1900-1920; WWI
During World War 1, the breed in Germany suffered for lack of available food and was greatly reduced in numbers.
The fact that he is the most loyal companion helped towards his depletion. In both world wars he suffered: in the first through lack of food, and in the second he was used by the resistance for taking messages. When the Nazis realised this, they were shot when seen.
In 1903 a Mrs. Patrick Morrel acquired her first Kees bitch from a Mrs. Potts. Much discussion and disagreement took place around this time as to whether it was a Wolf Spitz or an overweight Pom. In 1911 a Miss Beverley showed what she called a Kees dog at LKA. In 1916 CCs were withdrawn from overweight Poms and the breed was no longer heard of until its appearance as the Dutch Barge Dog in 1925.
"Kees" was exhibited by Miss Beverley in 1899. He had been given to Miss Beverley by friends in Nijmegen, as a special favour, as the Dutch were said to be very jealous of these dogs.The dog caused a stir because he was shown as a "Keeshond" in a class for foreign varieties, i.e. breeds not recognised by the Kennel Club. A member of the Dutch Embassy wrote to the secretary of the LKA saying that the Keeshond is the national dog of Holland. This claim was dismissed by an eminent authority on foreign dogs, Mr. H. C. Brooke, who claimed the dog was "merely a specimen of the common large Wolfspitz" and that if there had been a national dog of Holland it would have been heard of before.
- Taken from Mr G.M. Hicks book, "The Pomeranian"
Meanwhile a tour of Holland by a young English girl had laid the foundation for great and lasting enthusiasm for Kees in Great Britain. As the founder of the breed in England, with a life-long dedication to Keeshonds, a Mrs Wingfield Digby of the famous van Zaandom Kennels, was yachting in Holland with her parents in 1905. Mrs Digby, then Miss Hamilton Fletcher, found the beautiful watchdogs seen on Dutch Barges so appealing that she bought two wolf-grey puppies from a gold-earringed skipper for two guilders each and they were brought up on the yacht. They were named Barkles and Zaandam. Two years later another two puppies were bought, and named Dirk and Edam who became the basis of the Van Zaandam line.
They produced Amalia van Zaandam, who was mated with Terschelling, son of Schie (daughter of Dirk and Edam) and Texel, a Dutch dog with a Samoyed for a father. Amalia and Terschelling produced Saanie and Breda. Later, more from Germany followed for the famous kennel at Sherborne Castle.
Keeshonden today, whether in the US, Australia, Europe or Britain, can be traced back to a very few dogs from Germany and Holland at the turn of the 20th Century. Dogs such as Texel (whose father was a samoyed, and whose mother was called Mina), and Schie, Dirk, Edam and Fips Sauter formed the basis for the modern Keeshond.
Once the First World War was over and Mrs Wingfield Digby, as she now was, was able to devote her time to the breed together with her husband, Major Wingfield Digby, they researched together the history of the breed with the help of books, articles and Dutch friends. They came to realise that they had an ancient breed of dog and began the task of getting it recognized as such by the UK Kennel Club.
Sources:
‘My Life with Keeshonden’ by Gwendolen Wingfield Digby
‘The Keeshond’ by Alice Gateacre
Keeshond Review 1965
