This page is dedicated to all the special PONs who have died and the people who loved them as well as special PON owners who are no longer with us. If you have lost your PON baby, please send a photo of them to karen@pon-paradise.com or by regular mail to Pon Paradise, 7654 S Allison Street, Littleton, CO 80128 and a description of what made them so special to you and we will post them here.

Checkerz was the first PON to enter our hearts and our lives would never be the same from then on. We bought Checkerz, sight-unseen, just before the holidays in 1994. The breed was very rare in this country then, with few breeders spread across mostly the eastern half of the country. She arrived in Denver by plane, and though she was very scared from the flight and didn't want to come out of the crate she arrived in; she gradually warmed up to our six year old daughter first and then slowly to my husband and myself. We bought Checkerz as a family pet and had her spayed when she was a year old. She became very devoted to our family. I will never forget how she used to raise her butt in the air and bark at me continuously until I would chase her around the yard. That was her special game with me that none of the other PONs participated in, even as she grew old. (Checkerz never liked chasing after the tennis ball like the rest of our PONs). She also loved to play hide-n-seek when our daughter was young. Hillary would hide somewhere in our two-story house, and we would cover Checkerz eyes. Then when Hillary yelled "ready", Checkerz would dart around the house until she found Hillary. Checkerz adored Hillary and Hillary adored her. Food was also a big favorite of Checkerz. I never met a PON who loved their food more than her. One time my father, who was watching the house for us while we were on vacation, left the gate to the garden open. We came home that day to find all the tomatoes in the garden gone - green ones and all! Checkerz had ate every last one. Thankfully, she didn't get sick at all. Another time she ate two dozen chocolate chip cookies I had left on the counter to cool, sure she couldn't reach them. Again, she didn't get the least bit sick. From then on food was never left anywhere there was the slightest possibility of Checkerz reaching it. Checkerz was always so sad when we left her at home for any reason by herself. Thinking she needed a "buddy" to keep her company, we decided to get another PON and purchased "Casper" in October of 1996. Though Checkerz always enjoyed dogs who were much smaller than herself (she tried to roll on them!), as Casper grew bigger, Checkerz interest in her faded. But our interest in PONs had just begun. From there we got into showing and eventually breeding. When Checkerz passed on, we had eight PONs. Checkerz began the legacy of Nadzieja PONs that will be continued in her memory for years to come. We thank Pam and Vic Siehr for letting her join our family. We can't imagine how our lives would have been had we never met our wonderful Checkerz. (Checkerz was diagnosed with advanced cancer in May of 2007 and we had her put to sleep the day of the diagnosis so as to be sure she would not suffer.) - Karen Willson

Czarina z Polishill - bred by Pam and Vic Siehr "Checkerz" July 19, 1994 - May 7, 2007

Beau was my first born PON puppy and my first show dog. Beau was born in Brooklyn, NY, the very first puppy whelped by his mom, Cassie (who is now 16). When he was 6 months old, we moved to Seattle. We drove our minivan across the country, packed to the roof but with 3 dog "nests" for our dogs. Beau traveled in the one just behind the driver's seat, getting a bird's eye view of the road. I soon decided to show Beau but we both needed some good training. He and I learned the ropes of conformation handling with a wonderful trainer in Seattle. I stumbled through the training, learning how to turn less clumsily and stack more quickly. Beau, on the other hand, glided gracefully around the ring and was able to grasp new commands immediately, as long as he got a treat. It seemed like he was tolerating me while I struggled to become a proficient handler. Beau loved to be shown and was a natural in the ring. He attained championships in the American Rare Breed Association and the International All Breed Kennel Club quickly. The first year PONs were accepted into AKC in the Miscellaneous Class, I decided to try him in agility since it would be another year before PONs could attain AKC titles in conformation. Again, we went through the training and he racked up a perfect score in his first AKC agility trial, sailing over the jumps with a couple of feet to spare. Beau enjoyed the agility training but soon decided that agility trials were boring. He rebelled by sprinting into the ring and immediately lifting his leg on a tunnel or the weave poles. In AKC agility trials, this is grounds for disqualification. After a couple of these embarrassments, I retired him. At age 4, Beau started having a lot of "accidents" in the house. After many tests and several different medications, my vet advised me to take him to Washington State University School of Veterinary Medicine for treatment. It is a 5-hour drive from Seattle and I took him there twice. After many tests and thousands of dollars, they told me he was experiencing kidney failure and there was nothing they could do for him. I then took him to a holistic vet in Seattle, who did some chiropractic work on his back and a bit of acupuncture. She said his back was out of line and the spine was pressing on the kidneys. The chiropractic manipulation relieved the pressure and within a few months, he was back to normal. He lived another 6-1/2 years until kidney failure finally took its toll. - Julie Cochran Kennedy

In Memoriam ARBA, IABKC Ch. Ladaslaus Le Beau Apr. 30, 1995 ­ Oct.26, 2005

On August 22, 2004 Cheri O'Neal left the PON world. Cheri bred PON's under the Tzarina affix and worked tirelessly for the good of the breed. She served as APONC President from 2002 until her death. Many PON people remember her for her devotion to PON rescue, placing many PONs with loving families when the situation did not allow for them to remain in their first home - often using her own money to do so! She was also the inspiration and editor behind the publication PON Times which is enjoyed by so many people here in the US.   WE WILL MISS YOU CHERI

Cheri is pictured with her first Champion: AKC CH. Las Americas & Caribbean '98, P.R.,  ARBA, IABCA Int. (UCI) Ch. White Star's Tzarina Alexea "Lexie"

On September 30 , 2004. ARBA and SKC Champion Shaggi Pons Duzy Bozolski (Bozo) crossed over to the Rainbow Bridge after a long illness. Bozo is well known as the first "famous" black PON in the USA. Bozo was owned and bred by Loana Shields. He was born on January 23, 1992. Bozo's sire was the US foundation male, Pan Vladek and his dam was Elzbieta's Czekolada Shagpon.

Mrs. Lucienne Jasica was well-known and highly respected throughout the world as both an FCI judge of PONs and one of the longest breeders of the PON in western Europe under the affix "van het Goralenhof" which was established in 1972 in Belgium.. Lucienne judged in many of the most important PON shows, i.e., the World Show, Polish Pon Club Show, French Pon Club Show, etc. and was asked to judge the European Show but could not attend due to poor health. She wrote "How to Judge the PON in the New Millenium" which has been and will be used by many to interpret the Polish Lowland Sheepdog Breed Standard. To date there are approximately 25 van het Goralenhof Champions from Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the USA. We had the pleasure of meeting Lucienne in 2002 when she brought our Belka van het Goralenhof over to us with her daughter, Katja. Belka ("Timber") became the van het Goralenhof kennel's first AKC CH. Luckily, the kennel name will be continued under the guidance of Katja. This influential lady will be so greatly missed and always remembered as one of the true "pioneers" of the breed!

Lucienne Jasica

HEAVEN'S DOGGY-DOOR