"Yanko v. Unserhund, TC, HIC" Sadly missed.....July 20, 1996 ~ Sept. 7, 2003
Yanko vom Unserhund....better known as "Tag" was my third German shepherd. We wanted a GSD with a friendly, but protective temperament, to grow up with our first child who was only a toddler when we met puppy Tag. When I started in Schutzhund, Tag's breeder had two beautiful puppies (sister and brother) out of her beautiful VA bitch and Vopo v. Kirschental. They were unique looking pups with gorgeous heads and I always loved them. Little did I know that years later I would be meeting and owning one of the female pup's offfspring. Out of two litters at his breeder's home, Tag struck me instantly when I saw him. We were planning on buying a female when I asked to see the males "just for the heck of it". The breeder brought me to their puppy pen and I was instantly smitten with a little boy pup who sat surrounded by his brothers. He looked straight up into my eyes with such earnest interest and as if he could look right into my soul.
We performed some puppy tests on Tag and his siblings. He did wonderfully...never shying away from sudden, loud noises or showing too much dominance. The ultimate test for us was taking the puppies one by one out into a field adjacent to the kennels. Tag followed my family gleefully while some of the other puppies headed for home. What ever my then toddling daughter was investigating, Tag was right there investigating it with her. Thus, his call name became "Tag A Long". I still love to look at my early video footage of him following her gleefully around our yard as Cowboy watched.
"Tag" at five months old. Tag proved himself to be a very loving dog to my children and was always very willing to please. Tag's favorite past time was bathing the kids in wet kisses (which has also earned him the nickname: "The Kissing Bandit"). I truly believe that raising him with a confident, well adjusted dog such as Cowboy was a benefit. Tag met my desires in temperament as a family dog and as a good GSD. Easy to train, he passed beginning obedience, visited some sheep, and passed a GSDCA temperament test with flying colors. In fact, the GSDCA judge at the Nationals told me that he had one of the best temperaments there at the test. Later, Tag passed his Herding Instinct Capability test and had great fun herding the sheep. He did quite well, and I was rather impressed though, of course, I did not know what *I* was doing in the pen! He seemed to instinctively know what to do with those sheepies. Maybe this instinct was why he enjoyed staring for HOURS at the cats and nosing them in their furry butts to keep them moving. After losing Cowboy at age 12, Qai came along and kept Tag pretty busy. In fact, I am sure that he was showing young Qai the ways of being a good GSD just as Cowboy had for him. Tag and Qai loved to play great games of "tag" around the yard and joust with their toys. When Tag was six, young Vana came to our home after rescuing her and Tag bloomed even more in the company of such a gorgeous female GSD (spayed). September 7th, 2003 was an incredibly hard day for our family. Bloat and then the following gastric torsion is such a dark thief. It can steal an otherwise healthy dog right out from under your nose. The sudden loss of Tag at such a young age has been so very hard. I have always been emotionally prepared SOMEWHAT for the loss of my dogs due to their old age. However, there is no way that anyone can even begin to prepare for the sudden and tragic loss of a dog. What gives me comfort is some words told to me by a dear friend: "I think he is one of the most beautiful GSD's I've ever seen, and more than that, his face showed his wonderful character and vitality, and reflected the love and happiness that has filled his seven short years. Some dogs have long lives, but have had nothing to fill those years with ... Tag lived fast and furiously and enjoyed every minute of his time ... thanks to you and your family." Thank you, Jeanie.
What is so frustrating and heartbreaking to me is that Tag had finally gotten that house that I had dreamed of having for my dogs. It has plenty of room to run and no more small spaces and a confined yard. I felt like Tag had never really known true freedom except for our occasional outings while living in the suburbs. I was so saddened that he did not know living here in the country sooner. But what am I thinking, he probably lives in a most beautiful spacious place now. And at least he did have a little time here listening to the coyotes at night, eating avocados and chasing squirrels by day and marking the land as his own. I will miss Tag's friendship. He was such a devoted dog. Tag was so comforting in that way that mature dogs can be....like a fine wine that grows better with age. While the youngsters (both human and canine) were always off running somewhere, Tag was always happy to lay at my feet and be by my side. In fact, the night before he died, we spent some quality time together at dusk. I was telling him how happy I was that he finally had a place like this to live. He was leaning against my leg and chair and looking up and out of the corner of his eye at me listening. His eyes were so deep set, tilted up and almond shaped in his face. His face so broad and wedge shaped. He was so unique....so very special. Farewell, Master,
Please visit our Memorial Pages To Tag.
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