THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA

I read with sadness last night on one of the e-mails lists that I belong to of the passing of a friend and lover of the German Shepherd Dog. Syd Mailberg had passed away. This was just what I was not prepared for or wanting to hear. Many of you may know her for having had strong opinions about the breed and being a very intelligent woman with her knowledge about the German Shepherd Dog that she shared with so many of us. But there was another side of Syd that expressed her gentle side freely through her marvelous paintings of the breed that she loved so much. Equally impressive was her paintings of nature and landscapes. Some of you are fortunate to own some of her beautiful artwork.  The painting above is one of Syd's beautiful paintings called "Blue Bonnet." 

Syd and I were collaborating to do an article about her fantastic artwork here on my blog. I had contacted her a little less than a year ago asking her if she would be interested in showcasing her work and the stories surrounded them. She was delighted and excited to do this with me. Unfortunately, her heart was in it, but her body didn�t cooperate.

I �met� Syd on one of the e-mail lists several years ago. My opinion of her was that she was a very strong woman with very strong opinions. She could be challenging, direct and very strong in her convictions. You could tell she was a no nonsense type of woman that didn�t take too much �grief� from anyone. I remember she wrote to me privately one time about something I wrote and she was questioning me about what I knew about a certain subject. When I eased her mind with my forthright answer, she and I grew to respect one anothers opinions. I think when Syd and I really connected is when she lost her beloved husband a few years ago. She was very down and depressed about his loss. I wrote to her privately and wrote some comforting words for her and this is when the �tough as nails� persona melted away and the soft, warm side of Syd shown through. She wrote to me on several occasions complimenting me on some of my writings.

Many of you didn�t know this unless you belonged to my list (The German Shepherd Dog Showcase); she sold some beautiful items and jewelry that she owned through my list. A great big percentage of what she sold those items for went to �Last Hope, Safe Haven� as a donation. I know it was quite a substantial amount. This organization works to help find rescue homes for unwanted or sheltered German Shepherds.

I�ve saved some of her e-mails and was just looking at a few of them again this morning. I�ve got other ones I�ve saved from a few years back but there on my hard drive from my old computer. Here are a few that I share with you that she wrote to me over these last couple of years.

In this short e-mail, she�s replying to an essay of mine titled �The Seasons of Life.�

It's all beautiful, but this line is particularly poignant to me. Everything that is meant to be born is. Syd

This next one is probably in response to her beautiful artwork!

Barbara, I just wanted to thank you privately for being so generous with your praise, and for being so kind to everyone, (and encouraging). It is not going unnoticed. Shalom, Syd

Syd wrote about some artwork that she had done��She writes��This is one of the prizes that was awarded years ago at the National Chukkar Trials�I had a lot of fun painting around 6 commissioned portraits of the winning dogs. Syd
I responded to her��More beautiful work Syd.

You are so kind, Barbara, you make us all feel good�.thank you. Syd

This is in response to something I wrote on my list about the price of artwork.

She writes��I hear you, and agree with everything you say...also about being in "The Zone", when it just goes without seeming effort. Very rare state. My last painting took a couple of months, hours and hours of research, I used over 30 reference works in its creation, caused a blood clot to form! From leaning over and painting day after day. So...now there is hazard, my right leg is swollen, and I will need extensive treatment...can you believe this? LOL. I think you are extraordinarily generous with your work, it is very demanding to write as well as you do, it is art in its highest literary form. When the price of a pet puppy equals a beautiful work of art, and the customer says too much money, surely makes you want to quit. Thanks... Syd

Part of a letter I sent to Syd�����.Hi Syd: I would like to do an article about you on my blog (Inside the German Shepherd Dog's World). If you consent, then I'll need some more information about you. I want to concentrate on your paintings of the German Shepherd Dog.

Hi Barbara, I definitely want to do this, just need a few days to get it all together. Thanks so much again. Syd

Then I didn�t hear from her for awhile and saw her �pop up� on my list again, so I sent her this e-mail.

Wow.........there you are Syd. I've been so worried about you and not
knowing who to ask. Of those that I did ask, no one heard anything.
You poor thing. I went through these things with my mother when she was
going through chemo. Do you have someone there to help you? You
shouldn't be going through this by yourself. I wish I lived closer so I
could help you some. Please do get well Syd. I don't like knowing
you're feeling so gosh darn awful! Take care my friend and do try to
keep in touch when you're up to it. Rest and be well...........Barbara

One of my children is here with me all the time. Bless them, and you, too, for offering to help. I assume your mom recovered? My thoughts to her. It is amazing how much worse the cure is than the disease seems to be...LOL I can still squeak one out...If you could just mention to the list that I am in chemo, it is nasty, but will improve eventually...that is the reason no reply this past month. Take care and thank you so much. You are indeed an angel. Syd

Then later that same day (1/11/10)��. Thank you, Barbara, I feel better already~ seriously, I have been feeling guilty for not explaining...to the list. Love, Syd

There were a few others where she would explain in a little more detail of what she was going through, but I didn�t want to share her misery here with you. One of her dear friends kept in touch with me as well to let me know what Syd was going through and I truly appreciated that.

As in life, from the beginning to the end, she was a fighter��the alpha and the omega. She didn�t walk away from this life without putting up a fight. Through some correspondence that I had with Syd�s daughter Edie, she is truly her mother�s daughter in personality and strength of character. My heartfelt condolences to Edie and her husband Jim for the loss of this �force to be reckoned with� woman. Earth and the German Shepherd breed have lost one of the �good ones!� Heaven braces itself for this outspoken woman with the heart of gold. Her husband anxiously waits for his bride! Rest in peace Syd and be patient with the residents in Heaven. Most of them have been there a long time and they forgot the ways of the world.

Well my friend, I�ve been longing to get you on my blog for a long time now. I just didn�t know this is the way that I would have to be doing it! I'm going to miss you my friend. I love ya!

To see Syd�s beautiful artwork, check out her website at: www.kingswoodgermanshepherds.com/


My rating: Syd Mailberg's artwork: (4), Her friendship: (4)

LOTS OF TALENT IN THE GERMAN SHEPHERD DOGS WORLD!

Wow it�s already the Fourth of July week-end! I hope you all have some wonderful plans with your family and friends. I�m sure there will be lots of cook-outs, parties, and just good old �hanging out� type of fun. I�m sure some of your dogs look forward to these events with all the special foods that they can grub off of your guests. Have fun and be safe on the roads everyone.

Besides all the wonderful breeders we have in the German Shepherd Dog community, we also have so many different talented people. Most of us don�t even know of some of the talents of the people that we meet. I get to meet lots of people because of my writings. People introduce themselves to me all the time through their e-mails. I love it because I get to discover there�s a lot more to some people than just showing dogs.

I got to meet one of these people that I�ve done a couple of articles already about her writings here on this blog. Her name is Kathy Sater-Partch. Now I already knew that she was a great writer with her wonderful stories that she has so generously shared with us, but I didn�t know the wonderful artwork that she does. I didn�t know that she was the lady that did the drawings (cartoons) of the German Shepherd �Sedona� that has been in the German Shepherd Dog Review many times. Well when she sent me some of her work, I just knew that I wanted to share it with my readers. Multi-talented��that she is!

By the way, if any of you would like to share a story with us about anything pertaining to our wonderful breed, I�d be happy to look at it. You could be a writer, artist, photographer, metal worker��as long as it�s associated with the German Shepherd Dog. Please get in touch with me. Perhaps I can display your story in one of my articles here on this blog. Now onto Kathy and her fantastic �toons� as she calls them. This is what she wrote to me about herself.

I am a retired professional percussionist of twenty six years. I have been an animal photographer and fine artist for forty-eight years. I am totally self-taught in the arts. My mother, Muriel Sater is an artist, my brothers, as well as my mother�s only sibling, Lois Chruthers and two of her four children. So I believe it�s in the genes.

I have won numerous dog photograph competitions and been honored for my fine art.

I have done numerous commissioned pieces. And of course art for family and friends. I have also done commissioned advertising signs with custom lettering.

I do realistic fine art. My favorite mediums are oil, pencil and ink. My cartoons are the humorous side of me. They were created in 1989 after my late white German Shepherd girl, UKC JoKay's Sedona, CD, CGC, OFA (see the above picture). I was asked long ago if I would do a German Shepherd Dog cartoon for a newsletter. I said, �I don�t do cartoon�s but I�ll think of something.� That�s how it all started. As I created the cartoon�s I kept adding more detail. My sister-in-law, Lynne Sater suggested I should start calling the drawings Art-toon�s because of all of the work I put into them.

Sedona was always such a funny girl. Just living every day life with her had given me most of my ideas. Almost every Sedona design is created from a photograph I had taken of her. I have hundreds of her poses yet to be used. Then I eventually added the funny dark sable guy, Otto with Sedona. Otto and Sedona are always teasing each other.

Please note that the words are not large enough for you to see of the dog and the grave stone.  So this is what it says:  "HATEFUL HARVEY.....Known as the best dog catcher in the county"

I do all of my Art-toon's in full color now. Each original design is 8.5" X 11.5" done in colored pencil, and black ink. Otherwise the most of them were done in black colored pencil and black ink. They have been published internationally. I have made many T-Shirts with the Art-toon�s on them. And now greeting cards will be available as other items.

My main goal in life is my German Shepherd Dogs, family, friends, music and my art. Without those things there wouldn�t be much to look forward to. I hope Sedona and Otto will bring a smile to your face.

Kathy Sater-Partch

Thank you Kathy for sharing your talent with us. Your love for the breed shines through in all of your work. You can take a look at Kathy�s wonderful work on her website at:   www.JoKaySedona.com

So this just about wraps up another week here on the blog. I can�t believe that this month marks the one year anniversary of me putting this blog together.

THE HUMAN BEING STANDARD

Good afternoon everyone. I'm getting this out late today as my computer had the "hic-cups" on and off today. I couldn't get any messages to anyone. Then my phone stopped working as well. They're both connected to one another. So much for modern technology. So I'm sending out one of my old writings that some of you may have read and many of you have not. It's one of my satires (showing my quirky sense of humor) poking fun of us humans. If the German Shepherd Dog can have a standard which we judge them on, what about one for us then?

THE HUMAN BEING STANDARD
By
Barbara J. Galasso

Of course, as in our Human Being Standard and depending upon who is judging on any given day, it is left open to interpretation as to what signifies a good or ideal Human Being. Some judges must have a good front, others insist upon a great rear, while still others temperament reigns supreme and without it, you won't win under them. So just what does the ideal Human Being Standard call for and what does it take to be a "winner"? According to the "Human Being Standard of the United States of America"............

GENERAL APPEARANCE: The first impression of an ideal human being is one who is well muscled rather than flabby, alert rather than half dead, taller rather than wider, a hard, lean working machine, secondary sex characteristics are pronounced. If male - we're talking here - Harrison Ford, Richard Gere, Brad Pitt. If female - as close to Halle Berry, Angelina Jolie or Shania Twain as you can get.

SIZE, SUBSTANCE: The desired height for males is 6 feet and above from the top of his head to the tip of his toes. For females, the desired height is anywhere in between as long as she looks like the aforementioned ideal woman from those above. Size and substance should give you the impression of one who is not too round, no pot bellies, no sagging flesh.

HEAD: Males should be masculine and strong with a chiseled bone structure although if all other things are equal, then even a little coarseness is okay here........it kind of adds to his masculinity. The model look "scowl" with furrowed brow is only to be considered a minor fault and shouldn't be too heavily penalized. Females should have high cheek bones, arched brows, almond shaped eyes, full mouth not enhanced by collagen injections, with a clear, flawless, blemish free complexion. A few stray whiskers on a male is acceptable, but a disqualification on a female.

TEETH: Most any number is acceptable as long as they're your own. No dentures please. No missing teeth in front or sides of mouth that can be viewed when you smile. Anyone who has had teeth replaced with a gold or silver tooth that can be seen when they smile shouldn't smile at all or suffer the penalty of being put to the end of the class.

NECK, BODY: The neck is long and lean and swan like. Any folds of skin, wrinkles, creepiness, or age spots are undesirable. Goose necks, overly pronounced Adams apples and sunken in hollows at the bottom of the neck are all major faults and should be dealt with accordingly. The body should be well toned, not spongy or flabby and be willing to perform for what it was bred for: having and rearing children, car pooling, mowing the lawn, feeding and picking up after the dog, channel surfing, cooking dinners, washing dishes, scrubbing the floor, tolerating the in-laws and crabby neighbors, all done behind a smiling face no matter what's going on inside your head and what you are really thinking. None of these thoughts should be expressed because depending upon the judge can be considered a major fault and cause for disqualification.

TOP LINE: The ideal human being is to stand upright, no rounding of shoulders, no crouching over when walking, or holding the hip area when in motion. The top line should be smooth without any bumps, or humps, and curvy rather than angular.

ABDOMEN: As called for in the German Shepherd Dog standard - firmly held and not paunchy. For males: a six pack iron stomach. For females: an iron board abdomen is the only one acceptable. Any rolls, pot bellies or hanging flesh is a disqualification.

HINDQUARTERS, TAIL & CROUP: The ideal hindquarter, tail end and croup for both males and females are "bootilicious". Any flat, drooping or dimpled rears is considered a serious fault.

FOREQUARTERS & CHEST: The shoulders should be held back with a proud posture. For males, the chest should be deep and well filled out with bulging, rippled muscles. For females, any chest size that is well filled in with no sagging is acceptable

FEET: The ideal human being foot is small, well groomed and compact. Any calluses, corns, long overgrown toenails and offensive odors are room for immediate disqualification.

GAIT: For both males and females, the ideal gait is an athletic sprint. Males should not have an exaggerated strut nor should females have an exaggerated swinging of the hips. Any wobbling or shifting or hopping in their gait is considered a serious fault. Suspicion of steroid use in either sex is cause for immediate disqualification.

COAT: (or in this case HAIR): For males, hair can be any color of black, brown, blonde, or salt & pepper. Any baldness is undesirable, but will be considered secondary if all other things are of superior quality. Any pony tails, or hair hanging below the ears is considered a long coat and although not a disqualification, considered a minor fault. For females, hair can be any color of black, brown, blonde, or salt & pepper. For females all hair length is acceptable, although in her case, long is most desirable and not considered a long coat.

TEMPERAMENT: The ideal human being should be approachable at all times under all circumstances. Any signs of aggressiveness, foul mouth, crankiness, ill tempered, sarcastic, back stabbing, gossiping, jealousy, holding back of affection, yelling & screaming, moodiness, lying, stealing and down right a pain in the butt to live with is all considered disqualifications and SHOULD be removed from the ring. Any person attempting to bite the judge after they lose the first place ribbon is banned from ever being shown again.

And that folks is what the ideal human being should look like!

My rating: standards are only as good as those that understand them: (1 - 4)