THE SHARPLANINAC – HOW PROUD IT SOUNDS! – Part 1

“Who truly and terribly loves
Truth, Freedom and the Fatherland,
I am free and fearless as God,
and despised and hungry as a dog. ” (1)

Possessed to Perth Kočić

By: Zoran M. Kos   Translation: Ana Šebalj      / Photo by: Z. M.Kos  

THE FUTURE IS BASED IN THE PAST

It seems that my trip to Šar Mountain is an opportunity and an occasion to talk about the future, the future of the šarplaninac – our shepherd dog. Talking or writing about the future can be neither objective nor reasonable without mentioning the past. The future is built on the foundations of the past. And the šarplaninac can boast of a tumultuous past. In the distance I hear the cry of the great writer Kočić: “… you are sad and miserable, my people …”, and everything seems to be echoing … My šarplaninac! “Located” on the historic windmill of Šar mountain lean, harsh and untamed land, in the former common state, common to us, and to šarplaninac, Yugoslavia, a country that is all but  not averse to a carefree and comfortable life, not to humans, so not to dogs. It was more like a journey from the bad to the bad, and from this point on, especially turbulent for almost the entire last century as the country itself. The kings and rulers were changing, as well as “the others,”. And the šarplaninac lived his life, sometimes less, sometimes more, but always – hard!

AND WHAT COULD THEY BE?

As beautiful as the mountain that surrounds and nourishes them, sharp as the blizzards that whip and make them stronger, strong and mobile like mountain streams that “break” the rocks in search of their path. They carried on their travels a record, a “code” that was “implanted” in their being, a “code” for survival, and the result of that genome is a strong and moving body, a very steady and peaceful nature that adorns it and an interest in what is happening around it. Omnia mea mecum porto. I carry everything with me, as one of the seven ancient Greek says, the philosopher Baijas, says. And he, šarplaninac, carries in his genes a “mortgage” of the past that has left a huge mark.

In recent years, the term ethnokinology has appeared in the kinology literature (M. Urošević and co.. 2002). This term seems to me extremely important in considering the historical development of a dog with a human, that is, in its historical symbiosis. It is ethnoquinology that will give an exact answer to all the problems we find in the study of the history of dogs (and canine in general), and it solves them or refers to other scientific disciplines that can help to solve ambiguities, as confirmed by this research, or writing books. ”(2)

There is lots of ambiguitys and the problems. It is possible that ethnoquinology may explain how in the twentieth century we were able to “spend” ourselves and “our” dogs.

“I LOVE IT !”

But why “love” in the subtitle of this text? While I was thinking and writing about shepherd dogs and even šarplaninac, our shepherd dog, I had the least information about the situation in Macedonia. The easiest and most simple thing for me to do was to visit this country and, of course, Šar-mountain and see for myself the abundance, distribution and quality of the population of šarplaninac, and see on site how generous the source of the breed is, breed about wich were talked legends. I decide to go to Prilep on March 11, 2018, when was organized the National show for šarplaninac breed. And also to visit Markov Grad, from which, in the first place, my Kos ancestores came, in one of many migrations, changing places and surnames. This time, my fellow countryman and acquaintance is camming with me, he wish to get šarplaninac puppy to freshen up “the blood in their kennel. After show was over, we went to Prilep to visit some kennels arround Macedonia. Main point was to visit Šar mountain. First Skopje, Prilep, Bitola, Gostivar, Tetovo, and then again, Skopje. We return via Tetovo to Šar mountain. Traveling through a snowstorm and disturbingroad from Tetovo to Popova Šapka, I talk to my companion about what we saw in those days. And we saw a lot of dogs, kennels, puppies… Lots of different types, uneven, but usual and expected. We drive slowly, collect impressions and try to make a decision about the puppy. We come to the point when I say that one of the type-correct and beautiful puppie we have seen does not have a good ear shape and size, and he says, in a delightful way, “I love it!” You could told me this to me much earlier so that we do not bother wasting time and money, “I think to myself, not saying it to this day.” I love it! “- is something like a thick fog that has struck on the way and through which šarplaninac steps through. ; and “there are a thousand problems,” as Čika Jova Jovanovic Zmaj said, and usually ends with: “Now I don`t want even what I want!” Because, love is usually lost and somehow quietly disappears, as if it had never happened! Of course love is there, but it has nothing to do with standard, judging, pedigree, breeding allow. It’s officially gone, it’s not there.

Objective and professional thinking is emotionless. There is love in cynology, but not in this form, and it cannot be a crucial and important factor in judging and evaluating dogs. Love has no boundaries, no framework, but the standard (norms) of breeds of dogs have it. We are a very impulsive people who immediately, without long deliberation, strong temperaments, huge, high voltages, if they were unique, reasonable, responsible, the results could reach the highest level and great goals at the end. The exclamation “I love it!” Is one of the important reasons for the “justification” that comes from our mentality, and is usually an excuse for what has already been done. Very often, personal wishes, in the “I like it” style, justification for everything in breed šarplaninac. Of course, and not only there.

WHY AM I WRITING THIS… AND WHY IS ALL THIS?

To clarify immediately: I neither cheer, nor whine, nor praise. I just try to write down what I have noticed, registered, photographed, recorded in many shows and long trips. I’m not one of those who think they know much about šarplaninac, but I do know a bit about shepherd dogs. Maybe, to mention, that on our farm, we had two šarplaninac who ended up infamously. One male, from the time of Ronald Reagan’s reign in the United States, by which he was named, and one female, before him. This what is camming up is just a little part of my thinking about mountain shepherd dog wich is known by FCI , under the number 41,  under the name of the Yugoslav Shepherd Dog – Šarplaninac

I am writing this, and I am afraid, knowing that the written word is, indeed, of a more modest range. What is written is what Platon said in his Seventh Scripture: “Clever  man, what is most serious to him, will never trust the scripture. If they write those thoughts in a letter, they are threatened with profanity. It flies by, writes from one to the other and interprets it in its own way – when it leave you, you are no longer able to help him, as is the case with speech, talk. I also believe in the power and superiority of living words, nevertheless be writing this. I believe that as a member of those entrusted with the care of the breed, I have no right to remain silent. I present my view with the noble purpose of pointing out the problem. I know that the topics and manner of my speaking will not cheer the readers, but I believe that it will at least contribute a little and help to clarify the concepts around Šarplaninac. However, as writer of this words, I dont live in ilusion that I will change something what is built in system and made memory in system, but as man “of pen” Ifeel a great desire to present here many incidentally notes, comparisons, conversations, amazements, thoughts, comments, numbers and post some of the photos. Much of this is merely fact (3) stated here

It will be, my story about šarplaninac, from my kinology-journalistic point of view. I will try to get as close as possible to the truth that is difficult to penetrate.

(1) Badger in front the Court, Petar Kocic, Serbian poet, writer and people’s tribune, written in Vienna in 1903 and first published in Zagreb in 1904

(2) Špoljarić B. 2008, Croatian Kennel club, Zagreb

(3) factography (Latin + Greek), fact-based writing, without extensive analysis or commentary

To be continued…

THE DOG REPUBLIC (9/26/2019)