Czechoslovakian Wolfdogs said to be Man Killers

[Dharkwolf]

This is a translation from an article which appeared in the french journal "
Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace." It is the subject of much discussion on the French forum.

It is close to the outskirts of Strassburg that Christopher Mad’dene laid down his bags some years back. With his wife, Diane, and two children, Gwylan, four, and Quentin, sixteen, he lives entirely his passion for wolves with this four wolfdogs, three Saarloos and one Czechoslovakian. Charon, Whitson, Nike and Paxoue.

Born in 1971, at Lons-le-Saunier, Christopher Mad’dene met his first wolf when he was four. He remembers that they had put him down between the legs of that animal that day. “The virus caught him and never left him”. He grew up surrounded by dogs, huskies and malamutes, that his father who was in the military, trained for sled racing.

The years passed. Little by little Christopher imposed his incredible temperament. He left school and trained with a sword and martial arts, he works in proximity protection, has business in Africa, and falls ill. Hepatitis B and Malaria, which leave him completely drained.

Very weak, forced to stay at home, Christopher uses what energy he had left to create Ame-Our, an association destined to help sick children and their families. There he meets Diane, a young woman with a passion for wolves, graduate from the Central school of canine studies. While he learns to know her, Christopher decides to use his free time to help the young woman realise her dream, to adopt a Saarloss wolfdog.

Another name becomes important to them: that of Cornelia Keizer, owner of the Louba-Tar breeding station, a reference for the breed in Europe. Whitson enters in the life of Christopher, and with him Diane. Today three other wolfdogs have joined the pack. Charon and Nike, two Saarloos, and Paxoue, a little Czechoslovakian wolfdog that Christopher has kept in spite of the hatred which that race inspires in him.

If Christopher truly worships Saarloos, this dog born in the 30s from a German shepherd and Fleur, a Russian wolf, he does not have words strong enough to talk about the Czechoslovakian wolfdog, a hybrid created in Eastern Europe during the cold war. A “dangerous aberration”, a man killer, he formally advises against owning these dogs.

According to Christopher the Saarloos should remain a confidential dog, an animal reserved to people knowing perfectly the behaviour of both dogs and wolves. The Saarloos and the Czechoslovakian are both forbidden in Great Britain, where the law strictly controls their ownership. One must have all the necessary equipment and authorizations.

Today, the Saarloos’ of Christopher are stars, “Le Pacte des Loups”, “Les visiteurs 2” “Le Petit Poucet” and the ads of the Nicolas Hulot foundation. And yet training Saarloos to work is a difficult task. Shy, stubborn and scared, the Saarloos has inherited from the wolf an atavistic fear of man. That which Christopher asks of them is almost impossible! But years of careful training and loving can perform miracles. “They don’t work for themselves, they work for me, for the pleasure they give me” explains Christopher, who every day wonders at the beauty of his four wolfdogs.

At the head of Clan Mad’dene, his production society, Christopher continues on his way. Par shaman, part musicien, part philosopher, he lives his passions, but unfortunately does manage to live from them. His work as an expert in intelligence and high security, and that of Diane, medical representative, manage to keep the family going. The wolfdogs, but also the rats, ferrets, and giant Gambian rats. All these animals Christopher trains for the cinema, mediaeval show, and street happenings.

In Christopher’s home, the cohabitation between man and beasts follows an essential rule, dictated by common sense; the animals must have an interest in living in the company of man. Just like the wolf, who in his natural environment never attacks man, yet never hesitates when he feels confident to try to approach man. With this direct line as a credo, Christopher continues on his way, always pushed by his hope of always doing what he loves in life.