dogs were also microchipped. There were complaints
from some of the dogs; reaction was to whine, cry or
leave, never to bite. As the dogs came and went, there
were a couple of small spats (especially when Tigle, just
in heat, arrived) that were quickly over. At all times on
Saturday there were at least 12 dogs milling around the
house and yard.
Bites
– were better than
I expected – 6 upper incisors; four lower and one female
with 5! Most had large teeth, fully erupted. Lots of level
jaws, level bites or reverse scissors.
Head
type – the
measurements may not reflect this, as they seemed quite
consistent, but there seemed to be a vast majority of
heads more like Taschi-Deleg and Ponya.
Coats
– The expected colors were observed. Gold sables ranging
from Nechung’s reddish cast gold to Droma’s “Yansom-like”
gold to Gracie’s cream gold. I saw no parties. The silver
“grizzles” ranged from dark to a silver chinchilla Persian
cat color. Most had apparent points, some cream points,
some lighter silver points. As expected coat textures were
excellent, harsh, crisp, heavy. The only dog with curlish
hair was Nechung.
All intact males had both
testicles. 11# seemed to be what most dogs weighed. Most
were approximately 10 inches tall. Only 2 were over 11”.
While the purpose of the
Program isn’t to compare to the western standard or breed
to a written blueprint, I found it interesting that a
large number of dogs could achieve championship if trained
and groomed for such presentation.
I was surprised not to find
more luxating patellas. Those that I found appeared to be
mild. Rears were good all in all. A couple of dogs had
twists in the pasterns. There were some with prominent
pro-sternums, which made some length measurements fairly
long.”
I have now actually seen all
but three dogs in our breeding population and the majority
of the entire population. I have a good grip on familial
resemblance; physical traits shared by members of the
population and which dogs are passing on what traits. In
spite of relatively high inbreeding coefficients and
familial resemblance, there was some variety in traits. I
attribute this to lack of selection towards a written
standard.
After the last dog left
Saturday night, Ceese, Mac, Ruth, her husband Chris and I
sank into chairs around the kitchen table – returning it
to its original purpose rather than ‘data station’. We
celebrated a great Dog Party, toasting, eating and talking
into the wee hours of the night…. surrounded by dogs at
our feet.
Early Sunday morning – 4AM to
be exact – Mac, the kind man that drove the dogs under my
care to Colorado in August 2001 – tapped on my door,
letting me know ‘the bird of time is on its wings’. Flying
home, high above USA terrain, I thought about the
wonderful people I had met. I thought about meeting the
lama’s wife and his dog. I thought about how the search
for that dog started a chain of events leading to the
formation of the Gompa Lhasa Apso Preservation Program. I
thought about what a wonderful gift this little piece of
Tibetan history brings to fanciers and breeders.
And, what was the last
thought as I stood in that Gompa, awash with bright
colors, steeped in the religion of Tibet? Isn’t it
interesting that it took one lady dedicated to Tibetan
history and culture to save these dogs. Because of her
efforts, not only have some of the dogs have made their
way back into their heritage and culture, (albeit with a
western twist), but fanciers have a precious gift from the
past.
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