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Boxer Dogs: And
Ten Things You May Not Know About Them!
Legend says when God was
fashioning different breeds of dog out of clay, he came to his final
task and decided to create the most beautiful dog ever and call it a
‘Boxer’. But this new breed of dog was vain and rushed
to see himself in the mirror before the clay was properly set and
bumped headlong into his own reflection. That accounts for the
flat nose characteristic of the Boxer, and also proves that God
really did accomplish his design for the world’s most beautiful dog!
Here are another ten things you may not already know about Boxer
dogs …..
The Boxer Dog Who Cheated Death and Became a
Television Star Instead
In 1985, a white boxer
dog called Bomber was snatched from a vet’s surgery by an animal
nurse and later appeared in the UK television series, Oliver Twist.
It appears the dog’s previous owners, Tony and Elaine Chapell,
decided to put the dog to sleep when they learned he didn’t quite
fit new Kennel Club standards for his breed! In filming he was
made to look flea bitten, dirty and covered in sores. Bomber
even had a dressing room all to himself and was congratulated on
giving a superb performance. Well done Bomber, and shame on
those who gave up on him!
A Boxer Dog With His Own Fan Club
A boxer dog called
George was used in media advertisements in the early 1990s and
became so well known that he eventually had a fan club all to
himself. George’s strange expressions appeared in ads. for
Coleman’s Mustard and eventually the dog became a household name and
even made guest appearances at public functions and schools.
The Boxer Dog With The Longest T-o-n-g-u-e!
A boxer dog called
Brandy featured on Ripley’s Believe It Or Not due to her
incredible 17 inch long tongue! Brandy, from Michigan, USA,
was bought from a local breeder in 1995 and her new owner was
assured the dog would eventually grow into her l-o-n-g
t-o-n-g-u-e! She didn’t and on television she was shown
performing antics such as eating from a bowl 13 inches away.
Her owner, John Scheid, says brandy likes sunbathing and even gets
tan lines on her tongue, but says the beautiful boxer is fit, happy
and healthy, so her unique feature isn’t a problem at all. She
even has her own web site at: www.tungdog.com
Zoe, The Boxer Dog Who Came Back to Life!
Zoe’s owner, Cathy
Walker, from Manuden, near Bishop’s Stortford in the UK, has been
told by a medium that she is surrounded by all the pets she has
lost. That certainly seems true of Zoe, a tan and white boxer
bitch who died several years ago, aged eleven. The Daily
Mail (November 6th 2001) printed an amazing photograph of the
bark of a tree under which Zoe spent her last day, showing what can
only be described as the image of a boxer dog in the bark. Cathy
tells how she is a great believer in life after death and claims the
image of Zoe has strengthened that belief.
The White Boxer Dog Who Received Hate Mail
To anyone who loves dogs
in general, and Boxer dogs in particular, Solo was as beautiful as
any other of her breed. To her owner, Joyce Lang, she was more
than just beautiful, she was a constant friend, a much loved family
member. But not everyone thought the same way and,
surprisingly, in 1982, in Burgess Hill in the UK, an anonymous
letter arrived addressed to Solo, saying: “I think you are the
ugliest dog I have ever seen.” What sort of human could write
such nonsense is beyond most people’s comprehension, and probably
the letter was intended mainly to upset Joyce, an objective the
hateful writer most definitely achieved. Letters continued to
come saying: “Why don’t you get your master or mistress to take you
for a face lift?”. One even contained a paper bag which the
sender said should be placed over Solo’s head! When local
newspapers heard the story the headlines proclaimed that beauty is
always in the eye of the beholder and in Joyce’s and other dog
lover’s eyes, Solo was beautiful.
A Little Boy’s Tribute to His Pet Boxer, Lance
This story appeared
in The Faithful Friend (Writings About Owning and Loving Pets)
and concerned dog owners in the United States who often loaned their
pets to the military in World War Two. Lance, a Boxer, worked
with Dogs for Defence which eventually became the noted K09 Corps,
and belonged to a family with young children, one a boy who wrote
this letter to Dogs for Defence: ‘My Boxer, Lance, was in the
army since last June. I have not heard anything about him
since I received a certificate from the Quartermaster General.
The number on it was 11281. I love Lance very much and want to
know if he is doing anything brave. Can you please tell me
where he is and what kind of a job he does? Please answer soon
because I can’t wait much longer to know what has become of him’.
Origins of the Boxer Dog
What we know about
the origins of most breeds, including the Boxer, is largely owed to
early sculptures, painting and drawings. In the
Boxer’s case, a carving of a dog looking much like a boxer can be
seen on a tomb in Arnstadt where lies Elizabeth of Hohenstein who
died in 1368. Flemish tapestries from the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries show dogs resembling the Boxer engaged in
stag- and boar-hunting.
German Origins
Boxer dogs became
very popular in Munich where the breed is thought to have
originated. But the history of the breed has not been without
controversy. In fact the first Boxer Club in the UK was closed
because of disagreements over almost everything pertaining to
Boxers. By 1905, however, the most enthusiastic followers of
the German Boxer met to develop a standard for the Boxer which would
be accepted by all. The Munich Boxer Club drew up the standard
which exists largely unchanged even today.
Boxer Dogs in America
The first Boxer dog
in America was imported in 1903 from Switzerland. The new
owner of the dog was New York Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals,
Irving Lehman who imported many other Boxer dogs. The first
Boxer dog registered with the American Kennel Club was in 1904.
The dog was Arnulf Grandenz, bred in America by James Welch of
Illinois.
Boxer Dogs in Warring Nations
The boxer dog gained
rapid popularity soon after the Second World War ended, ironically
more prominently in countries formerly opposed in war with the
Boxer’s most likely native home, Germany. Listen to what
Rowland Johns says in Our Friend The Boxer: ‘The
re-emergence of the Boxer breed has added proof that warring nations
do not carry their antagonisms for long into the relations between
them and other nations’ dogs. Both with the Alsatian and the
Boxer their popularity derives directly from the contacts made
during a state of war. In those two wars the adoption of both
breeds by members of the British forces provided some personal
satisfaction and uplift of the spirit in long periods of exile from
home, family, and friends.’
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