"Chief"- Kees:Lammetje

Nanny, my mother and the first van Dijk - Keeshond, Lammetje (= Little Lamb because of the lamblike fur) and although the picture is in ancient black & white, you can see that the fur is much darker than the one Gino has today. Norwegian breeders did not like dark (original) Keeshonden, so they breed'm light. But everybody knows that's not right, originally they really are dark...and though you can't see it here, the rings around the eyes (it's "brandmark") are so much more visible on dark Keeshonds than on whiter ones....
Unfortunately Lammetje got the feared typical Keeshond-disease called for the 7 year-itch bug (it strangely returns every 7 years)which affect and destroys the kidneysystem within a couple of weeks, no cure, it's a kind of ebolabug, no way back....and it can kill up to 60% of all Keeshonds. In Scandinavia we were able (knock on wood) to avoid this itch which means that there are almost more Keeshonds here than in the Netherlands....
My grandfather send me to the Amsterdam Zoo the day they let Lammetje go to sleep......so when I came home he wasn't there anymore...and I couldn't stop crying for many days....wel, all good things come to an end...