As we go through life, we are all touched by people  who bring positive forces and negative forces and the choices we make and the  things we do with those choices make us who we are and will determine how we are remembered.At the end of our lives all that we have is what we as individuals  have given back. How we touch other people, no matter how significant can make or break us. If Dave and I were to have an inkling back in the early eighties, that our lives would take such a direction when we found Misha and Myrtle Lemen, you could have knocked us over with a feather. The following men and  women are some of the most important people to come into our lives over the last two and half decades.  People who encouraged, taught, shared, and just loved us for who we are, all the good stuff and bad. These people helped to make us who we are today and all of them were part of our success in improving the breed of  Dachshund in our little way. Without each of them there would be no Niebur  Dachshunds.

Myrtle Lemen - Lemen Dachshunds

The lady who started it all for us. All I wanted was a big red male for my two children to grow up with. I compromised and got a sweet red female, Misha. Standard Dachshund were few and far between in the Portland area in the early 1980’s.After much searching I found a breeder out in Sandy, Oregon. Myrtle Leman and her daughter Angel lived at the base of Mt Hood and  had two litters of 12 week old Standard Smooth Dachshunds. I was beside myself and called Dave at work and told him I couldn’t wait for him or the  weekend, I had to go look at them right away. Myrt asked me to bring the kids so she could meet them too. The kids were good and gentle with all of the pups around them and I was in hog or should I say “Doxie” heaven.  I remember spending quite a bit of time there with Myrtle that day.

We just wanted a pet...didn’t know anything about dog shows or conformation, although I remember  asking Myrtle what the difference was between the dog I had chosen to take home  and the one she pointed out to me as her pick to keep to show.  I didn’t get much from her that day, but our friendship bloomed and in the years to come Myrtle introduced us to dog shows and dog breeding and The Greater Portland Dachshund Club.  Misha was bred at the age of three and on Katy’s third  birthday, in the middle of the night...Michael, only six years old stayed up all  night with me and helped me whelp my first litter of pups. From that litter came our first show dog Max. I finally had my big red boy! Both Misha and Max had their time in the show ring and Max known as the Reserve Winners King did garner 5 or 6 points....it was a tough lesson for Dave and I starting out, but  we gained much strength and knowledge from many people along the way and came to find out that the show ring wasn’t the only place to enjoy activities with our dogs. Misha and Max may have not jumped for joy at being show dogs but they excelled in field events. In our first dogs we found that hidden inherent jewel  of talent that creeped into our blood and propelled us forward into world of  purebred dogs and as Myrtle retired from the very same thing was grabbing us she  gave us a big part of our future Lemen’s Sweet Madam Blue....Maddie, my heart and great grandmother to the dogs we have today.

Ailsa Bloodworth Wynfield Dachshunds

A very lovely lady, Ailsa was the lady with the stud dog. Am/Can/Int CH Lemen’s Nimm Nicholas, cousin to Misha and born about the same  time as she became the father to all of the first three Niebur litters and was  the father of our other foundation bitch CH Lemen’s Sweet Madam Blue. Ailsa  welcomed Dave and I and our children into her home, family and life. She showed  us the ins and outs of grooming a standard smooth Dachshund and many of the more  artistic ways to prepare for a dog show. Ailsa escorted us to handling classes  and introduced us to handlers which gave us our first experience to this side of  the show world.  She and I traveled to Canada for my first foreign show.

To this day I still have every love note and the key to the Honeymoon Suite that Nicholas sent Misha during their time together. He would come to woo her before  and then come to dote over Misha and her pups after they were born. He was a  very gallant and proud father.  Nicholas and Ailsa will always have a very special part of our hearts.

Gordon & Diane Heldebrant Badgerbane Dachshunds

From the first time we met these two special people in Vallejo, California while racing Dachshunds both Diane and Gordon have been friends and mentors. They literally kept us in the sport when we thought we had had enough. Dave and I have never met two Dachshund people we think who have given more to our Breed then these two people.  The opportunity to learn the ins and outs of Dachshund clubs, how events are put on and offered to other Dachshund folks and the public, was shown and taught to Dave and I by these two folks.  Basically the ABC’s of being thoughtful, giving  members of the  Dachshund community.  Patient encouragement, unconditional love and careful  determination were shown to us through the years and we are ever so privileged  to have Diane and Gordon in our lives.  When we thought we were finished with  the dog show stuff, Gordon and Diane encouraged us into the world of Dachshund  Field Trials where we learned a different way to enjoy our dogs.  There were  some rough times at first, but with a pat on the shoulder and a great sense of  humor about all the wacky stuff we encountered, Gordon and Diane patiently  encouraged us to keep trying.  We worked hard, spent much time training Misha, Max and Maddie how to track a rabbit pelts, in the fields where now stands the NIKE world campus. What we found is the these three dogs excelled at this part of the sport and from then on we were hooked.  The stories we could tell of these years and the happy times we remember can never be matched and we will  never be able to repay these two people for their gifts to us and our children. This is what family really is.
 

Karla Deithorn- Willagaye Dachshunds

 This is the lady who taught me about the heart and spirit of a Dachshund. I still get chills remembering the first time out with Karla and watching her Dachshunds go to ground on live quarry. What a thrill to watch these dogs do what they were really bred to do. Learning how to be partners with my dog in the hunt can not  be explained, only experienced. The love, experience and the education given to me by Karla helped to make the Dachshund a WHOLE dog in my mind’s eye. For me personally, it offered a spiritual experience to what we are doing that has never left me. This precious time with Karla made me a better breeder, teacher and steward of the breed. Both Dave and I know better of what we speak when we speak to the purpose of our breed and why our Dachshunds must fit the standard we are striving to meet in our breeding program...... because of the nurturing I  was given by this very special friend and mentor I am a better person and have  more to give my dogs and the breed.

Clara Jean Davis - Carramoll Dachshunds

pictued here with CH Joy-Den’s Revelation

 Carromoll Dachshunds was the kennel name for her Standard Smooth Dachshunds for decades before meeting Dave and I.  Clara Jean came into our lives at the very end of hers.  For the short time we were given with her, she taught us, really taught us about the conformation and temperament of Dachshunds.  What a proper front should look like and Clara Jean taught us not to settle for an okay Dachshund but to strive for the best in our dogs. She was firm and oh so giving of time, information and experience. She would school us  over and over again until we had it right and even though she had never taken  her dogs into the field. Clara Jean knew that form follows function in our breed and that to have a correct Dachshund it must be able to achieve in the field what it was originally bred to do.  

We are ever so grateful that this wise woman touched our lives and a most important gift she gave us was to introduce us to another great lady of the breed...Joyce Warren of Joy-Den  Dachshunds.

Charlene Owens - Lil’ Passion Dachshunds & Debbi Kaluza - Amber Dachshunds

Our  longtime friends and co-GPDC club members, Charlene and Debbi also known as Auntie Debbi and Auntie Charlene to our children while growing up and were our buddies. We did everything together, dog shows, field trials, earthdog tests, traveling back and forth between states to shows, and the most fun of all, whelping litters of pups. These two woman were there for us in the middle of  the night or the middle of the work day to help and assist. Charlene was  wonderful enough to let us breed Annie, FCH Niebur’s Once In A Blue Moon to her  Destiny. From that litter we have our Chrissy and from Chrissy we have Mac.

Destiny and his Mom Miss Red have very special places in our hearts just like their Mom Char. When I just couldn’t take one more minute of showing dogs Debbi took over for us and in grand fashion finished two of our best dogs for us. CH Joy-Den’s Inspirit of CJD-Kelsey and a dog we know she loved very much Chrissy’s litter brother Floyd- CH Niebur’s Dark Side of the Moon. Debbie truly put all her heart and love into these dogs for us and we will always love and  appreciate her for it. Both of these ladies have very special places in our  family and we will always enjoy remembering all the good times we had together over the years.