Hisar - The Kennel Name.

Photo with kind permission of Quinn & Marilyn Harned

I was just asked recently to write a brief history of the Hisar kennel name - straightforward and brief? No chance!!

The kennel name of Hisar was chosen by the late Natalka Czartoryska and granted by The U.K Kennel Club in July 1976. Hisar is a Turkish word, and translates to 'Fortress' or 'Castle' in English.

At this time, Natalka was in partnership with Dr Nick Flemming, owner of the Havuz kennel name. Havuz is Turkish for 'Lake' or 'Pond'.

Nick and Natalka had spent much time traveling all over the world, in particular Rhodes, Crete, Cypress and Turkey on archaeological field trips. They traveled Turkey extensively between 1969 and 1974, and in 1971, they imported a working Anatolian Shepherd Dog, Mektup. Nick recalled to me some time ago how thorough Natalka was with her selection process, and how much time she spent with the shepherds and their dogs, selecting only their best working Anatolian Shepherd Dogs. She very much valued everything she learned from the shepherds on her trips to Turkey, especially between the mid 70's and late 90's, where she visited 11 times!

On 12th July 1975 their first litter was born. Whelped from Turkish Import Mektup Of Obruk and sired by Anadol Yali of Hisar.

In 1976, Natalka applied to the Kennel Club for the kennel name of Hisar for registering her Anatolian litters, but at this time, Nick's kennel name of Havuz was used.

In 1977, Nick and Natalka invested in taking Mektup back to Turkey to find a working Anatolian Shepherd Dog to mate her back to, and on 13th February 1977, Mektup was mated to Akkus of Oltan. In April of that year, the puppies were born in quarantine.

There were 4 Havuz litters in total between 1975 and 1977. In 1979, following the separation of Nick and Natalka, the first Hisar litter was born.

Natalka imported a total of 13 dogs from Turkey:

Beyaz of Meander (Piggy) in 1968, a white male.
Mektup of Obruk from Hisar (Mekki) in 1971, a pinto female.
Aslan of Divanlar (Aslan) in 1975, a fawn male with reverse mask.
Almila of Bozuyuk (Almila), in 1980, a fawn female.
Gulperi of Dagistan (Gul) in 1980, a white female who whelped a litter of 9 in quarantine.
Melemez Yigit of Yazurdu (Melli) in 1980, a fawn female who whelped a litter of 3 in quarantine.
Tarkan of Kanber (Tarki) in 1980, a red fawn rough coated male.
Zahir of Hasan Patrik (Zahir) in 1980, a fawn male.
Boncuk of Sarioren (Bonny) in 1987, a fawn female.
Kara of Sarioren (Kat) in 1987, black/fawn female, daughter of above.
Palah of Asagli (Palah) in 1987, a fawn male.
Altay of Akarca Koyu (Altay) in 1988, a pinto bitch.
Yazdik of Uluk Kaya (Big Red) in 1988, a red fawn male.

These are the very lines she based her Hisar kennels on, with Mektup being her foundation, closely followed by her other wonderful imports. These are the very lines that continue today in all of our dogs, including some of the Karabash/Kangal lines which are so highly prized. Natalka invested so much in her dogs, and her imports which were all hip x-rayed, some even before leaving Turkey! Natalka was probably the strongest promoter of health-checking and hip-scoring her dogs, and only breeding from the best possible examples.

In total, there are 214 dogs registered under the Hisar kennel name. Those traveled far and wide, and those dogs have in turn been the foundation for so many kennels around the world.

I had met Natalka in 1980 when I was a small child. From then on, she was a constant, and important part of my life - sharing the ups and downs, the successes and the failures, the joy and the sadness both within the Anatolian world and outside of it. Sadly, on September 15th 1998, Natalka passed away. Just before her death, she had started to sign her dogs over to me and in March 1999, I inherited the Hisar kennel name and the legacy which goes with it from Natalka - her final wish.

Read the full Mektup story at http://www.kehlibar.netfirms.com/mektup_of_obruk.htm

This information was compiled using archive records, and information from Dr.Nick Flemming. Dates and figures verified with the Kennel Club.

No part of this article, or accompanying photo may be reproduced fully, or in part without written permission from the author. July 2006.