If many people in the USA and elsewhere are confused about Seppalas, Seppala Siberians, and/or Seppala Siberian Sleddogs, I do not blame them. Since last year's "Seppala Siberian Sleddog Symposium" mounted by Doug Willett at Seeley Lake, MT, there has been a ferment of interest accompanied, oddly enough, by a furtive culture of paranoia and secrecy. It's a culture that I find distasteful and inappropriate to this breed. I would not wish in any way to encourage it.
Closed-membership e-mail lists are proliferating in Yahoo Groups. First (July 2001) there was "SeppalaNews" (current membership 125), which in July of last year hit a peak of 376 postings in one month. Then (August 2002) came "seppalasiberian" (current membership 55), which is now peaking at 202 postings so far this month. The other day (July 17 2003) a new one showed up, "ISSSC," with an elite membership of 12 so far. All three are restricted-membership with members-only archives. I wouldn't be surprised if there were more Seppala e-mail list members than there are authentic Seppalas in the USA. What's going on in these closed groups? Ask someone else — the one person they don't want to admit is the guy who pioneered Seppalas five years ago in Canada as an independent breed and who saved them from extinction in the 1970s. Paranoia strikes deep...
Posted by jjeffrey at July 28, 2003 10:41 PMA while back I was on one of those yahoo groups. I was thrilled at first to find it because I thought I would have the opportunity to interact and learn from you Jeff. Didn't take too long before I found out what was going on and I left the group.
Ya know, waaaaay back in 1999 when I first came upon Shiloh Shepherds and Tina was in her link dropping mode, she dropped some links to your genetics articles. I read them with a hunger to absorb as much as I could. After several readings and comparisons with what Tina had herself written, I began to understand both of what you had written and were trying to accomplish with your breeds.
I appreciate your site Jeff, and the work that you have done. It helps me even more to understand my chosen breed - Shiloh Shepherds.
THANKS
Corinne
Shiloh Shepherd Dog Club of America, Inc Board of Advisors Member
ISSR Licensed Breeder - City Brick Kennels