Teun van den Dool has done more for those of us in the sheep dog world who breed than any one person. He developed the searchable relational pedigree database of ISDS dogs that we rely upon to generate pedigrees of existing dogs and prospective litters.

Teun has been my “go-to guy” for breeding assessments for years.

I was shocked and saddened to get this note today when making a routine request to Teun.

Some people leave the world better than they found it. Teun is one of those.

I know that Teun was at one time a practicing physicist in the Netherlands, who developed an interest in the dog world and breeding, and who then put his interest and skills as a statistician to work developing a database using the ISDS stud books and other records, a database that all of us in the sheep dog world rely upon for our pedigree information. The pedigree reports you see on dogs and litters are all the products of Teun’s work. He charged very little for pedigrees and data which is invaluable to us and not available in the same way elsewhere. He did this because he was committed to supporting the sheep dog world.

It is perhaps trite to say, but ‘Teun is a fixture in the international sheep dog world’. I don’t like to think of how it will be not to have his cheerful, prompt and knowledgeable responses at the other end of the internet exchange with his trademark signature, “enjoy reading”. His database is priceless.

I hope Teun’s work will be picked up by someone else. It needs to be. His database is the product of many, many years of Teun’s work and dedication to the sheep dog community. Teun’s life has counted for tens of thousands of us in the sheep dog world and beyond.

I am going to miss Teun personally and he has my enduring gratitude for making the sheep dog world better, every day, every dog.

THANK YOU TEUN !!