Our kennel has now been established since 2004. We are members of Dogs NSW, Canine Council of Australia, the German Shepherd Dog Council of Australia and the NSW German Shepherd League.
I'd always loved animals and growing up with shows like Lassie just manifested the desire to have my own dog. Rin Tin Tin was my favourite show, I fell in love with the german Shepherd, the intelligence, athleticism and beauty of the dog.... I was hooked on the Shepherd!
I had to wait till I was 17 before getting my own dog, a cross Shepherd bitch I called, Shadow.
My friend found her near his place as an 8 week old pup. I had 6 good years with her before she died of heart worm ( a relatively new disease back then).
It took some time before I got a full pedigreed dog called Jed and the the Rin Tin Tin dream was realised. I didn't do too well with Jed in the show ring but I enjoyed the experience nonetheless.We've had a lot of good adventures over the years, he's still going strong as an 8 year old these days.
I have always been interested in the German Bloodlines surfing the web over the years gathering information and developing a particular liking to a few dogs especially Kevin von Murrtal and Ursus von Batu. I was fortunate to cross paths with Herr Hans-Peter Rieker whilst doing my research. I had to go to Germany !
Only problem being I couldn't take time off work.... no matter, I'll go for the weekend, so 5.30pm on a friday afternoon I left for Europe. I drove from Frankfurt to Aichelberg in Southern Germany on the Autobarn. I only had a cheap car but managed to get 200 klms/ hr out of it. No one told me that there were speed limits along the way. BMW's were still passing me as if I were standing still. I got back home the following Monday at 6.30am, had a shower and went straight to work. Needless to say that the ususal "what did you do on the weekend" discussions at work were pretty interesting.
I was fortunate enough to see Kevin von Murrtal....who blew me away, a magnificent dog.Rikkor von Bad Boll and others, all with superb temperaments.
Unfortunately, a couple of the dogs fell through on the first vist and to someone like me, where patience is not a virtue , was hard to deal with. I had to wait 18 more gruelling months before Gagarin von Bad Boll ( Max) came up. I couldn't believe the opportunity, even though he costs as much as a new Holden Berlina....I had to have him! SG14 in the 2003 Seiger show (Intermediate Class), good hips & elbows, DNA tested and SchH III, I bought him after some lenghty negotiations in January 2003, which made it harder because I don't speak much German. The wait was worth it!
Even though I had already bought "Max", I had to go and see him, so in March 2003 I set off for Germany again, this time a longer trip....4 days!! Ha Ha.
I didn't realise he was in a show in Ulm on the Sunday with his dad, VA Kevin von Murrtal. Kevin was V1 and Max was V3.
Max's temperament is brilliant, a real show man! I then wanted to start a kennel so I bought Otana von Bad Boll, literally within a day! I have finally got my kennel prefix and for me it say's it all, VEEAY German Shepherds, this is the quality of animal I strive to produce.
I'd like to thank Herr Hans-Peter Rieker and his lovely wife Renate for the hospitality they have extended to me whilst in Germany and for the two magnificent dogs I now have as my friends and foundation breeding pair.
My philosophy is simple, I want my dogs to be dogs first and show dogs second. No compromise here. I want to produce VA quality Shepherds with predominantly German breeding and outstanding temperament. I want the German Shepherd in Australia to be as good as that found in Germany...no compromise here either.
I'm really excited about the next few years here in Australia with the influx of imports. Line breeding on Kevin von Murrtal, Rikkor von Bad Boll, Ursus von Batu & Yasko von Farbenspiel, just to name a few, will all be possible.
Our dogs are our family so they run free in our yard and
are not locked in kennels.
We are located at Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Sydney
NSW Australia.
I hope you enjoy our website.
Stephen Sammut
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