Martin
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| Photo courtesy of Synama Wintersweet |
Martin shown above with Jim Rathburn, taking Best of Breed on his way to a Group 3. This was one of the few times Martin was shown by a handler--he was owner handled to his championship by his breeders and by Melanie Schlaginhaufen of Meja. We will never forget Martin, he was very special both inside the ring and at home. He was also one of the most handsome dogs we have ever had the privilege of owning.
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| Martin and Melanie at home |
Dave
Our sweet boy Dave (Khovaki's Nod from the Gods) bred and co-owned with our friend Joni Barnhardt of Khovaki Siberians. Had both AKC majors in very limited showing. Dave & Martin are gone now, but will never be forgotten...they were my best boys!
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| Dave's puppy win, 3 pt major under George Heitzman |
Honey
Champion Synama's Dakota
"Kota"
When Dakota was around two years old, Melanie received a call from her friend Patty Powell at Synama Siberians. Dakota needed a new home, and Melanie was thrilled to have her, as she was a great-granddaughter of our "Indy" on her father's side, and on her mother's side, she went back to Meja's very first champion, "Sassi".
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| Dakota taking Best of Breed, on her way to a Group placement, with her breeder Patty Powell |
"Kota" was perhaps the all-time favorite Siberian of our son, Eric
Schlaginhaufen, III. Eric loved to laugh about how she would behave
better for him at home than for his parents!
Dakota definitely had a sense of humor, and although she was very outgoing and friendly, she had an independent side, being very talented at figuring out how to get her own way. But she was a very easy, fun dog to show, and Patty and Melanie finished her championship easily, with some nice wins like a major under respected judge Jean Fournier, as well as a Best of Breed win over specials from the classes (see above photo, where she went on to a Group placement later that day). We do regret that we never bred her, although we did try once with her favorite "boyfriend" Martin, but unfortunately we waited until the were older and it did not take. But Dakota had a wonderful life with us at Meja, living to be 15 1/2 years old and she was an extremely healthy dog, loving to run, play and dig in the yard right up until the last week of her life. We still miss her. I guess we always will.
Dakota definitely had a sense of humor, and although she was very outgoing and friendly, she had an independent side, being very talented at figuring out how to get her own way. But she was a very easy, fun dog to show, and Patty and Melanie finished her championship easily, with some nice wins like a major under respected judge Jean Fournier, as well as a Best of Breed win over specials from the classes (see above photo, where she went on to a Group placement later that day). We do regret that we never bred her, although we did try once with her favorite "boyfriend" Martin, but unfortunately we waited until the were older and it did not take. But Dakota had a wonderful life with us at Meja, living to be 15 1/2 years old and she was an extremely healthy dog, loving to run, play and dig in the yard right up until the last week of her life. We still miss her. I guess we always will.
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| Dakota age 15 years old |
Precious
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| Khovaki's Black Pearl, bred & co-owned by Joni Barnhardt |
"Precious" was bred by our friend Joni Barnhardt, who very kindly put our name on her as co-owner even though she has always lived with Joni. We also co-owned her sire, Ch. Topaz the Wizard (Ozzie) with our friend Michele Szczepanski of Rockland, who sent him to Meja to be shown at the beginning of his show career. Oz became a bit of a family affair among the "Carolina girlfriends" because he actually took his first 5 point major being shown by our friend Patty Powell (note from Melanie--I admit it, it was at the Greenville, SC show site and I was so worn out by the time Ozzie and I made the long trek from the car into the building that day, with Oz playing sled dog and me being the sled, Patty had mercy on me and took him in the ring when she saw he had gotten the best of me!)
Although Precious was shown only a few times, she has had a wonderful life being a part of the Barnhardt pack at Khovaki. Her sire, Oz, shown below, was co-owned by Melanie Schlaginhaufen (Meja) and Michele Szczepanski (Rockland) while he was being shown towards his AKC championship in the US, then he went on to become a top winner with his new owner in Italy, where he is still winning Veteran's classes in his old age! He was such a gorgeous dog, we wanted to share his photo here, especially since he is the sire of sweet Miss Precious (although Joni swears that sometimes she does not live up to her name!) We can believe it, because although Ozzie looked like a Teddy bear, when he was in the ring, we always called him our "wild and crazy guy"! But wasn't he absolutely beautiful?
Champion Topaz the Wizard (Ozzie)
Thank you Michele (Rockland) and Joni (Khovaki) for allowing us to be a part of the lives of these two lovely Siberian Huskies.
Oscar
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| Champion Arlington's Academy Award
Oscar was a beautiful moving puppy, finished at a very young age by Melanie and his co-owner Loreen Wunderlich. His breeder was Sylvia Roselli of Arlington Siberians. Some dogs finished their championships and go on to be beloved housedogs and we never think back except of our fond memories of them. But Oscar was a special boy, and we often wished he had kept him his entire life, just one of those Siberians with a sweet, joyful attitude. He was fun to show too, especially when he was beating the big boys while he was still in puppy class!
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Carrie
Innisfree's Carolina Pride
Bred by Kathleen Kanzler
Carrie's first owner was a very special lady named Gladys Sumner, very beloved in the Carolinas where she showed her beautiful Siberians. Unfortunately, cancer took our friend Gladys away from us way too early. When her husband needed help finding some of the dogs a home, Patty Powell, Betty Mitchell and I decided to take in the lovely Carrie. She was getting older but she was obviously a show quality dog so we wanted to show her a bit, and she was winning up a streak when unfortunately she came down with a uterine infection and had to have an emergency spay, But we were very glad she made it through, and she eventually found a wonderful retirement home with our friends Robin Broadway-Tuttle and her husband Jon. Carrie lived her last year as a couch potato, who was often going to Petsmart to pick out new toys and special treats! Thank you Robin and Jon, for loving Carrie so much and giving her a wonderful life in her later years!
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Indy
AKC/Japanese Champion Sunset Hill's Indiana Jones
Bred by Anne Bruder/Sunset Hills, Photo by Brenda Kolar
I think Indy was only about 5 months old when Brenda Kolar sent me this photo of him, along with his wonderful outcross pedigree of Karnovanda and Sunset Hills dogs that were based on the older Innisfree lines and I jumped at the chance to have him. He was a beautiful dog, not without his faults, but his gorgeous head, absolutely correct front, strong topline, beautiful silver coat and wonderful temperament made him one of the fun dogs we ever owned. He produced numerous champions in the US as well as Japanese champions, when he went in later life to life with Mr. Inamura, an American and Japanese judge who lived in Tokyo. My father-in-law, Eric Schlaginhaufen, Sr. actually looked him up on a business trip and took some photos of Indy, Mr. Inamura and his handler, and they sent us tearsheets of the ads of his Best in Show wins in Japan. It wasn't quite the same as being there, but it did give us the asurrance that he was loved and appreciated. in his new home. Occasionally, we still come across someone who has a descendant of Indy's, and if that is you, we would love to hear about your dogs and see photos of Indy kids or grandkids. He was an incredibly sweet dog, and like our little guy Oscar, Indy was one of those dogs we wish we had kept for a lifetime. During the first fifteen years or so of showing, since we lived in neighborhoods, we usually found the dogs homes after their show careers were over. But as I got older, that became harder and harder to do, that is why I had to slow up a bit with showing, since we try to keep our numbers down to never more than 6 or 7 dogs, and we have been fortunate to have very long lived Siberians! Indy, we are glad you were able to bring joy to people in another country, but we pray there is a doggie heaven and we hope to see you, and your lovely kids and grandkids, there again some day! Still love you, my beautiful silver boy...and will never forget all those fun swims we had at the lake, and what a good boy you were on the surfboard!
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"Shine"
Shine (Ch. Wilmeth's Midnight Maskarade) was our first Australian Shepherd. We enjoyed showing him AKC when the breed was first recognized, and we also showed him one weekend in ASCA and he came home with a major in that venue was well. But most of all, he was an incredibly smart dog, amazing as a demo dog at our training classes. Thank you to Donna Doubler of Slydrock Aussies, for sharing Shine with us. Our current Aussie, Wyatt, is also from Donna.
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During our years of showing at Meja, we have finished about a dozen champion dogs owner-handled, Siberian Huskies, Australian Shepherds plus a few other breeds for clients. More photos coming soon...this page is still under construction but as soon as I get photos scanned, I would love to show you more of Meja's past show dogs.
Thanks for visiting and please email me at knowingdogs@gmail.com if you ever have any questions about any dogs who have been bred by or shown by Meja in the past.
Melanie & Rick Schlaginhaufen
Meja Siberians (plus an Aussie and a Poodle or two!)
Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia
Meja Siberians (plus an Aussie and a Poodle or two!)
Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia
