Biography

    Thief was born September 9, 1982. His sire is Ch. Skansen's Der Figaro V. Kobuch, his dam Skansen's Enjoy V. Happy. In 1986 he was the No. 1 stud dog not only in his breed - the Giant Schnauzer, but also of all working breeds including such poplar breeds as Rottweilers, Doberman Pinchers, Siberian Huskies, Boxers, and Great Danes. He finished the year with 18 champion offsprings placing him as No. 4 producer in the nation of all breeds.

    Thief has an interesting story which I thought you might enjoy to hear. Most people are familiar with the top winning showdogs today and in the past - but few know anything about our top stud dogs.

    Thief's maternal grandmother was a beautiful female I named Skansen's Black Kajsa Columbo. I remember when I took her to her first show - the judge told me never to show her again, she was just was not good enough, her front was bad! I was stunned, I thought she was gorgeous. Well lucky for me I followed my instincts, showed her again 6 months later and she finished undefeated in the Bred-by exhibitor class. She then became a consistent breed winner, placing her amongst the top ten in her breed for two years.

   At my first National in Chicago in 1979 I saw the most outstanding Giant I had ever seen till then, Ch. Lovewinds Happy New Year. Happy won BOB at that National (and consequently many Best In Shows) and I immediately asked the owners if I could breed Kajsa to him. That litter produced three Champions - Ch. Skansen's Eric Heiden, Ch. Skansen's Exquisite V. Happy, and Ch. Skansen's Happy Birthday. However the best pup was Skansen's Enjoli V. Happy. I kept her and knew she would be a star but because of a cropped ear that refused to stand she was never shown and I then decided to give her as a pet to some friends.

    They could not take her for a few months so when she came in heat I felt I should breed her just once to see if she produced as well as her dam. I decided to breed her to Ch. Skansen's Der Figaro V. Kobuch. Figaro was not at all the type dog I would normally have bred to, he was so completely different in type, however I wanted to experiment with the combination of my 2 lines of Schnauzers I had developed so far. It was truly an experimental breeding in my opinion.

    Well that is how Thief came about. From the very beginning I recognized his superb quality and loved his disposition. He was devoted to me from a little pup and used to trot behind me all day long. As soon as he was 6 months, I started showing him only because he was always with me and I felt he could build points for our older dogs. Well Thief never lost a show and set the record in the breed by finishing his Championship at 8 months old by going Best of Breed over 23 Giants, many of them Specials, under well known Mrs. Ann Rogers Clark. It was one of the most exciting days of my life of showing dogs. I will never forget Mrs. Clark's remarks about Thief, calling him a goose pimple dog, she literally had goose pimples on her arms and so did I, despite the 100 degree heat.

    Thief performed well in the Group despite his young age and at the end of the day my friends and I went out to celebrate, leaving Thief and the other dogs locked up in the motor home with the air conditioner on. We were back 3 hours later and started to let the dogs out for their exercise. Thief just collapsed on the ground, it was horrible to see. I was sure he had a heart attack or epileptic seizure he was completely lifeless.

    Lucky for us there was an emergency clinic only 10 minutes from the show grounds so we rushed him there. The veterinarian took one look at Thief and said he was severely drugged, did I have any enemies who were trying to do the dog in? I was shocked - you read about this in detective stories, but could not believe it would happening to me in real life. Who was this sick person who would harm an 8 month old pup?

    Well, Thief was lucky. His stomach was pumped out and with supportive therapy he gradually recovered after being completely asleep for 3 days. We decided to cut the circuit short and went home as soon as Thief could travel and that was to be his last dog show. I felt he could have become one of our best show dogs and set some records himself but I was petrified this would happen again and swore I would never take him to another dog show. Incidentally we did find out who broke into the motor home and drugged him. The party in question was shortly thereafter confined for 3 years in a state prison, and yes, it was another competitor. There truly are some strange people out there who will go to any length to win.

    Thief continued to thrive on the ranch and when he was old enough I used him for breeding. By 1985 he was the No. 1 stud dog in his breed, which he repeated in 1986, 1987 and 1988. He is #1 stud dog of all time with 96 Champion offsprings. Ch. Skansen's I Have A Dream his son is the #1 Giant Schnauzer in the history of the breed with 34 all breed best in shows.