In Memoriam To Julius Wipfel

In early December 2002 we heard the sad news of Julius Wipfel's death. At the age of 83 years, after a serious illness, Julius Wipfel died on the 20th November, 2002.

Our sympathy is with his family and especially with his wife, Elfriede Wipfel, who lost her partner in their shared adventure "Eurasier".

Julius Wipfel had the initial idea to breed a northern type of dog with a strong character.

That idea had ripened in him after his very positive experience with such an extraordinary dog for which he found no replacement after it had died.

In 1960 Wipfel began to realise his carefully drawn up breeding plan for the so-called "Wolf-Chow". Thirteen years later the Wolf-Chow was named "Eurasier". For Wipfel, being a Wolfspitz breeder with an indepth knowledge of the Wolfspitz, it was obvious to choose this ancient breed as one of the foundation breeds. Choosing the Chow-Chow - also an ancient Asiatic spitz type breed - was not done by chance either, because more than twenty years prior to Wipfel's idea, Konrad Lorenz had experienced and described the excellent character traits of the offspring of an accidental mating between a Chow-Chow male and a German Shepherd female.

Wipfel's well-considered and effective choice of breeds proved to be the first fateful highlight for the Eurasier. From this beginning, energy, a lucky hand and a very engaged circle of breeders lead to the success of this new breed, whose very narrow breeding base was systematically broadened in following years.

Inevitably, differences in opinion within the initially formed breed Club arose. The defined aims for breeding especially differed - some followed Wipfel's goals, others followed goals that were more oriented towards Lorenz's ideas. The Club as such, with such dissimilar breeding philosophies, resulted in members taking sides, squared off in disputes and, conflicts followed.

The reason for these disputes in the early days of the Eurasier were mostly due to sheer admiration for the subject "Eurasier", and such conflicts based on admiration can be easily escalated to fanaticism. It is understandable that members with an affiliation but still undecided rather hold on to Mephisto's advice concerning theology:

"Regarding this science,

it is so difficult to avoid the wrong direction,

there is so much hidden poison in it,

and it can be hardly distinguished from a medicine.

So in this case it is also best if you only listen to one.

And swear an oath to your master."

And so it could not be avoided that throughout the years new Clubs were founded that followed different routes with this breed. Who is right in the end?

They all are - more or less! During a first, timid encounter at a "Eurasier-Symposium" in 1986, where all three German Eurasier Clubs participated and showed a selection of the Eurasiers bred by them, Wipfel stated with visible contentment:"It has not been very harmful that different routes were taken". The typical appearance of the Eurasier has been maintained despite the various and differing breeding aims.

The last time I met Julius Wipfel was at the 40-Year-Anniversary Show of the EKW in summer 2000 in Mannheim, Germany, and I will always keep this meeting with him in my good memories. We all experienced him as a charming, relaxed, cheerful person, and nobody would have guessed his high age. In conversation he was open, interested and well-informed about what was going on with the breed.

I also have fond memories of our conversation later in the evening. Very much to my surprise, he came to sit with me at the table where the representatives of the ZG were all sitting. He felt the necessity to continue our passionate discussion on Eurasiers that had been interrupted by the schedule that day. Asked about his impression of the international selection of Eurasiers he had seen that day - the most recent results of his splendid idea - he signalled confidence and satisfaction, but at the same time he expressed concern for the future.

On saying good-bye, he emphasized his wish that the Clubs and organisations in the country of Germany and throughout the world should succeed in overcoming the - mostly human - hurdles and should find their way back to co-operating with each other more closely.

Regarding this, I believe I may say on behalf of the ZG, we are open to this cooperation.

Julius Wipfel will always be in our memories as a person with "edges and corners" and a strong will. He had the ability to realise his fantastic "Eurasier-idea" with worldwide success. We think of him with respect and gratefulness.

How right Eurasier friends were, who said upon hearing about Julius Wipfel's death "… he has really changed our life considerably".

Alfred Müller on behalf of the Zuchtgemeinschaft für Eurasier e.V.

(Translation: Ellen Conzelmann and Clark Waldrip)

Zuchtgemeinschaft für Eurasier e.V. :     http://www.eurasier-online.de