By Ann Platt, Boo Radle’ys Breeder

“Ari”, Ch. Tolivar’s Aristotle of Azteca, sired by Ch. Azteca’s Beacon “Rommel” was an impressive dog from a nearly all-champion litter. I wanted my first show dog to be one of his puppies. Dr. Olin Davis had a litter by Rommel and his Ch. Azteca’s Timmerman daughter. I was a novice, but had spent a lot of time looking at show litters, hoping to make the right choice. Dr. Davis insisted I take his pick black male, knowing I would keep him and love him regardless of how he turned out.

Pat Banner suggested I choose a kennel name and use her Azteca name at the end. Tolivar came from a Roger Miller ballad about a very special love who had gone places he had not been. This love was called Tolivar.

Ari was my first champion. He was in many ways, the true Doberman: loyal and fearless, smooth and elegant, but with definite bone and size. His movement was very deliberate and balanced. The common ancestor in Ari’s pedigree was Ch. D-Dow’s Bonaparte of Falstaff. I wanted a very special bitch to breed to him as my foundation.

I purchased “Meg”, Von Mac’s Omega Tu, in the summer of 1972. Meg was the result of three generations of half brother to half sister breedings based on the Tannewald/Kay Hill lines. She was also a great granddaughter of Ch. D-Dow’s Bonaparte of Falstaff (Axel von Tannenwald’s sire). Meg was outgoing, ankle biting and the love of my life. She was a human inside a dog’s body! Her smile never quit and she had to be close; always in my lap or leaning on me. For a red, she had the darkest of eyes, the brownest of coats. She was smooth, well angulated, and of good body width, bone and size for a bitch. She was 26 inches tall. I was in college and the dogs were my family. Meg was not shown initially. After two litters she was shown briefly, accumulating nine points and a BOB. Twice she went Winners Bitch with one entry lacking for a major. Meg was never bred to anyone but Ch. Tolivar’s Aristotle of Azetca, who lived with Iran Bivin after Teresa completed his Championship.

From their first litter, the “John Denver” litter, cam four champions: Ch. Tolivar’s Country Roads (BOB), Ch. Tolivar’s Rocky Mountain High (Group winner), Ch. Tolivar’s Annie’s Song (BOB), and Ch. Tolivar’s Sweet Surrender (Group winner). Three litter mates were pointed. The second litter produced Ch. Tolivar’s Soolaimon, and Ch. Tolivar’s Cantra Libra, with three pointed. The third litter had some good quality puppies, but they did not get into serious show homes. Two were pointed. The fourth litter produced Boo Radley. Ch. Tolivar’s Boo Radley dob Mann was the smallest of five black males born in a litter of eight from Meg and Ari’s last litter. When I watched Boo play, I thought, “If only he was a bitch!” Like his father, he was proud, mischievous and assertive. But the twinkle in his eye, the grin on his face and the wag of his tail came from his mother!

At two weeks of age, the puppies’ eyes are usually fully open, Boo could barely open his left eye. I treated it with medication. After two weeks, it was open, but it was small in size, and blue. I took him to a specialist. Initially he thought it was microopthalmia, a condition where the eye remains small. The eye was examined under a special microscope and a pin-point hole was detected in the center of the eye. I think a needle-like nail from a littermate must have caused the injury. Medication was begun, and within two weeks his eye was completely healed and normal.

How Boo got his name… In my house there was a large passthrough between the kitchen and the den. My little mountain goat, Book would climb on the dog crates in the den and peer inquisitively over at me when I came into the kitchen. It became a game. I would sneak up on him saying, “BOO!” The name stuck.

Boo was sold as a pet twice. Like a bad penny, he would come back. The reasons? He was too rowdy and they could not house break him. The second time, I had made arrangements to pick him up on the way back from Fort Worth after visiting Irene Bivin. I had promised Irene a male puppy from this last breeding, as Ari was aging. When the litter was 10-11 weeks old I took them to show Irene. She, however, insisted on seeing Boo too, although I warned her he had severe diarrhea and could give it to the dogs in her household. Irene picked Honky Tonk Hero and Boo. Her selection of Boo was based on his overall balance and attitude, and perhaps her desire toothier him back to health. She could not have made a better decision. She loved his name, and called him Boo Radley, after the character in To Catch A Mockingbird.

Boo’s littermates included the dog I kept, Ch. Tolivar’s Slow Moving Outlaw (BOB and Group winner), Tolivar’s Luchenbach Texas (14 points, 1 major), Tolivar’s nighttime Eclipse (pointed), and Tolivar’s Belle of the Ball (dam of Ch. Royalmead’s Joker’s Wild, top producing son of Ch. Wynterwynd’s Wild Tempest; Ch. Royalmead’s Penny Ante WAC CACIB, champion in seven countries; and Ch. Royalmead’s Wheel of Fortune).

Dobermans like Meg, Ari and Boo will never be forgotten. Their presence is missed by those who loved them and shared their lives, but in the genes they passed to their offspring, they are very much alive and doing quite well. I see it in their children, their grandchildren and great and great-great grandchildren. Their impact and influence on the breed cannot be erased by their passing, and will endure throughout the years.

It has been too easy to procrastinate writing the story of Boo Radley. Our involvement was so very important; it is only now, a year after his death, that I have allowed myself to dwell on the memories. Each dog comes into my life and leaves a mark as though they were a part of my destiny; a part of who I am and a part of my bequeathal to those who follow me in their breeding programs. The years shared with each one have left their mark and will forever live in my memory.

As I begin to write Boo’s story, I see the middle finger on my left hand, a digit shorter than the others, and I wince. Not because of the unsightliness of the finger, but because it serves as his reminder. It’s as though he who was so gentle and kind left an uncharacteristic reminder. The top of this finger was bitten off when he turned monster momentarily in a gallant attempt to do away with his upstart son, Eldo Radley. Somehow in my own stupidity, the hand got between them and in a flash the finger was gone. Both dogs survived – no worse for the scuffle.

“Boo” was born August 27, 1978 at the home of Ann Platt in Bryan, Texas. He was out of her bitch Von Mac’s Omega Tu and by Ch. Tolivar’s Aristotle of Azteca. This was a repeat breeding, and the first litter had produced four champions.

Ann was occupied with college, busy attaining her degree in veterinary medicine and didn’t have the time or money to show “Meg” (Boo’s dam), but she was a beautiful champion quality bitch. She showed her a few times and earned eight points and a major. Her legacy was that of a producer, however; there were eight champions out of this mating, and their influence is felt in many current pedigrees. She had many attributes: superb temperament, excellent mother and puppy caretaker, perfect character for a Doberman, and she passed these on. She was a glorious dark chestnut red with dark brown eyes that never missed anything. She died a premature death when she developed peritonitis from eating a foam puppy ear brace.

Ch. Tolivar’s Aristotle of Azteca, “Ari”, Boo’s sire, was the love of my life. He was a 28 inch square dog, absolutely sound, clean and compact, black eyes, perfect small markings and a sharp dog who was a real protector. Teresa, my daughter, finished him when she as only 13 years old, and he was a multi-Group winner. He died at 13 when everything played out.

The morning Ari died, I did not make the sad trip with Edd to bury him. He and I had said our goodbyes the night before and it wasn’t necessary to go. In the quietness of that icy, cold, steely gray morning, I walked instead, with his young son.

“Boo Radley,” I said, “the king is dead; long live the king!” Little did I suspect that this unperturbed frolicking young dog was to sire champions and leave an indelible mark on the breed.

Those of you who know me, know that I am not a good record keeper. I wish I had been, so that I could give you more facts and figures. They would be of interest to some off you, but I never found them too important. I don’t really know for sure how many Breeds, Groups or BIS he won. He wasn’t campaigned heavily and it wouldn’t be terribly impressive except that I suspect the percentage of wins for times shown would have been very high. He was a multi All- Breed BIS winner. He finished his championship with back-to-back majors at the age of two in spite of the fact that he was slow maturing. He was not shown in the breed until several months later when we decided to show him a few times intones of attracting some quality bitches to him. He won the group his first time out as a special.

Boo had come to Edd and me as a gift from Ann Platt, who had also co-owned Ari with me. Let me say right here, had she not pursued the breeding of my bloodlines while I was employed by the American Kennel Club in the early 70’s, dob Mann Dobermans would not have been what they are today. She did it at a tremendous hardship to herself, but name the name of Tolivar Dobermans important in that process. The two lines continue to produce and be compatible in breed type.

Boo was a reject as a puppy. We had been waiting for a male puppy from this repeat breeding; I always want a young male coming up when my stud dog reaches five or six. It is my contention that a breed is tremendously influenced by the stud dogs of each generation. In my opinion the bitches contribute more than their share of the breed characteristics. The stud dog, however, is projected into so many different pedigrees and thus has a far greater ability to influence the breed. He therefore should be a prepotent dog, very strong in the breed characteristics that need improving in his time. A successful breeding program is an act of constant balancing. One must retain the good qualities and eliminate the poor ones. A prepotent stud dog is a must to mesh with the generation’s best bitches.

Boo came to the Bivin house after contracting Parvo and being returned to Ann. His three-and-ahalf month old brother was already in residence. We had never seen Boo, but when Ann brought him by we fancied the bitchy, elegant sick puppy and he remained with us. A decision between the two young males would be made later.

Within days, almost every dog in our house had Parvo. It was weeks before I had time to assess Boo at all. Quite honestly, I loved Hero – he was more like Ari and at that point in my life Ari was perfection. If Ari had a fault, I couldn’t see it. Boo was slightly exaggerated even as a puppy; back a bit too short, neck a bit too long, stifles bent a bit too much. As he grew he balanced out, but I always considered him a big exaggerated where Ari had been totally balanced.

By the time the two puppies were seven months old, we realized a choice must be made. We were getting to the point of “his” and “hers” puppies, and the two needed to be separated to insure their proper development. Boo’s head was superior and I guess that was the deciding factor. Edd’s involvement and guidance in the dob Mann breeding program has been invaluable and was never more important than at this time. He chose – Boo stayed and Hero went to a wonderful home with Mark Cohen in Dallas, Texas. He is there today with a now Mrs. Cohen and young Cohen and a dob Mann bitch named “Daisy.” He was never shown or bred, but is a handsome “Ari type” Dobe. Sometimes I wonder what course dob Mann Dobermans would have taken if our choice had been Hero.

Boo was always a gangly, leggy puppy, always too thin, but even so won puppy classes and a sweepstakes from the 6-9 month class. I’m sorry I wasn’t a picture taker, so I have no puppy pictures. While he is indelibly stamped in my head, it would have been of interest to those of you with his progeny to see him in his puppyhood.

He finished, as I said, rather easily. Due in large part, I’m sure, to Teresa Nail, my daughter, who lovingly took him and with her uncommon expertise, developed him into a beautiful show dog. When our young champion came home we had no intention of specialing him. It soon became apparent, however, that to attract the interest of other breeders as a stud dog, we should put him in the ring on a limited basis. He did extremely well in limited showing and was in the Top Twenty Dobermans for two years.

During that time, 1981, two strategic bitches came to him. The first was Ch. Adinka Maus of Groce’s Folly, WAC, owned by Cynthia Woodward Miyagawa. From this breeding came five champions. The other bitch was a line bred dob Mann bitch sired by Boo’s older brother, Ch. Tolivar’s Country Roads. Her name, Ch. Dinah dob Mann, is in many pedigrees because out of this litter came five champions, one of which was Ch. Arco dob Mann, Grand Prize Futurity winner, Top Twenty winner, and a story in himself.

In 1982, the Simca Kennels of Bob Krol and Lana Sniderman in Canada brought their lovely bitch Ch. Sherluck’s Crimson N Clover. This produced another Grand Prize Futurity winner and several other champions and BIS winners. Simca Kennels has made a name breeding down from this breeding.

Also that year, Boo was bred to Ch. Stardobe’s Irish Fantasy, owned by the Fantasy Island Kennels of Don and Nora Gau in Honolulu Hawaii. Poppins was #1 Working Dog that year, so it was no surprise when this breeding produced all champions and two BIS dogs including the #1 and #2 Top All-Breed dogs in Hawaii this year [1989].

In 1983, Sharon Pflueger’s Ch. Domani’s Royal Serenade II came to Boo and was another dynasty producing litter. Also that year, Ch. Moraga Hills High Fashion, the breed’s all-time top producing dam [at the time] was bred to Boo. This produced five champions and another Grand Prize Futurity winer which was Boo’s third consecutive grand prize winner. I guess I’m singularly more proud of that feat than any other.

There were so many good bitches bred to Boo that you could easily say “he should have been a producer.” He developed a prostate condition and was not bred heavily for a couple of years, but in his last year conceived with Royalmead Kennel’s BIS Ch. Royalmead’s Penny Ante and Jan MacDonald’s Ch. Wynterwynd’s Fox of Tempesta, two more very significant breedings. The Royalmead breeding doubled up on Ari, and was a true stamping of type in that line.

I trust many of these dogs will be seen in this issue so his get can be evaluated. We are proud of them all and would like to express our thanks to everyone who bred a bitch to Boo. He loved every one of them.

There is always a decision in stud dog maintenance as to how much and how long a dog is used. Each stud dog is different, but Boo did pick up an infection somewhere and began to have chronic prostate problems at about five. I always kept the bitches sent in to Boo at our home; we do not maintain a kennel. My vet feels that this may have contributed to Boo’s problem. He was an efficient and excellent breeder, but he didn’t eat or rest well when there was a “bitch in waiting.” Today, bitches in season, including our own, are sent to the kennel. I am convinced this is a better environment for a stud dog because there is no constant stimulation of the hormone and pituitary glands.

Boo’s temperament, unlike Ari who was sharp and a constant moving about dog, was wonderful to live with. Like his dam, Meg, he was a happy, easy-going dog who welcomed anyone that we welcomed into our home. I see this in so many of his progeny.

Boo seemed well and happy in the summer and fall of 1988. Almost overnight he developed an enlargement in the liver and spleen. We scheduled exploratory surgery as quickly as we could even though the Christmas season was at hand, and it confirmed our worst fears. He has a large malignant tumor involving the spleen, liver and one kidney. We did not bring him home. This, coupled with the loss the day before of Edd’s beloved 13-yearold bitch, Scotchy, made for us a sorrowful holiday.

And so again I took the lonely walk instead of the funeral services. This time, Boo’s young son, Ch. Gerent’s Eldo Radley dob Mann walked with me and once again with a heavy heart I said, “The king is dead; long live the king!”

It is this continuation of the chain of life that enables me to start and love again. Perhaps I have never collected frozen sperm because there is a deep-seated feeling that each dog functions in his way in his own time.

“For everything there is a season; a time to be born and a time to die.” To Edd and me, Boo’s season was short but a good one. I have but to look around to see his get who are a testimonial to that. Those of you with Boo children and grandchildren no doubt agree. And, if I may leave you with one thought; so much from so many in his past went into his making. Take these genes and use them wisely – for only in this way can a kingdom judge the greatness of its kings.