Within seconds of meeting Gernot Riedel , I knew I'd come to the right place. It was 1962 and I was looking for a German Shepherd puppy.

Gernot was a tall, substantially built man, naturally confident, but with a twinkle in his eye which added a boyish charm. We met the dogs, played with the pups and Gernot quickly impressed me with his knowledge and love of the breed. And I suppose his German accent reminded me comfortingly of the sound of my grandparents voices.

Gernot Riedel

Returning to the house, Gernot lifted the lid off a big metal pot and showed me the meat and rice he had simmering on the stove for his dogs. Recently I asked his daughter, Nicki Riedel , about this and she recalled: "My dad cooked for the dogs every day… he made lamb and rice, huge pots. He must have had a deal with our local butcher." Gernot recommended I cook for my puppy too.

Greta von der Ruine Engelhaus came home with me and my family that day…but I had no way of knowing what a huge impact her breeder would have on the sport of Schutzhund in America.

Greta von der Ruine Engelhaus and
Zana Vartanian 1966

Gernot's Background

"Gernot Riedel (1931-1991) was born in Karlsbad, Czechoslovakia, in what is now the Czech Republic," reports his first wife, Pat Riedel , during our recent phone conversation." The family raised Springer Spaniels and the kennel name, von der Ruine Engelhaus, came from the ruins of an old church near Karlsbad. After WW II, when Gernot was 15, the family moved to Garmish in southern Germany. His father, August, continued raising dogs, but now German Shepherds. They kept the von der Ruine Engelhaus kennel name and had some success in the show ring."

Pat, an American, recalls that she " met Gernot on the ski slopes in Garmisch in 1954, during a round the world trip." They were married within months and settled in Germany. She says, "we belonged to a dog training club which met twice a week, as it was necessary to have Schutzhund titles in order to enter the show ring. Even I passed a Schutzhund 1 with my dog Ruppel!"

The couple moved to San Jose, CA in 1956, to be close to Pat's family. Soon Gernot's father sent over Asta von der Ruine Engelhaus, a black female who subsequently had several litters.

Asta von der Ruine Engelhaus

By 1958, they belonged to a GSD club and were showing dogs in the conformation ring. Gernot was also training dogs for Noel Jones , who had a large boarding kennel in Palo Alto.

Gernot does helper work for Noel Jones

Pat remembers clearly the "Golden Gate Kennel Club dog show at the Cow Palace, where Gernot was benched next to Bob Tanner , an executive for Pan American Airlines. He recruited Gernot to work in the cargo department. At first, there were just 20 people in the whole department, and Gernot was the only person on the night shift!" According to Pat, "he took his dog with him to work each night for security, as sometimes they had over a million dollars in gold, cash or jewels in the safe."

"He worked his way up to Cargo Manager, (overseeing) more than 200 employees."

Police Dogs and PPCC

Being employed by Pan Am must have been helpful to Gernot as Pat says he "began importing trained dogs from Germany for several police departments, including Hillsborough, Mt. View and Santa Clara. Then he trained the officers to work with the dogs. He also imported trained Shepherds for wealthy clients that wanted protection for their families and properties."

Nicki Riedel was just a toddler at the time, but she remembers occasions when "my dad would bring me out to walk around and pet the dogs, to prove their good temperament to anyone who was concerned they must be vicious if they did protection work."

The Peninsula Police Canine Corps was established by Gernot in 1959. It was the first (or one of the first) Schutzhund clubs in America. The first few members were police officers, and the first training area was a parking lot in Santa Clara.

unknown,Ofc.John Peterson,Gernot,
Ofc.Dave Coffin, Hans Heitzinger

Others who were interested in protection training soon found the group. John Koerner says he joined in about 1961, with an Airedale named Pixie, and that he, Don Stoddard and Gernot were the only non police members at that time.

According to former Redwood City police officer, Dick Hamilton , his department "was the first one in San Mateo county to get a police dog." Bodo was imported by Gernot who then helped Dick learn to work with the dog. Dick thinks this must have been in about 1963. Bodo lived with Dick, Sonya and their young children and could switch instantly from being a family dog into a police patrol dog.

When I was interested in raising a litter of pups from my female, Greta von der Ruine Engelhaus, Gernot recommended we breed her to Bodo. Dick's family and mine became friends watching those puppies grow.

Excerpts from Law Dogs at Work Here, by John Horgan for The San Mateo Times of 7/16/1966:

Gernot G. Riedel, a native of Germany, trains the dogs of the South County's police departments and the San Mateo County Sheriff's Department once a week at the Mounted Patrol Grounds… in Woodside, and once a week at night in a variety of buildings… suitable for practice in searching. (Also participating were Officer Gary Evans of Atherton with his dog Heino; Deputy Bob Ninnis with Hesko; and Deputy John Edmonds)

Riedel also trained most of the dogs used by the Hillsborough police.

The dogs, all German Shepherds and all imported from Germany nearly fully trained, must become accustomed… to their new masters… Riedel's job, besides selling the animals to the departments for as much as $1000, is to acclimate the dogs to their new owners and train them to obey only their master's commands.

"These dogs are not vicious at all" said Sheriff's Deputy Bill Sweeney… (who further stated that) "the main use for the dogs is searching wide areas for either wanted persons or articles… or in crowd control situations where their mere presence will probably deter would be trouble makers."

"The dogs have become integral parts of the homes of their masters… and are loved by the children of the officers and have made a number of appearances at schools… the oldest of the dogs is Bodo, who lives with Officer Dick Hamilton of the Redwood City police department.

"German Shepherds were first used on foot patrols, according to Riedel, in 1903 in Brandenburg, Germany. Riedel explained that now "99 per cent of the police dogs in the world are German Shepherds."

YouTubelink:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibiX3_x6UCw

Parity and the SV

According to Joanne Matzen , she met Gernot at the San Francisco airport in 1969. She had been living in Germany for 10 years, teaching school. Returning to the states, Joanne's female GSD was shipped by Pan Am, catching Gernot's attention. He made a point of meeting her as she picked up her dog. Joanne said, "Gernot recognized my name from the SV magazine. As a woman and an American, I was one of the first to train, title and show (German Shepherds) in Germany." Joanne recalls they discussed how PPCC was more a police club than a Schutzhund club. One of the things they wanted to develop was Schutzhund in the US. Joanne noted "what was missing was that breeders of GSDs in the US did not have parity with Germany, could not participate in the Sieger Show in Germany unless we individually took our dogs to Germany to get Schutzhund titles. The Schutzhund title was a prerequisite for breeding… a test of breed worthiness." Joanne says a group met to develop a proposal to present to the SV. Some of those who attended were Dale Panter , Northern CA GSD Fanciers President and Fire Chief of San Mateo , John Edmonds of San Mateo County Sheriffs Department, Dr. Robert Hanson , AKC judge and GSDCA board member, and Bill Dubbin , an attorney. Joanne further related that " Gernot presented the proposal to the SV board, emphasizing that Americans did not have parity with Germany, because

they had no access to breed worthiness tests. In order to show American bred GSDs in Germany, Americans would have to go to Germany to get Schutzhund titles and breed surveys. We asked if the SV would help us and Gernot… sold them on the idea. Gernot told them of PPCC, and asked that judges come, teach about Schutzhund and judge trials so we could get titles."

Joanne added, "Gernot was very good at organizing things. But he had his quirks. Sometimes at our meetings he would start talking and get going and Bill Dubbin would say: "the Fuhrer is talking… now we go to Poland", and then Gernot would start laughing."

Schutzhund Trials

The first PPCC Schutzhund trial was held at Searsville Lake, June 1972 with judge Herman Kunz of Germany.

A second trial is noted in "Protection Dogs", San Mateo Times; Dec 2, 1972:

"Protection dogs are the antithesis of vicious. Gentleness and obedience are prerequisites. Only after temperament is ascertained will the dog be trained to search out and hold at bay a human being on the command of his master.

"This fall a few more dogs earned the Protection degree at elaborate trials conducted in Woodside under auspices of the Peninsula Police Canine Corps.

"A group made up about equally of dog handlers from law enforcement departments and 'civilian' dog owners throughout the (San Francisco) Bay Area, the Canine Corps is unique in the United States. It is authorized by the National SV German Shepherd club of Germany… and recognized by the GSDCA…

"For the trials at Searsville Lake in Woodside, the Canine Corps imported an expert, Herr Alfred Steenbock, koermeister and senior breed warden for the State of Hamburg, Germany. For two days, Steenbock put the animals, their owners and a large crew of volunteer tracklayers and 'agitators' through the demanding tests developed by the German fanciers to evaluate the performance of their dogs. Teams came from all parts of California, even from the Midwest and Canada, to compete."

Trial at Searsville, 1972

First North American*

According to an article in the San Mateo Times of May 23, 1973:

"The first North American Sporting Dog Championship for "Schutzhund" (protection dog) degrees will be held on Sunday May 27 at Searsville Lake, Woodside. These trials are limited to top-rated dogs that have achieved the highest level or Schutzhund III degree. Gernot Riedel, president of the Peninsula Police Canine Corps, said… "we are proud that PPCC is the only organization in North America authorized to conduct these trials and we have flown in Albert Schlichenmeier of Wurtenberg to judge the contest… Protection dogs should not be confused with the attack or guard dogs. A protection dog must demonstrate obedience and defend his master."

He further noted that 'it often takes years before dog and master attain this extremely high level of communication which does not develop viciousness within the animal but which awakens and controls natural instincts.

The second North American was in May 1974 at Menlo College.

*The third one was in May 1975, just as USA was being formed and was later renamed The First North American Schutzhund III Championship.

Some Early Members

That trial may have been the first one that Egon Vollrath attended… the trial that hooked him on Schutzhund!

In a recent interview, Egon's son, Martin Vollrath , told this story: "My aunt sent my parents the gift of a puppy from Germany. This was in the 1970s and my parents were not doing any kind of training at all. After the dog had been with us for a year, my aunt called, asking "how is the dog's biting coming?" My parents responded, "she's a nice dog, she wouldn't bite anybody!" My aunt knew right away they had no clue what Schutzhund was and so she found Gernot's name in the SV magazine, saw he was in CA, not far from where we lived and recommended that we contact Gernot. So we went to one of his training sessions and that is how my dad began training. One day Gernot called my dad and said, "come out, we are having a trial at Searsville Lake." That's where my dad saw his first Schutzhund trial and got hooked!"

For years thereafter, Egon Vollrath was a force in the Schutzhund world, both as a competitor and a breeder, under the kennel name Vom Entzal. His sons, Martin and Thomas Vollrath , have since carried on the legacy of their late father.

Willi Ortner says he got involved with PPCC in 1969. Willi was training his dog with Noel Jones but knew nothing of Schutzhund. Meeting Gernot, he became interested in the sport and since then has been competing and breeding GSDs under the von der Pfalz kennel name.

Willi recalls that "PPCC was the only club around for a long time and people came down twice a week to train, even from as far away as Sacramento. It all started with PPCC, and we had people from all over the country come for our first trials."

Wayne Hammer was a Helper and Training Coordinator for PCC at one time. According to Kay Koerner , he was also National Training Director for USA at the same time he was with PCC, and was the first USA member to compete at the WUSV in Europe. He came home with a first place trophy!

Another early member was Hal Sowle who trained despite the added challenge of having just one arm. Hal helped me with my dog Trotaways Zekial. During agitation by the helper, Zeke, a big longcoat, was so strong and enthusiastic I was unable to 'be a post' and hold him securely,so Hal would stand behind me, wrap his one arm around my waist and hold me so I could hold my dog!

Willi Ortner says that it was his dog who went for Hal and pulled off his artificial arm! Willi knew his dog sometimes took dirty bites, but remembers Hal saying, "if he doesn't see the sleeve, he won't be dirty". Willi laughingly recalls the "dog grabbed Hal's artificial arm anyway… So much for not being dirty!"

Trotaways Zekial, Steff Vartanian 1981

Someone else described a similar incident in which Hal deliberately let some dog bite his artificial arm and pull it off, just to shock the visitors who were watching! It was also noted that training at Searsville Lake in the early days was before portable blinds, so the dogs searched two rows of trees.

Another early PPCC member was Shirley Hammond , who began training with the club at Searsville Lake in 1969. Shirley was already a member of CARDA, doing SAR work with her female Doberman, Nina, when she decided to add some Schutzhund training to their repetoire! Nina got her Schutzhund 1 in Dec. of 1973 at a PCC trial, held at the Searsville property. Nina was also the first Doberman in the country to get her FH, which she earned in April of 1975. Shirley and her dogs over the years have worked many disaster sites, and she is currently training and working her dogs in human remains detection and historical human remains detection.

Joe Tackett had also been working dogs with Noel where he met Willi and heard about the Schutzhund club. Joe checked it out, got interested. and joined the club, ultimately acting as president of PPCC for a number of years.

Joe recalls that "Gernot liked to drink beer and sometimes my dog would carry beer in his back pack for the people at training!"

Willi also mentioned that Gernot enjoyed beer and shared fond memories of The Peanut Farm, a bar on Canada Road in Woodside. Willi said "often after dog training we went to the Peanut Farm and many a time we'd stay there 'til 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning!"

But clearly a lot of training got done anyway!

USA Schutzhund III Club

The first person on the USA Schutzhund III club list was Klaus Hoffman with his dog Ero v Lindenbeck, 1971

But the next three, all from 1972, are PPCC members:
  John Koerner; Olf vd Ruine Engelhaus
  Hal Sowle: Trotaways Immo
  Willi Ortner: Prince vd Pfalz

Other PPCC members (or former members) on that list are:
  1973: Joe Tackett: Ironwood's Cherokee
  1975: Egon Vollrath: Anka vd Crocuswiese
  1976: Phyllis Hiatt: Krieger v Hiatt
  1977: Egon Vollrath: Mark vd Ruine Engelhaus
  1978: John Koerner: Trotaways Vonda
  1980: Phyllis Hiatt: Vilma v Pfersee
  Joe Tackett: Ironwood's Shoshoni
  William Fields: Ironwood's Darth Vader
 1981: Victoria Tackett: Konigin v Schoenehaus
  Phyllis Hiatt: Armand v Kriegerhaus
  Dorothy Fields: Chato v Aggerblick
  1982: John Koerner: Alf v Haus Schaif
   Willi Ortner: Korry v Haus Tyson

Name Change

At some point, the name of the group was changed from Peninsula Police Canine Corps to Peninsula Canine Corps, perhaps because the focus was no longer on police and law enforcement but on Schutzhund.

Seminars, SV and GSDCA

Joanne Matzen reports that, "due to a violation by someone outside of PCC, the SV said it would no longer send judges unless it was with the approval and promise of mentoring by the GSDCA."

"Gernot, (Joanne) and Dale Panter went to a meeting with the GSDCA in which they voted to support the proposal. Gernot was named Schutzhund Chairman, under the auspices of GSDCA"… in this capacity "he would approve new training groups as clubs, providing assistance and seminars."

Heinz Matzen (vom Schloss Matzen) often accompanied Gernot on these trips, the two men demonstrating training techniques as a team.

Joanne also stated that, "Dr. Rummel, President of the SV, and the GSDCA Board established a written agreement to develop Schutzhund in the US. Dr. Rummel came to CA and attended a cocktail party hosted by PPCCvconfirming that the SV would continue to help GSD breeders and fanciers through the GSDCA in this way. As new clubs formed, they would contact GSDCA." These requests were given to Gernot for follow up.

Dr. Rummel,(center) visits CA, Gernot
(right), animal is a wolf

"Gernot flew all over the US" recalls Willi Ortner, "he gave a lot of his time. He was the liaison with the SV and got things going with them so we finally got judges over here. Schutzhund would probably have taken off anyway, but at the time Gernot was the guy who was instrumental in getting these clubs together. You either liked him or you didn't, and that's why he was never (elected) President of USA but he was a major force in starting USA and he deserves the credit for the work he did."

Ed Frawley , on his Leerburg website writes: "In 1974 I attended my first Schutzhund Seminar in St Louis. Gernot Riedel was the instructor. Gernot did an excellent job of demonstrating the importance of good nerves in a working dog."

However, another crisis developed, as related by Joanne Matzen, in which "some people sent letters to the AKC saying the GSDCA has violated its charter by supporting Schutzhund. GSDCA then disbanded the Schutzhund group and stopped sponsoring it."

Due to the distress this caused, Joanne said "the GSDCA then held a meeting in South San Francisco to see what could be done to save the Schutzhund movement. Gernot could not speak, as his position as GSDCA Schutzhund Chairman would have been considered a conflict of interest."

As a result of this meeting, Joanne says " Robert Hamilton , President of the GSDCA, went to Germany and spent three days with Dr. Rummel, to find a solution. The concept of a Union of Clubs was developed by these two men."

According to Joanne, "upon returning home, Robert Hamilton contacted the Schutzhund clubs and arranged a meeting. An attorney from GSDCA worked with them to draw up by laws and a plan for the new organizaton. The SV agreed that if this organization was formed, they would authorize titles and trials."

USA

The first issue of the Schutzhund USA magazine, Volume 1, Number 1, was the March-April 1976 issue.

According to that issue, "The United Schutzhund Clubs of America (USA), an organization to further the Schutzhund movement for German Shepherd Dogs under SV guidance, was founded on November 21, 1975 in Palo Alto, California…

The organizational details of the USA were hammered out at the Dallas, Texas, conference March 27, 1976, which was widely hailed by the participants as the most successful and productive gathering in the history of Schutzhund in the US."

The article continues: " Seven of the eight clubs already permitted by the SV to conduct trials were represented at the conference, plus 11 other groups considering USA affiliation, as well as a representative of the Working Dogs of America, the DVG organization for North America.

The overall goals of the USA were defined as:

*To provide a single voice to represent the German Shepherd Schutzhund groups in this country which work under VDH rules to address both domestic as well as international breed, working dog and kennel associations;

*Standardization of Schutzhund training procedures within USA groups; and

*Promotion and expansion of the sport in the United States.

The SV-approved Schutzhund clubs present were represented by:

-Luke McFarland, USA General Chairman, Greater Dallas German Shepherd Working Dog Club.

-Jeff Estabrooke, USA Director, OG Wisconsin Schutzhund Club;

-Phil Hoelcher, USA Director, South Florida Schutzhund Club

-Gunther Leidtke, USA Director, San Fernando Valley Schutzhund Group

-Gernot Riedel, USA Director, Peninsula Canine Corps

-Bud Robinson, USA Director, Central Illinois Schutzhund Assoc. Inc

-Hal Sowle, USA Director, German Shepherd Dog Fanciers of Northern CA."

The article continues with this quote: "What I'm mainly concerned with is all these young clubs that are forming," former Parent Club (GSDCA) Schutzhund Chairman Gernot Riedel said… "Now if you in Chicago want to go to Dallas, and you from Denver want to go to San Francisco, that's fine, but we want to give everybody a chance to participate. I think USA would be the organization to qualify these clubs and that if USA backs these clubs, there will be no problem at all" getting judges for them.

"Under the Parent club, (GSDCA) there were four men allowed to approve clubs for permission to conduct SV-recognized trials.

These same four men will continue in this capacity under the new USA organization. They are: John Koerner, Willy Ortner, Gernot Riedel and Hal Sowle." (all PCC members)

Gernot also traveled outside the country to promote the sport.

From their website: "In 1978, The German Shepherd Dog Club of Calgary hosted a seminar with the late Judge Gernot Riedel. A meeting followed and as a result of this meeting the German Shepherd Schutzhund Club of Canada was organized and accepted by the WUSV."

Gernot Resigns from PCC

In late 1978, having moved south to Morgan Hill, Gernot resigned from PCC. Joe Tackett was VP of the club and recalls that Gernot didn't have time for the commute that would have been necessary.

One sentence from Gernot's letter of resignation, addressed to Joe Tackett and dated Nov. 21, 1978, states, "I would like however to remain as an Associate Member, if possible with the PCC, the organization which I founded some 20 years ago."

Joe then became President and says Gernot was made "an honorary lifetime member of PCC out of respect for him and all the work he had put into the club."

That same year, 1978, Gernot founded the San Jose Schutzhund Club, and began training again near his new home in Morgan Hill. Egon Vollrath left PCC at that time and followed Gernot down to the new club. In 1991 the name was changed to the San Jose German Shepherd Dog Club.

The training field for San Jose German Shepherd Dog club is dedicated to the memory of San Jose Police Officer Gene Simpson , who met Gernot in 1979, when he began training his first Schutzhund Shepherd, Baron, with the club. As related by Gene's widow, Roberta Simpson , Gernot laughingly called Baron "a plow horse"! But when the dog matured into that big body, Gene and Baron earned several Schutzhund III's together. Gene continued to train and trial in Schutzhund until he was killed in the line of duty in 1989.

Judges from PCC

One indication of the contributions of PCC to the sport of Schutzhund is the number of Judges who came out of the early membership:

Gernot Riedel: SVF

Willi Ortner: #1 USA/SV

Joe Tackett: #2 USA

Hal Sowle: #3 USA

Bill Fields: #6 USA

Ernest Hintz: #19 USA/SV

John Koerner also began the process of apprenticing to become a USA judge, but says he had to give that up because "every time there was a trial, they needed me to be the helper!"

John Koerner works Jaxx

Still, if it hadn't been for John, Ernest Hintz might not have been involved in Schutzhund at all! Ernest was in a bookstore, browsing thru books on Canine Training when he recalls (there was a) "Tap, tap on my shoulder, it was this guy who asked me if I was a K9 Officer. I said 'no'", and rudely turned my back to him and continued reading. The guy (John Koerner) tapped my shoulder again, asking if I heard about a sport called Schutzhund, and went on telling me where they trained and I should come by and see it. Ya, I thought, dog training. Serious dogs are on the streets."

Ernest had been volunteering with the San Mateo Police Department at that time, but he did stop by the PCC training site on his way home one night to "see what this Schutzhund stuff was about." He was impressed with the control that one woman in particular demonstrated over her dog, so he came out again the next week with his Doberman. The rest is history!

New Clubs

Another measure of the impact of PCC on the sport is the number of clubs that grew out of this original one:

Other clubs started by PCC members:
Bay Area SchH Club (Samuel Gordon )
Sierra SchH Club ( Jack Smith )
Alpine SchH Club (Michael Kutsko)
Oak Valley SchH Club (Glen Bennett)
(Thanks to Kay Koerner for the above club information)

Menlo Park Schutzhund Club:
Sara Hitchens (vom Haus Hitchens)reports that she, Pam McAllister (vom Silikontal)and Julie Kolb (Ortner) "had been training with Randy Tyson (Witmer ) (vom Haus Tyson) and her police dogs. We did AKC obedience, AKC tracking and police dog protection." They joined PCC in 1978 to learn about Schutzhund with the intention of ultimately forming their own club, MPSC, which they did in 1980.

John Koerner, PCC and SAR

Joe Tackett stayed on as President of PCC for a number of years, and when he moved on, John Koerner stepped in to take over responsibility as President. Through all the changes of membership, training facilities (Searsville Lake, Portola Valley horse ring, Palo Alto Corporation Yard and more), essentially through thick and thin, John hung in there. There were times when he wondered why he was doing this and whether he should just quit. He admits, "I thought about it a few times. I hated to see it die, it had been going on for so long, and there was nobody else to carry it on. In fact, I told Gernot one time, that 'one way or the other PCC will be'. But there were a lot of times I'd go down there (to the training field) and nobody would show up."

In part, John credits his wife for his tenacity, saying "Kay was always there, she was a huge support", urging him to keep PCC alive, and acting as Treasurer for years. Kay also served as Treasurer for CARDA for many years and as Treasurer of USA from 1978 to 1990.

Asked whether it was difficult to balance his long term involvement with PCC and Schutzhund with his 30 year commitment to SAR, John replied, "No, it wasn't hard. I did them at different times. But there were times when I'd miss (Schutzhund) training because I was out on a search."

"Every dog I had did both. They did man tracking like a bloodhound, area search, cadaver, a couple of them were certified in water. One time Susan Bosse and I found a body out in the ocean about 40 ft down in an airplane."

"And of course, there was Northridge."

"One time (1989) Shirley (Hammond) and I went down to San Bernardino to a train wreck. The train came down the hill with about 19 carloads of soda ash, lost its brakes, came off the track, went into a housing development and killed several people. They called us down there and the dogs found this guy who'd been buried alive for 12 hours. Rescuers had to dig down 12 feet but he was still alive. That dog was Alf." (and Shirley's Dobe Cinnamon)

"And (my dog) Utz, the week before he died of cancer, he trailed a missing guy. It was a two day old trail and we found him, still alive, laying at the bottom of a creek."

These were a few of the highlights of John's 30 years of SAR and the approximately 400 searches he has been on with his dogs over the years.

Another highlight can be found in the minutes of the General Board Mtg of USA on 11/9/2006

9. Recognition of Sampson vom Haus Ledda, SchH2,FH2, SAR

Nathaniel Roque reported the loss of a member of USA at ten years old, Sampson vom Haus Ledda, SchH2, FH2 with greater than 100 certified Search and Rescue missions. He was owned by John Koerner and just recently passed away. If the purpose of this organization is to test dogs for use and service, we should make a formal recognition of this dog which was USA registered and truly was working on the streets.

John Koerner and Sampson

After losing Sampson, John got his current dog, Evi vom Zottbachhaus and, as usual, began simultaneously working her in Schutzhund and training her for SAR. Asked what he loves about being part of PCC and CARDA, John responded, "The thing I love the best is to see what the dogs can do. They do things you can't even imagine and you don't know how they do it… like the capability of smelling things. Evi ran a four day old trail a couple of months ago, through a woods and a park, lots of other people there, lots of cross contamination. That always intrigues me."

John has inspired other PCC members to train their dogs for both pursuits.

Former PCC member, Tom Ennis , not only got his dog Cody's SchH3 in 2001 while training with PCC, but he and Cody also worked as a SAR team with CARDA for nine years.

Morris Atwell , one time PCC Vice President and Helper, was active in SAR with his dog, Jama von der Ruine Engelhaus SchH I.

Dave Newman contends that "John Koerner is completely to blame that you poor folk (of PCC) have to put up with me. I've been following him around like a lost puppy for decades." Dave's been a SAR dog handler since 1989, was a member of PCC with his last dog, Heidi, and recently rejoined to work new dog Max.

Dana Kirsch Ray has been a K9 SAR handler since 1990 and joined PCC in 2008 after meeting John. She is also training her dog, Zen, for SAR and Schutzhund.

Stanford University

In 1988, thanks to the good offices of PCC member Jon Erickson , the club was granted permission to use the soccer field at Stanford for weeknight training. This was a real boon as it is a beautiful, central location , with great lights. Having the use of this field has provided welcome stability for PCC and made life simpler for John Koerner!

PCC Trial 1997: ?,?, L.Vartanian, Nyka, T.Royer,
T.Ennis, D.Jacobi, Lexa, ?,
K.Koerner, E.Hintz, W.Robb, ?,
J. Robb, Kehl

Recently John said: "I think it is going really good now. I like that I can sit back and enjoy it more and if something happens, I can make a call and ask someone to take over."

This is primarily because in 2009, Ernest and Peggy Hintz came back to training with PCC more regularly, to work their new dog, Rico, as well as give some fun bites to their retired dog, Gates. Over the next months, they became more involved with the club, partnering with John to reorganize the training program.

Ernest ultimately took on the responsibility of Training Director, working with Protection Helper Keith James to set goals for each dog and provide more support for handlers. Keith had been a PCC member in 1999, working in Schutzhund with his dog, Hagen. He dropped out of PCC due to time constraints when he realized his dream of joining law enforcement and eventually became a K9 handler with the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office. Teamed with dual purpose dog, Haus. Keith's passion for the work and natural ability, coupled with the training basics he'd learned at PCC, helped him develop into a proficient K9 handler. In time he was selected as Assistant K9 trainer for the Sheriff's Office, and was promoted to K9 trainer for the agency when his predecessor retired.

Returning to PCC in 2009, Keith soon took on the role of Assistant Training Director, working again with Ernest and John. Keith says he "escapes into total enjoyment" when working a dog and "trying to get into the dog's head."

(Ernest notes that with Keith's involvement in both the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office and PCC, things have come almost full circle back to when Gernot was also involved with both groups.)

PCC is also fortunate that member Stacy Burgan recently expressed an interest in helper work. Stacy began apprenticing as Protection Helper in 2010 and is more of an asset each week.

On training nights, individual dogs are worked in protection only after the group obedience practice which begins each session. John Koerner leads the group obedience as he has for years, announcing: "With your dogs, forward!" "About turn." "Halt." Etc.

If I close my eyes just a bit, I can almost see Gernot out on the training field with the rest of us, heeling back and forth with his dog as John barks commands. Gernot leans down and pats his dog, encouraging him with these words I somehow remember," Atta boy, atta boy."

I smile to myself, thinking: "Atta boy, to you too, Gernot! Thanks for what you started."

Of course, huge thanks are also owed to John, for faithfully keeping his promise to Gernot all these years.

And thanks go to Kay, Jon, Ernest, Peggy, Keith, Stacy and the countless people, past and present, who have made PCC the great little Schutzhund club it is now and has been for 50+ years. Thank you all!

Author: Linda Fox Vartanian June 2010