Akile Simon
Published: 6 Oct 2009
Vithala Singh, left, his K-9 partner,
Xito and Christopher Seeyave.
The German Shepherd Breed Club of T&T (TGSBCTT) is hoping to create history at the upcoming 22nd WUSV World Schutzhund Championships 2009, at Krefeld, Germany. The event kicks off on Thursday and ends on Sunday, and, for the first time, this country has sent a delegate to participate in the K-9 competition. Twenty-nine year-old Vithala Singh of El Dorado with his K9 partner, Xito Vom Conneforde, will represent this country for a chance to be the number one K9 athlete team in the world. They will compete in three phases of Schutzhund, which are, tracking, obedience and protection. They will come up against some of the best dogs and trainers in the world, from 41 other countries carded to be part of the prestigious dog event.
Singh, an avid dog enthusiast is also a martial arts teacher. In 2003 he was a founding member of The German Shepherd Breed Club of T&T. The German Shepherd Breed Club of T&T is a member club of the World Union of German Shepherd Clubs (WUSV) with headquarters in Germany. In giving some history about the sport, Singh said the dog world in this country for decades, was dominated with English imports, due to quarantine restrictions, primarily from show bloodlines. These bloodlines make up the vast majority of the German Shepherd breed which is overseen by the local T&T Kennel Club.
Singh and his associates have imported West German, East German and Czech and Slovak Bloodline dogs, and created their own trend of dog on the island. “We were getting dogs from an entirely new gene pool and although we had to endure the wait for our dogs in quarantine both locally and in the UK. In the end, it was worth it,” he said. At the competition, Singh is relying on his long time friend and coach, Ivan Balabanov, to put the finishing touches on his routine. Also in Germany to lend support is his advisor and mentor Ajay Singh of Southern California and Christopher Seeyave, Information Officer of T&T Royal Canin distributor.
