| My beagle dog Daragoj Matter of Time left on
loan for the United States in December 2002 when
Mrs. Lesley Hiltz came to Finland to pick him up.
Details of the loan were agreed in writing before
her arrival. My condition for the loan was that
the dog would be returned to me by the Hiltzes
after the Beagle Club National Speciality in 2003.
I never relinquished my ownership of the dog,
although it was agreed that the dog would be
nominally in co-ownership with the Hiltzes while
he was in the United States (as it seems to be
important for some people to have their own names
on a dog even if it is not bred or owned by them!).
Despite repeated requests in writing asking the
Hiltzes to return my dog as agreed, they have
refused. Instead, they and some of their friends
have embarked on a malicious whispering campaign
against me - and it seems to me that people who I
have had very little to do with over the years
seem to know my affairs better than I do myself!
it is also astonishing how many people believe
these stories without checking the facts. The
purpose of the campaign seems to be to divert
attention from the fact that the Hiltzes still
have my dog in their possession. This, in my mind,
constitutes theft.
In view of the above, I would appreciate it if
anyone who owns dogs bred by me would refuse to
sell their offspring to these people or to allow
the use of these dogs in breeding by them.
Update as of April 2005: You
may have noticed that the presentation of Daragoj
Matter of Time has disappeared from the
Starbucks-Torbay website. This does not mean that
the dog has been returned to me. In fact, I don't
know whether the Hiltzes still have him or whether
he has been sold to someone else. However, I hear
reports of his offspring going to various overseas
destinations so apparently he is considered a
useful stud dog. |
