CHOTA (HOLLAND) Steve Tillotson, April 2010. With acknowledgement to E.R.E Grevelt and his publication 'The story of the van de Oranje Manege Kennel" dated May 2002
I originaly posted the article at the bottom of this page in 1996. Since then I have received a copy of 'The story of the van de Oranje Manege Kennel" authored and compiled by E.R.E. Grevelt in May 2002. Mr Grevelt has given me permission to use or publish any/all of his publication on this website. I am very grateful to Mr Grevelt for his generosity and also for undertaking his research which goes a long way into de-mystfying the storey of "Chota". The update below is an extract from Mr Grevelt's work, specifically Chapter 6, pages 15-17 entitled "Chota, the mysterious stranger" 1. 'The story of the van de Oranje Manege Kennel" authored and compiled by E.R.E. Grevelt May 2002 CHAPTER 06. Chota, the mysterious stranger The male Afghan Hound Chota was an import in Eta's vDOM-kennel that can be considered as really out of the ordinary. This male, who was reguistered in 1946 at the age of about 3 in the Duteh Pedigre (NHSB) has been much talked about. Even in 1976, more than 20 years after his death, the history of this Afghan Hound was dug up in a Swedish magazine. About Chota's origin many guesses have been made: he was supposedly a retrieved Barukhzy-descendant, which was taken by German officers from "somewhere", or even be imported by a British officer from "The East". Eta herself, in an open letter to the Swedish Mrs. Berselin-Kallqvst dated November 20th, 1976, says the folowing about her ownership of Chota "...On Oct 6th and 7th, 1946, I was present at the firist post-war show in Brusssels, where I spotted 5 Afghan Hounds and 2 Saluki's, both subscribed under the Dutch judge Mr. Toepoel. Standing outside the ring, I saw an Afghan Hound that struck me by his beauty. He appeared to be registered as a Saluki, under the name of Romy, without any further information. Never in m life had I seen so many fleas on one dog! The white colour was strained black by the flea dirt, but brightened up a few shades....." Judge Toepol wrote in his show report wrote the following: "...Romy does not appear to be a Persian, but a neglected Afghan Hound. He entered in open calss with his peasant boss together with an elite-corps of 5 Afghan Hounds, amongst which the first and second placed Afghans of Almeol and Taj Arab of Chaman, the recently imported male by Mrs Deckers. Later, Ms Pauptit complains to me that I placed Taj first. Romy is lying down like a dirt bag, but from the 6th place he moves up to the 5th, and even to the 4th. He is a beautiful athlete and pure of nature. What a movement! Give him nobility and he will make it. And I am not the only one to see his real value.Ms. Pauptit, who had travelled all the way to buy the Persian Sarco, takes Romy instead, whereas she intended to buy a Saluki. If his blood is just as good as his apearance, and it suits ours, this male will undoubtedly improve even more the high standards of his breed. His owner speaks of a German officer, and this is very applicable, as numerous regiments of fleas march all over him
Eta Pauptit named her new Afghan Chota, and registered him in 1946 in the NHSB (Dutch Pedigree) with origin unknown, breeder unknown and unknown date of birth, as nr. 10603. His colour was described as bond, but also as ivory, due to the silver shining it got after some time of proper care. Chota would soon be showing up at different shows with success, the first being a show in Arnhem on November 10th, 1946. Han Juneling presumed that Chota was in fact the male Barukhzy's Harmokar, which had been bred by him and lost afterwards, and was described as a "dirty grey, and brown dog
He writes the following about Chota: "...Chota appeared in 1946 as an adult male of around 3 years old. It is almost certain that Chota and Brukhzy's Harmokar is one and the same dog, born on November 1st 1943. We lost contact with Harmokar during the war:.. Ms Pauptit's explanation for this was, that Chota was in fact not the male Harmokar, since Mr Jungeling only bred 3 males during a period of 8 years, and indicated that he was interested in Harmokar for the purpose of using him as a stud. Thus, we can hardly believe that Mr. Jungeling lost sight of this ever so important male. Morevoer, there is a significant difference in the colouring Mr. Jungeling refers to and the colour of Chota. Even the judges Lance and Toepoel refer to Chota's colour as white, blond, ivory, both being experts in the domain and well experienced in the different colourings of Afghan Hounds. And finally there is the article in the "Mededelingenblad" nr 25 of Aug/Sep 1948 of the "Nederlandsche Vereeniging voor Oostersche Windhonden" (Dutch Orginization for Oriental Sighthounds) describing the visit of some English Afghan Hound amateurs to the Netherlands, and stating: "...Barukhzy's Harmokar of Ms. Bregman and Woodcrofts Ben of Ms. Wilson appealed the most to Mrs. Harrison..." And here we are: in August 1948 Harmokar suddenly shows up in the posession of a Dutch owner, so clearly NOT the same male as Chota, who surfaced in 1946. However the question of Chota's origin remained open. Eta Pauptit's theory is the most probable, saying that Chota arrived in Europe after the war, and was brought by the Germans during the negotiations in North Africa.
Eta bred three litters with Chota, and produced out of him some very successful Afghans of the pure mountain-type, such as Pampero and Regina. Moreover, Eta didn't keep Chota very long in her kennel. In 1948 he was sold to the German breeder Beckaal, of the kennel Kasil-Kasa (end extract from "'The story of the van de Oranje Manege Kennel" dated May 2002, E.R.E Grevelt") Steve Tillotson 2010 2. Eta Pauptit on Chota (from her book "Memories" With thanks to Diane Chandler for send us the below "One morning I took the train and joined my friend Boer and a greyhound breeder. Their dogs were in big crates in the cargo wagon. We all stayed at the house of the Appels family. Mary de Changy (a Chow Chow breeder of fame) came to pick me up on the show day and so I was at the showground very early. It was nice to see all of the people and dogs rushing for the entrance. Suddenly I saw three fat men, each with a bunch of dogs on a lead. One of the dogs looked like a Saluki with a great beautiful gait, but my second glance told me a Saluki does not trot like that...suddenly it came in my head...it is an Afghan! I walked near and saw an Afghan face, and on his hind legs there were a few skeins of hair and a knot on his elbow. It was a dark Afghan. A good old judge (Toepoel) said in the Saluki ring, "that one has to wait for my Afghan class." I asked Jaap Appels to send his helper to ask for the price, but Jaap said I must still be in shock, and that animal was not good enough for the Oranje Manege or Kaboul Kennels. But the price was OK and I wanted that dog to see what was in the creature that walked so proud and sure of himself." "It was difficult to get him out of his bench crate...those fat men had already disappeared. My friend Boer and I managed to get him on a sturdy lead, and then all was OK. A friend found some DDT powder from the army place (used for new soldiers and prisoners) and Boer and I did not go to the dinner that night, but put our new male in a dry bathtub and used the powder. We discovered he had no lice, but many fleas. During the war we fought with several kinds of fleas, but so many I had never seen on one dog! He was covered with a thick layer of the droppings, and the more we combed him the more he lightened up." " He turned out to be a light ivory colored one with a shadowed black mask. He was clipped in a bad way...just here and there, and maybe a week later somewhere else. Later on I found out where he had come from. Officers from the far east left all of their dogs on the continent...there was no place for them in the English quarantines. He had been left in exchange for a pile of coffee to take home to England. I called him Chota." Here is some more that Eta wrote about Chota. "Chota had his own habits that did not fit our fragile place very well. He went over fences like the first imports did...like Shabib and the English bitch of Priest Godts...our first Afghans did this (also Badshah in the U.S., to mention a few). One day Chota chased a pack of sheep through our village, and that was not our style...we could not let him do such a thing again. I went to our smith for a chain and sturdy collar, and we put a pole in the middle of our compound. He could be out while I cleaned the kennels. One day he was in the room, saw a dog through the window, pulled out the wooden frame and out he went...unhurt." "I walked him on the street in the dark before bedtime. When he saw a person on a bike without a light he grabbed them at the back and kept them flat...he thought they were dangerous. I had to work him by bike. gradually on we started to be friends. He developed into a very beautiful Afghan...strong bones, body and a dense long coat. Most of all I admired his gait...effortless Afghan style. He had a penetrating look like he was thinking "I am straight and not fooling, and don't fool with me." Jaap Appels came by and could not believe his eyes. At Chota's first show General Lance of Saluki fame made him Best of Breed." "Slowly I came back on my feet again...Chota was great, and it was time to use him. I chose Koula as they matched and so the P1 litter arrived. I kept Pampero. Mrs. Planten got Povero. Pythia went to the south of Holland with breeding rights for one litter. At first we kept Parsi...a pure white...but I sold her later because we had to move again and that felt uneasy. The litter was lighter in color than usual, but all of them had dark eyes and black noses. It looked different to me, as most of my litters were black with one or two goldens...blacks resulted partly in red masked or black and tans." " so we found ourselves in the year 1948 and it was time for the S1 litter for Nixe. It gave me a good feeling because I saw that Chota matched well with my stock and he gave me a broader base for the program. On the litter papers I see that one pup went to a doctor. Later he and his family sailed to Canada, and he went to the university again to get a Canadian degree. About five years from that date one day the telephone rang...his daughter was back in Holland...she gave me greetings and told me all were happy." "But I have not yet finished the Chota story. He was finally a beautiful upstanding dog with enourmous coat. He got a number in the stud book because of his judges reports and he gave me three litters...that was enough. I had to do a lot of extra work with him and was fed up with watching him to keep him out of trouble in case he climbed the fences. A German breeder from far up northeast in the countryside adored him, and so it happened he went to live with her...she knew all of his tricks and his story. After sometime with her he also sailed over all of the walls and fences over there, but stayed near so that he took care and arranged a free life for himself again. Once in a while he would go shopping or visiting friends with her on a small kind of tramway. One day the conductor told her that she had an extra bill to pay, as Chota had traveled on his tramway out from the same place and later back again. She remembered that he had visited a friend's house with her twice before and that her friend had a bitch who was starting to come in heat. Neither family had a telephone at that time but later the full purpose became clear. How clever our old man was and how loyal to her, and all by himself! As far as we could tell from his teeth he was about four years old at the time we found him." 3. Below is the original AHT article about Chota posted in 1996 Harmoka Of Barukhzy Theory I am aware of two documented references to Chota. The first reference I can recall was (I think, but cant locate the copy) contained in a letter to the Afghan Hound Review (AHR) several years ago. In this letter, the correspondent wrote that CHOTA was really Harmoka Of Barukhzy who had escaped from his owner and came into Eta Pauptit's (Holland, Van De Oranje Manage) kennel. Studying the Barukhzy kennel records we find that a litter was born on 1st November 1943 which contained four bitches and a single dog Harmoka. The pedigree is shown below.
CH Sirdar of Ghazni
CH Baber of Baberbagh
Sada of Ghazni
Barukhzy's Ajatasattu
CH Baber of Baberbagh
Barukhzys Kalindi
CH Shahib of Wahsdarb
CH Baber of Baberbagh
Barukhzy's Ajatasattu
Barukhzy's Kalindi
Barukhzy's Cullasubhadda
CH Baber of Baberbagh
Barukhzy's Sadamarika
CH Shahib of Wahsdarb
To the best of my knowledge there is no authoratative confirmation of this theory. However, as will be seen from the second theory, the date (1943) does fit, so it is possible. If you can add to this story your contribution will be greatly appreciated.> 4. Bought In Exchange For Coffee In Brussels Theory - In "Our Dogs" (UK Weekly Dog Paper) on October 23 1953, in the breed column notes, Mrs Molly Sharpe (Chaman Afghans) wrote the following "I am indebted to Miss E Pauptit of the Oranje Manege kennels in Holland, also to Mr Toepoel, the well known Continental judge for particulars of the dog Chota who is sire of Mr Cooke and Mrs Wilkinsons imported continental dog Zardin. Chota appeared at the first show to be held in Brussels after the war. He was entered as a Saluki, his birth given as 1943, he was in possession of a dog dealer and was in poor condition. Mr Toepoel, who was judging, placed him fourth and Miss Pauptit, who was equally impressed, bought him. The owner said he had got him from some Belgian soldiers who captured him from the German army in Caen. The Germans said they had originally got him from an English prisoner of war, who was captured in North Africa. Miss Pauptit cannot vouch for the truth of this but found that Chota knew both German and English and was knowledgeable about cars, trains and planes." "Chota mated one of Miss Pauptit's bitches, he was shown at Utrecht under Mr J W H Baynon, where he was put first in an entry of 50. After a year, Miss Pauptit sold Chota to Germany and retained a son for stud. Chota was about 26 in at the shoulder; unfortunately his lack of pedigree is a drawback for his progeny abroad" Molly Sharpe Researchers Comments- In Margaret Niblocks book, page 157, there is reference to a postscript (1978) 10 De Hondenwerelt p 1336 at 1338 (translation from the Dutch) Miss Eta Pauptit wrote that Chota was "bought in Belgium, but of absolutely unknown descent" which is consistent with Molly Sharpe's story above. We'll leave the last words to the famous lady (Miss Pauptit) herself. The following is an extract taken from "Afghan International" a publication in the 1970's - "I have two direct imports myself, used for test breeding. One is Chota pictured in Conni Millers book. A short time ago I visited a breeder in Italy who owned a direct imported male from this. I had kept a bitch and bred it back to my own present stud, and from this mating I now have a male and a bitch (and already offspring). Last year he won the European Youth Race, this was a very fine win. It is most amazing to see that this new blood does result in a very alert disposition and I feel particularly that this dog has the very fast reaction abilities of his direct grandsire. He also has it fro m his sire "Dudel" (now in the states) which I do consider as one of the brightest brains I had in Hounds". Steve Tillotson 1996 (this page updated April 2010) Index of Related Articles/Links
Library Of Articles/Main Menu Toolbar |
