REMINISCENCE: A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN BRUSSELS GRIFFON ASSOCIATION
by DAWN VIC HANSEN
T he Brussels Griffon in Ameri- can is extremely fortunate to have a parent club supported by so many dedicated people who have given so much over the years towards the betterment of our beloved breed. I consider myself fortunate, indeed, to have been a part of this his- tory. It is my intention to put my memo- ries on paper for those who were not privileged to be around in the “Good Old Days.” It was not always a bed of roses and what ABGA has experienced is certainly no different than many oth- er clubs within our sport. It is always a great loss when the founding fathers do not keep a written record of the early years. At least, we can retrieve some of the records with the help of the AKC Library and in talk- ing with those who have been around long enough to have gone through much of the history in person. Let’s hope that future generations will rem- edy this loss by adding to what is being One cannot begin the story of the American Brussels Griffon Association without going back to the original par- ent club founded in 1913, The Brussels Griffon Club of America. It is a sad story which shows that jealousy, egotism and deceit only plays havoc and in the end, truth and tenacity will rise above it. In my opinion, the two clubs are insepa- rable and my dream is that one day we can return to our original name. As our story unfolds all of these things will be laid bare and the ending is a happy one. One of the delicious delights in research, to me, is coming upon the unexpected. My early research with AKC revealed that the Brussels Griffon of America became the parent club in 1932—to my surprise—when contact- ing Gerry Hayes, the Historian at The American Kennel Club, she advised that The Brussels Griffon Club of America put down on paper today. THE BEGINNING & EARLY YEARS
the same story as to why the club was dropped. I can just imagine the chaos it caused within the club and the Ameri- can Kennel Club. The story goes that Mrs. Rosiland Layte (Burlingame), also a member of the club, had a black smooth bitch called Ch. Burlingames Charm. Charm was made up in 1937 and did some respectable winning. At one of the eastern shows that year a protest was lodged against the dog in the ring as being ineligible since the black smooth was not mentioned in the standard. The original U.S. Brussels Griffon standard was taken from the country of origin, Belgium, where the black smooth was shown in the Beige class. When the standard for the Brabancon, or smooth variety, was translated into English, the colors were listed as red, black and tan and beige. Whether the translators did not know what the Bel- gium class covered, or whether it was left out by mistake, we’ll never know. But from its beginning, the U.S. stan- dard made no provision for the black smooth Griffon. Exhibitors would just bring them into the ring along with the other smoothes. At that time, there were two standards, one covering the Griffons (Brussels) and Brussels Grif- fons (Belgian and Brabancon). It is not clear as to who called the protest in the ring, but Mrs. Bueno and Mrs. Layte were both called before the American Kennel Club in New York City. A discussion got underway to determine the fate of Champion Burl- ingames Charm. The conversation got so heated Mrs. Layte, who came armed with a scrapbook of Charm’s accom- plishments, got up and hit Mrs. Bueno over the head with the book. The Brus- sels Griffon Club of America was fined the sum of $25. The outcome of the in- ring protest on Charm was overturned. I reviewed the files at the AKC library in February 2004 and found that both par- ties had been sanctioned. The January 1938 Gazette states, “The Trial Board
was elected to membership in Decem- ber, 1914. The first delegate was J. Kirk- patrick who served from 1915-1919. Activity was mainly confirmed to the east coast. Entries were small and it was considered a rare breed in the Toy Group. The records show that the club was dropped from AKC membership in 1925 for non-payment of dues. There was a rebirth of the breed in the East during the late 1920s. From old show records you can see the growth of entries and the Brussels Griffon appear- ing in Groups and even Best In Show. Mrs. Olivia Ceder was the driving force in those days and the O’Ceder dogs were consistent winners. Mrs. Cecelia de la Torre Buneo (All-Celia) and her daughter, Iris, first appear in the late 1920s. Both became a fixture in the breed over the next 50 years and the All-Celia kennels produced many of the top winning champions. Their dedica- tion and contribution to the breed must be recognized and applauded. It was most unfortunate that in later years their vision did not keep pace with the growth of the breed as it became more popular and the club needed to expand. The Brussels Griffon Club of Amer- ica became active again and was re- elected to membership in AKC in 1932. Mr. Philip Bondy was the first delegate and it appears that he kept that position until the club was dropped in 1938. This is where our story becomes sad as we read what can happen when agen- das and personalities get in the way, causing the demise of a beautiful club. THE SCRAPBOOK WAR The records indicate that the Brus- sels Griffon Club of America was dropped from AKC membership in 1938. While researching the history of the black smooth Griffon, I came upon two sources, Mrs. Edith Nash Heller- man (Shandor), and Mr. Edward Weist (Hyperion), both active members and officers of the BGA during this peri- od. They both related to me virtually
70 • T op N otch T oys , M arch 2017
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