BIEWER TERRIER HISTORY by Gayle Pruett and Myrna Torres
T he Heritage of the Biewer Ter- rier has been an interesting and much discussed topic over the years. Mr. and Mrs. Biewer had been raising and showing Yorkies for over 20 years, when on the morn- ing of January 20th, 1984, while Mr. Biewer was at work, Mrs. Biewer as- sisted their little “Fru Fru” in pre- senting them with a blue, white and gold puppy. Mrs. Biewer was ecstatic and patiently waited for her husband’s work day to end so that he could share in her joy. They named this tiny beauty, Schneeflockchen von Fried- heck. As the only puppy in the litter, she quickly became the little princess of the house; with a destiny to world fame. Although this girl would never be used in the Friedheck breeding program, her birth marked the be- ginning of what is now known as the Biewer Terrier Breed. Mrs. Biewer fell in love with the col- oring of this puppy and along with her husband, decided to perfect the tri-colored Terrier. They poured their hearts and souls into the devel- opment of this new breed; spending many years in seclusion while per- fecting the look they had envisioned for this enchanting little dog. The Verband für das Hundewesen e. V. (VDH) had marked these dogs “not for Breeding”, which upset the Biew- ers, so they set out to find a registry that would fully accept their beloved, tri colored dogs. Along with their new look, came the new name of, “German Yorkshire Terrier”. During a visit one
day, their vet suggested they name the dog after Mrs. Biewer. They chuck- led as they contemplated the name, “Gertrud Biewer Yorkshire Terrier”. After much consideration, they found the “Biewer Yorkshire Terrier” to be a more fitting name; the “a la Pom Pon” was later added at the suggestion of Margot Eskens, the famous Ger- man singer. Shortly thereafter, they began registering the “Biewer York- shire Terrier a la Pom Pon” with the Internationaler Allgemeiner Club der Hundefreunde (ACH). The Biewer Yorkshire Terrier quickly became a hit in Germany and the de- mand for these exclusive dogs was
hard to meet, as the Biewers were very selective as to where their dogs went to live. Because of the demand, many breeders began to attempt to replicate the “Biewer dog” by mixing other breeds together. As things were beginning to fall into place for the recognition of the breed, Mr. Biewer became ill and was unable to help Mrs. Biewer carry on with the dream they had set out to accomplish for the Biewer Breed. Sadly, Mrs. Biewer de- cided to slowly phase out their breed- ing program in order to better care for her husband during his illness. For- tunately for dog fanciers, this was not to be the end of the Biewer Terrier.
48 • T op N otch T oys , D ecember 2018
Powered by FlippingBook