Information about us

My name is Anne Leppänen, and my interest in dogs began when I got my very first dog at the age of 11. She was a smooth-haired dachshund female named Sasalu Aida "Sasa." Unfortunately, Sasa's life was cut short due to dachshund paralysis, and we had to let her go far too early, at just 4 years old. However, during her short life Sasa had one litter of puppies, and at the age of 13 I looked after her whelping more or less on my own while my parents were at work.

At 15, I bought my next dog, a medium-sized black poodle male named Brisse. I purchased him with the money I had earned from a summer job, despite my mother's objections. She had given me strict conditions: "If a dog comes, it must be male, it must not be big, and it must not shed." I searched diligently through dog books and finally discovered a breed that doesn't shed—the poodle. All of my mother's requirements were met: the dog was a medium-sized male. Brisse lived until the age of 8, when I had to let him go because he was constantly leaking urine on the floor. At that time, veterinarians said there was nothing that could be done for his condition. I was expecting my first child, and the thought of a little baby crawling on floors soiled with dog urine was not appealing.

After that, several years went by, and I felt that it wasn't really me who wanted a dog for the family. But I must admit, once my children grew older, the idea of getting a dog started to resurface. And, as one might expect, the children began asking for one. When they got permission from their father to have a dog, I started searching for a suitable breed. My first calls were to breeders of the German Longhaired Pointer, but since we did not hunt, they refused to sell us a puppy. The next option was the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. I visited a family with two Tollers, and we also attended some shows. This breed felt just right for us, and in August 1996 a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever puppy moved in with us: Applehill's Or Zeiban "Ronja." At that time, Tollers were still quite rare in Finland.

In my opinion, Ronja wasn't exactly a typical Toller, but she was a wonderful dog nonetheless. She had a litter in February 1999 (KoiraNet). I had thought I would keep a female puppy from Ronja's litter, but things turned out differently. When I took Ronja to be mated at the Nordwart kennel, the owner said to me: "Come and see, I have 6-week-old puppies here." Indeed, it was the second Stabyhoun litter ever born in Finland. I was immediately smitten with the mother and the puppies. After leaving Ronja there for mating, I went home without even remembering the breed's name—just talking about those beautiful black-and-white dogs.

Later, when I got the call that the mating had been successful, I went back with my middle daughter, and once again we admired the little black-headed puppies. The owner of the Nordwart kennel said to me: "Take one of these puppies, even as a co-owned dog." For some reason, I just couldn't resist, and so it happened that our first Stabyhoun female—and the foundation bitch of our kennel—Nordwart Belina "Nala" came home with us .

It was only years later that I understood why I had been so drawn to the Stabyhoun. Well, after all, in many ways they resemble the German Longhaired Pointer. I must admit, I got the puppy without really having had time to familiarize myself with the breed. Still, to this day, I have never regretted my choice. And in the end, we did not keep a Toller female from Ronja's litter.

In 2006, a long-time dream of mine came true: to establish a Stabyhoun club in Finland. My husband Jussi and I had often talked about it. I myself hesitated about founding a club, but he encouraged and supported me with his own experience. So we gathered a small group of people and held the founding meeting in Helsinki on February 5, 2006. The club's official name is Suomen Stabyhounkerho – Stabyhoun Club of Finland ry, and the club's homepage can be found here. Since then, we have both been active members and participated in various committees of the club.