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WEST LANCS BOXER TRAINING CLUB |
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A trip of over 400 miles (mostly by bicycle) that sparked the idea for West Lancs Boxer Training Club |
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A Boy and His Boxer Dog Named Dandy
In 1981 John and Mary Hambleton had a visit from a young German boy called Andreas Heimann. Andreas' story made the front page of Dog World as well as several of the national 'dailies'! With thanks to Dog World, the story is reprinted below: A BOY AND HIS DOG NAMED DANDYThis is the story of a boy and his dog which will touch the hearts of all dog lovers. Let it be told as it came into the offices of Dog World. It reveals the qualities of devotion and courage which we all admire. Eighteen months ago, Mary and John Hambleton of the Marbelton Boxers bought Dandy, a German boxer dog, or to give him his full name Dandy von Starenschloss. Little did they realise the heartbreak left behind in Germany. A 16 year old boy, named Andreas Heimann, from Iserlohn, West Germany, discovered that Dandy had been sent to England. The boy was heartbroken. He had trained Dandy since the dog was five months old, and on April 19th, 1980, had taken him for his final tests in obedience and Dandy came through with flying colours, getting his Schutzhund 1. It was then the owner told Andreas that Dandy had been sold to Britain. After many months Andreas found out where he'd gone and immediately wrote to Mary and John Hambleton telling them of his worry about the dog being in strange hands in a foreign country. They replied and sent photos of Dandy to let Andreas see that the dog was well and happy. They told Andreas that if he ever wanted to visit Dandy he would be very welcome. It was not long before Andreas arrived on the doorstep. He had taken a newspaper round in Germany to pay for his trip, by train, boat and finally by bicycle. He had arrived at Folkstone on August 10th, 1981 and set off for Ormskirk in Lancashire where Mr & Mrs Hambleton live, stopping at Youth Hostels at night. It took him five days to cover the 400 miles including a day's stay in Wrexham, the twin town of his own Iserlohn. As he was nearing the journey's end the gears of his cycle called it a day. He hadn't realised how hilly England can be. But he made it. Andreas was overwhelmed with the hospitality he received from British people. When he finally arrived at the Hambleton home, his first job was to see Dandy and put him through his paces. Mary and John were amazed when they all went tracking, to realise the bond that existed between the boy and the dog, and the standard reached. So much so that they gave a demonstration at the British GSD Training Club at Aughton Chase, near Ormskirk. Naturally all commands were in German. On August 20th Andreas made his way home, but not on a bicycle this time. Andreas will miss Dandy, but he's happy now that his dog is in good hands. And, of course, he's going to visit again whenever possible. We (the Hambletons) didn't realise what a supremely intelligent dog we had in Dandy. When Andreas was here we invited a few friends round to our house to watch Dandy go through his paces. People started to say "Well if Dandy can do that, why cant our boxers?" So that's how West Lancs Boxer Training Club was started! And it was all due to Andreas Heimann, a skinny, ginger-haired German boy on a sit up and beg bike!
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