Klaus (auf Deutsch) was born an unnamed Akita pup on October 11, 1997 in Sandy, Oregon.
I met his breeder at a Regional Running meet at Blue Lake Park near Portland (auf Deutsch).

The story behind his name comes from a family tragedy some two years before his birth. I lost my brother
Ken (auf Deutsch) in a mountain climbing accident on beautiful Mt. Hood (auf Deutsch) in Oregon
(auf Deutsch) late September of 1995. During the search for Ken rescue dogs were called in for assistance.
One of the German Shepherd (auf Deutsch) search dogs was named 'Klaus'. To honor the memory of my
brother I decided to name the first dog I had as a pet, 'Klaus'. That's why my Japanese Akita had the
strong male German name of Klaus.

You can visit Search 1 K-9's site here.

The Akita (auf Deutsch) is a canine breed designated as a national monument in Japan (auf Deutsch).
They were bred for hunting in northern Japan and known for a wonderful combination of dignity with
good nature, alert courage and docility. They thrive on human companionship! Akitas are known to
be very quiet dogs, only barking "when there is something to bark about". I like that!

Click on Klaus' Pup Photo to Visit His Album

Klaus was with me to visit my brother's last known campsite on the side of Mt. Hood several times when I
was still in the USA and was a great companion! Looking at his puppy picture you may understand why I
immediately fell in love with him. He was my favorite 'unwilling' wrestling partner in his prime and was
always happy to see me return home after being away(even for 5 minutes).

I've added this favorite photo from 1999 with Klaus at my brother Ken's campsite on Mt Hood to
commemorate September 25, 1995... We still miss you Ken!

Klaus lived with me in Bad Krozingen (auf Deutsch) when I first moved to Germany and enjoyed all the walks
and people we met as we walked through town!

In October 2008 I moved down to Kandern, Germany to where our new offices are. It was good for Klaus to
live in a ground floor apartment as his hips continued to deterioriate. He had to be put down on August 5, 2009
while I was gone to Liberec, Czech Republic. I now miss my hairy little boy, but have many fond memories of
my many adventures with him.

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