A passion for German Shepherd dogs was born in a Port Elizabeth family more than five decades ago, when a puppy was swopped for a hairdryer.
A few years later, Simnikan German Shepherds would be established under Carl and Jo Pennells.
Today, four generations of the family are actively involved in working their dogs for endurance, protection and showing.
The kennel name, Simnikan, is derived from the couple’s three daughters Simône Masters, Nicole Pennells (deceased) and Candi Brooks-Williams.
Simnikan have also recently sent a puppy to the US, where Brooks-Williams intends to expand the Simnikan breeding programme internationally.
But before Carl discovered his passion for the German Shepherd Dog, he was a well-known ladies’ hairdresser and acquired his first pedigree canine by swopping a hand-held hairdryer, not yet available in the country at the time, for a puppy.
Jo said that puppy was Kim of Bromley and while Carl loved to compete, he had no intention of breeding at that stage.
Kim of Bromley would later go on to be awarded Obedience Champion in 1969 at the Durban Kennel Club championship show.
Jo said after achieving all he could with Kim, Carl realised he had an eye for quality and the couple purchased Moochie of Trudisan and started a breeding programme in May of 1969.
After Carl passed away in 2001, the family continued with Simnikan and their pursuit of improving the breed.
A love for the historic breed has spanned four generations and the kennel continues to thrive now under the couple’s twin granddaughters Tagan and Tanika Masters, the daughters of Simône and her husband Trevor.
And with the birth of Tagan’s daughter, Skyler Moss, Simnikan are now the only fourth generation German Shepherd Dog Federation members in the country.
Carl and Jo were also founding members of the German Shepherd Dog Federation in 1985, a specialist organisation which binds its members to responsible breeding of high-quality, healthy animals and imposes compulsory minimum breeding standards.
“Imports by Simnikan include Shooters Way Lysander (who arrived in South Africa from England via ship), Quero von Kopenkamp (the Simnikan mascot), Cita vom Rush, Frei von Haus Bork, Oscha von Bleichtal and the latest black import, Margman Zultan,” Tagan said.
She said the kennel had produced several VA graded (excellent select) dogs over the years which included Xita, Ice and Eisch of Simnikan.
She said VA grading was given to a very select number of German Shepherd Dogs in the National Breed Show each year.
Her veteran dog Collosus of Simnikan, 12, was the first long-coat German Shepherd to achieve a V show grading in SA.
“I put him into his first show in Bloemfontein and he achieved the first V in South Africa and also the first breed survey recognised for long coats.
“A breed survey is what we call a test of courage so, basically, biting and protection work. V is excellent and a VA is excellent select so you only get a certain number t of German Shepherds who get to be in that group,” Tagan said.
She said long-coats were identifiable by their long tufts of hair, known as “feathers”, behind their ears and on the backs of their legs and belly.
Tagan said Simnikan had also been awarded a prestigious Diamond Breeder Medal.
“This award is conferred on kennels who have demonstrated a consistent ability to breed dogs of the very highest caliber. Only 12 breeders in the country have achieved this accolade.”
HeraldLIVE
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