What an extraordinary puppy Israel was—he came into the world as a singleton. At birth, he was brindle, so I stuck to my policy of not keeping any pup that wasn’t black if one of the parents was black. That meant he had to be sold. But just a week or two later, he began to turn fawn. It was strange, but he still wasn’t black… so he still had to go.

Meanwhile, we were all becoming more and more attached to this gentle little soul. He was spoiled and adored by everyone. And then, quite unbelievably, one day he turned pitch black. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I cancelled the sale immediately—there was no way we were letting him go. We named him Israel, a name dear to our hearts.

As Israel began to grow, I still didn’t realize just how special he truly was. But another reason to keep him became clear: his sire, Klein Sandfontein The Mack Attack, had just been sold to Spain, and Israel was my last chance to retain a male from that exceptional line.

Israel was staying!

We had the opportunity to show him twice as a young pup, and he won his age group both times. Recently, at just 15 months old, we entered him again—and were blown away. He won every age group class, every male championship title, and was awarded “Dog of the Day.” That kind of success is rare for a black dog, and we were overwhelmed with pride.

He is not only beautiful, but also blessed with the sweetest, most endearing personality. We are so excited for what lies ahead and plan to use him in our breeding program very soon. Wherever Israel goes, he truly owns it.