one a mental picture of the exotic and sophisticated New York society, while Kay’s dogs were wrapped in glamorous black-masked red and golden coats, making one think of the athletic boys and girls of the California beaches. Each kennel had dogs that were record holders, with several Crown Crest dogs earning top-winning Afghan Hound of the year honors, and Ch. Shirkhan of Grandeur becoming the first Afghan Hound to go Best in Show at Westminster, a triumph he accomplished in 1957.
Ch. Rudiki of Prides Hill on the cover of Life magazine in 1945.
Ch. Taejon of Crown Crest was a multiple Best in Show winner and national specialty winner and at one time was top-winning Afghan Hound of the year.
Ch. Shirkhan of Grandeur, Westminster’s first Best in Show Afghan Hound.
The number of Afghans grew tremendously during the 1960s and 1970s, with show entries mushrooming. Many people came into the breed because they were entranced by this mysterious Eastern dog with his haughty appearance, fabulous coat and aristocratic bearing and style. Registrations soared and the number of litters produced skyrocketed. A higher percentage of Afghan Hounds found their way to the show ring than did most other breeds, and entries of over 100 became commonplace at even local shows. This was not a good time for the Afghan Hound, as despite its zooming popularity, many people who didn’t understand the breed raced impulsively to acquire puppies. The Afghan Hound is a regal breed, stubborn, comical and catlike, and after all these hundreds of years he has no intention of changing. Unknowing people came into the breed, produced one or two litters and showed their dogs, but found the breed not easy to live with. These “breeders” left as quickly as they came, often to the great detriment of the dogs.
Ch. Crown Crest Mr. Universe, another of Crown Crest’s top winners, with owner Kay Finch and judge Helen Walsh in 1959.
Fortunately, during this period a number of excellent kennels were established, headed by people who developed a keen understanding of the breed. Among these were Lois Boardman’s Akaba kennels, based on the Grandeur lines, and Richard Souza and Michael Dunham’s Coastwind kennels, which carried both Akaba and Grandeur lines and is still active today. Ch. Coast-wind Abraxas, with 66 American champions to his credit, was the top-producing dog of his era. Other kennels included Stormhill of Virginia Withington, which is still carried on by her daughter Sandy; Ned and Sue Kauffman’s Holly Hill; Dr. Gerda Maria Kennedy’s Shangrila; Judy and Herman Fellton’s Mandith kennels; Betty and Earl Stites’s Hullabaloo; and Peg and Louis Swayze’s Longlesson, which is run today by their daughter Jan. The Sandina kennels of Sandy and Glorvina Schwartz produced many Best in Show champions, while the Kabik kennels of Chris and Marguerite Terrell would eventually produce the next Westminster Best in Show winning Afghan Hound, the black and tan Ch. Kabik’s the Challenger. Always called “Pepsi,” he won Best in Show at the Garden in 1983.
TEMPERAMENT TEST
Early Afghan Hound temperaments reputedly ranged from the extremely shy hound, nervous of unknown people and places, to those known for their aggressive traits. Nowadays these excessive variations of temperament have largely been bred out of the breed. However, stories of the strength of the bond between Afghan Hound and owner have survived the generations.
Sunny Shay was still actively breeding and showing the Grandeur dogs in the 1960s and ‘70s, now in partnership with Roger Rechler. In June of 1978, Sunny suddenly unexpectedly collapsed and died. She left as she would have wanted, while happily showing her dog under breeder-judge Sandy Schwartz at the Southport Kennel Club Show. Sunny’s friend, a very young Michael Canalizo, picked up the dog’s lead and took him on to finish the day, winning the Hound Group. Grandeur has continued under Roger Rechler’s ownership, with the dogs handled by Michael Canalizo. The pinnacle of the successful breeding program started by Sunny Shay has to be the lovely and famous black bitch Ch. Tryst of Grandeur, who holds the record for the most Best in Show wins by an Afghan Hound with 161, and who also won the national specialty in 1995. Tryst came down in a direct line from Shirkhan, and her sire, Ch. Triumph of Grandeur, holds the record for the most Best in Show wins by a male Afghan Hound with 86.
Ch. Kabik’s the Challenger, winning Best in Show at Westminster in 1983. “Pepsi” was owner-handled by Chris Terrell under judge Derek Rayne.
Ch. Tryst of Grandeur, bred by Roger Rechler and Susan Sprung, is the top-winning Afghan of all time.
Another kennel of importance has been Karen Wagner’s Pahlavi kennels. Over the years Karen produced lovely hounds of great type, but the culmination of her breeding program had to be the stately black-masked red Ch. Pahlavi Puttin’ On the Ritz, always called “Taco.” Usually owner-handled by Karen, Taco was a multiple Best in Show winner who won the Afghan Hound Club of America national specialty in 1989, 1991 and 1992. With 51 wins, he holds the record for the most specialty wins by an Afghan Hound male. A highly valued stud, Taco is currently the record holder as the top producer of American champion offspring with 85. In this age of frozen semen, Taco’s influence has been felt around the world with champion offspring in more countries than I could ever mention.
Ch. Pahlavi Puttin’ On the Ritz, owned and handled by Karen Wagner.
Others who were successfully breeding outstanding Afghans during this period, many of whom continue today, are Bruce Clark and Stephen Fisher’s Shylo; Janis Reital’s Tifarah; and Kevin and Barbara Cassidy, the breeders of Ch. Casbar Sugar-N-Spice, who until recently held the record for the most specialty wins by a bitch. Also prominent have been Cindy and Dennis Chandler’s Magic; Betsy Hunger’s Cave; Julie and Emmet Roche’s Qatari; Jay Hanford’s Than; and, more recently, Ann Evan’s Bonne, whose Ch. Andale Is Beau of Bonne currently holds the record for specialty Best of Breed wins by a bitch.
The massive rise in the popularity of the Afghan Hound seen in the 1960s and 1970s has thankfully waned. The numbers being produced today are manageable, and though many of the truly dedicated breeders have retired or passed away, there are still many fine breeders who appreciate, love and understand the Afghan Hound. There now are far fewer people with the space and facilities to maintain large numbers of these very time-consuming dogs, so we are finding individual dogs carrying many listed owners, many listed breeders and many different kennel names. However, there are lovely dogs being carefully produced, and obviously there are serious breeders putting great thought into the future of this breed. We hope that these caring breeders and owners who understand the Afghan Hound’s intricacies will remain involved with the breed to assure a brilliant future for this mythical dog of the East.
Ch. Casbar Sugar-N-Spice, owner-handled by Barbara Cassidy, under judge Paul Hewitt from Australia. At one time, she held the record for most specialty wins by a bitch.
