Schultzs Law - Law Enforced in the honor of the police German Shepherd Dog Schult

Death of Gloucester police GSD, Schultz - the iconic crime fighter, leads to call for mandatory severe penal action

After the incidence of killing an on-duty Gloucester Township police German Shepherd Dog, named Schultz by the robbery suspect, Sen. Fred Madden and Assembly man Paul Moriarty (both D-Camden and Gloucester) have introduced legislation to punish such acts with a mandatory five-year jail term. Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West part of England.

Schultz was a 3.5-year-old German shepherd Dog owned by Gloucester's police force was part of a 100-officer manhunt for a robbery suspect on the night of Nov. 3, 2010. Schultz followed their odor to bushes near Route 42 and pounced on one of the criminals named Robinson, said the Gloucester County Police Chief Harry Earle. After the suspect had been tracked, Schultz latched onto the arm of the man, who deliberately and recklessly swung Schultz amidst the traffic on Route 42 in order to escape his grip, reported the police officers. According to the report Schultz was run over by a speeding car and expired within a while along the roadside.

On Tuesday, December 7, 2010 Madden said, "Schultz gave his life doing exactly what he was trained to do - hunt down criminals and help his human handlers arrest them so they could be brought to justice." He further said, "Schultz died a hero. Targeting and killing a police dog should be viewed no less harshly than directly assaulting a police officer." At a grim news conference on Wednesday, the Gloucester County Police Chief Harry Earle said, "Officer Schultz gave his life for Cpl. Pickard and all the other officers." According to Moriarty, "dogs that assist law enforcement are valuable allies in the fight against crime. This dog was doing nothing more than his job serving and protecting the public. They deserve legitimate protection against abuse, and those who abuse them need to face severe punishment."

Gloucester Township patrolman Mark Pickard and his dog Schultz attend a 

K-9 Heroes Day program at Veterans Park in Gloucester Township, N.J., on June 5, 2010.

The bill (S-2541/A-3602) was passed under which the law called "Schultz's Law" was enforced in honor of the hero GSD named Schultz. According to the "Schultz's Law", the people found guilty of purposeful killing a police dog or a dog (irrespective of breed and type) engaged in a search and rescue operation would be sentenced to a mandatory minimum three to five years of imprisonment, with no eligibility for parole, and a fine of $15,000. According to the "Schultz's Law", Killing a police dog or search and rescue dog (regardless of breed) is currently considered as a third-degree crime, which results to the severe penal action mentioned above.

The lawmakers mentioned that Schultz - the iconic police GSD was highly renowned throughout Gloucester. Schultz - the iconic police German Shepherd used to lice with his handler, Cpl. Mark Pickard, and his family.

It was a time of mourning for police in Gloucester Township. The flag in front of the municipal building was at half-staff on Wednesday for the entire day. Pickard was put on administrative leave to grieve. Earle said that Pickard and his family would not be available for comment. He further said that donations were rolling in to honor the K-9 crime fighter, Schultz. He said they'd be used to pay for a memorial and perhaps a new police dog. Schultz's service was held at 2 p.m. at Gloucester Township Community Park, which included the unveiling of a K-9 memorial sign, as well as a bagpipe performance, a rifle salute and honor guards. A procession of all Gloucester Township police vehicles had escort Schultz's cremated remains to the Hickstown Road park. Schultz's cortege had departed at 1:40 p.m. from the Chews Landing Veterinary Hospital, 1179 Chews Landing Road.

Moriarty said, "Schultz was more than a dog to his community. He was a friend, protector and an asset to all law-abiding citizens. This law will ensure he and his fellow K-9 officers have strong protections against those who shirk society's rules." Sen. Fred Madden said, "Hopefully, passage of this law would be a lasting memorial to his service," Madden said.

Let Schulz's soul sleep in peace - Aringsburg

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HD Manipulation by Feetback Kennel Has Stirred up a Storm

Inheritance of Canine Hip Dysplasia in GSD

A recent news about HD manipulation by Feetback Kennel has stirred up a storm on the Internet. The news reported by GSD World News stated, “Due to several inquiries, news and some comments, a little explanation on the subject of such claims against the Kennel Feetback. The owner of said specimen, said in response of the dog Lampio di Serbio Feetback claiming that it has fallen victim to the fraudulent tactic of HD manipulation.” He further went on to explain that he bought the dog at the age of 12 months. At the time, HD / ED and DNA (in Germany) were already registered with the SV and elbows were rated as "normal" and the hips as "almost normal". There followed a lot of work and success, because in the end he completed the prestigious IPO 3 licensing on lifetime. But after receiving the letter from the SV, he submitted the x-ray to the centre to satiate their assumption that the dog may be a victim of HD manipulation.”

The owner claimed, that the health of his dog is personally (even if not in the interests of the blamed breeder) very important for him. The news that arrived a few weeks later, clearly stating – HD Manipulation, shocked him. The disappointed owner wrote on GSD World News’ social media page as – "Sg 2" Onar Feetback has been manipulated”. He highlights this as a socio-economic problem that “is gear and fabric in the Serbian breeding of Dejan Simovic, Goran Pesic and Miodrag Stojancevic!”

Unscrupulous activities like this is a serious threat to the breed!

Understanding the inheritance rate of CHD:

Dysplasia is a complex polygenic disorder that is not congenital in nature. The phenotypic expression of CHD is also linked with environmental factors. Even dogs with normal phenotypes maybe carriers as it is a complex polygenic disorder and control of passing on of said genes would increase the selection pressure on the breeders. It is sad to note, that due to unethical practices when considering breeding partners (where genomic breeding values should be prioritized). This is the only control system to take this trait off the breeding line has often been ignored or manipulated as the case reported above. Selection pressure on the breeders may be burdensome but is for the good of the species when they consider genomic breeding values over aesthetic counterparts.

The best possible solution of controlling the inheritance of this potentially debilitating condition is through selection of dogs with better individual phenotypes when breeding. In a polygenic disease, different genes contribute small yet substantial additive effects that manifests into the disease. But in case of CHD, environmental as well as other factors such as age, sex, body weight of specimen and the conditioning during the first 60 days of a pup’s life is said to influence the hip joint formation and expression of the disease. Molecular studies to understand the manifestation and genetic basis of CHD has been going on for several years now. But hasn’t returned any substantial progress due to low interest from concerned communities.

However, the published inheritance rate of CHD traits is variable and reportedly range between 0.1 to 0.60. The differences of inheritance rate estimations depend on the trait considered, calculation methods used, selection, and the population and sample used for estimation. For example, the heritability is seen to be as high as 0.83 in case of passive hip laxity in the Estrela Mountain breed of dogs from Portugal. Thus, it safe to conclude that the genetic improvements after stringent selection of traits of those with higher inheritance rates, will accumulate over time. And if such malpractices are continued for personal gains of breeders, then the selection pressures for breeders will be bigger per generation and be corrosive to the health and welfare of the species we love.

As lovers of dogs we must promote the idea of selection and breeding of specimens with low hip scores to control and reduce the incidence of hip dysplasia.





Author bio:


Pritha Biswas is an independent researcher and published science and research non-fiction writer and editor, with a background in Zoological sciences presently working on understanding the behavior and breeding nuances of German Shepherd dogs with an outsider outlook. Copying and re-publishing this article is subject to a written permission sought from Pritha Biswas and Aringsburg via email aringsburg(at)gmail.com

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Health Certificate is Mandatory For Participation in The WUSV World Championship And Universal Championship

According to the WUSV Board of Directors the certificate of health of the dog is to be essentially presented for the participation the WUSV World Championship and Universal Championship. The health certification of the participants will be issued by a certified veterinary doctor as appointed by the WUSV member organizations in either English or German. The certificate will be valid if and only if it is duly signed and authorized by the veterinary doctor and by a representative of the national club who will hold the official permission to authorize it.


The “table jump exercise” during the veterinary examination at the beginning of the show will remain in effect.

If the veterinarian in charge or the head judge, on their assessment, find a dog unfit to carry on with the exams involved in the event for any health related reasons, then they are fully authorized to bar off or disqualify the particular dog from being shown.

From 2019 onward the HD/ED stamp will become another mandatory requirement for the participation of WUSV World Championship. Therefore, as always, it is suggested getting the HD/ED stamp done for WUSV World Championship. Any dog diagnosed with HD or ED will be instantly disallowed to be admitted to the WUSV Championship.

Please click here for the form to be used for the purpose of veterinary examination for WUSV World Championship and Universal Championship 

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Protection Dogs of Prince Williams Were Killed

Brus (Belgium Shepherd - aged seven and a half years) and Blade (German Shepherd) the two beautiful RAF guard dogs were killed after Prince William's tasks ended  in North Wales

Prince William completed his tasks as a search and rescue pilot in North Wales, and finally shifted
Friday, September 20, 2013. After his shift the two guard dog that had been appointed for the prince's protection were killed for sarcastic reasons - "too old to be deployed again" and "unsuitable to be rehomed". 

Protection Dogs Brus and Blade of Prince Williams Were Killed

Two Dogs That Guarded Prince William on RAF Duty Were Killed After His Shift

Because They Could Not be Redeployed or Re-homed


Prince William quit from his role as a search and rescue pilot in North Wales
Few days after his last shift On Friday, September 20, 2013 his two guard dogs were put down
Reason for killing was mentioned as: "too old to be deployed again" and "unsuitable to be rehomed."

Two guard dogs - Belgian Malinois (Brus) and German shepherd (Blade) that had been assigned for the protection Prince William on RAF duty were put down a few days after he had quit from his role as a Search and Rescue pilot in North Wales. When asked, the reason for destroying the dogs had been quoted: "too old to be deployed again" and "unsuitable to be rehomed." However, Officials said that there wasn't any link between Prince William quitting and the dogs being killed.

Although, within just a few days of Prince's last shift, his two guard dogs had been killed on Friday night (September 20, 2013), his spokesman declined to comment on this. According to the Ministry of Defence, Belgian shepherd Brus had 'come to the end of his work life’ while for the GSD Blade there was no duties that could be reassigned to him, according to ‘a record of veterinary and behavioral issues’. The poor creatures were put down after the air force bosses decided that the dogs could not be redeployed or placed with a family.

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Obi - The POlice German Shepherd Injured in UK Riot

The three-year-old German shepherd Dog Obi was on his duty with his handler Constable Phil Wells on the front line in Tottenham. Obi and his handler experienced a real life threatening phase amidst the mob where people were throwing bricks and bottles aimlessly. One of such items struck Obi in his head, badly cracking his skull right above the left eye. PC Wells said, "I have never experienced stuff coming at us from all sides like that before."

PC Phil Wells said, "Obi is trained in public order, and that may be dispersing a crowd or pushing them back. We were on a stationary point when we came under heavy bombardment. There were lots of missiles coming at us, bottles, bricks, petrol bombs, street furniture, too many to count and one hit Obi on the top of the head. Initially he was a bit shocked but I gave him a checkover and tried to avoid any further injuries and after the initial shock he seemed fine so we carried on for another couple of hours. Afterwards he was assessed and and was showing signs he needed veterinary help. He was lethargic and was bleeding from the left nostril which could be a sign of head trauma so he was taken to the vets and assessed and the vet was not happy about the impact he had had so he was transferred to the Royal Veterinary School in Cambridge for a CT scan."

Obi may take several months to recover completely and become fit to be on the duty again.

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Opportunity opens for German Shepherd Dog Clubs and Organizations

About German Shepherd Dog reveals an opportunity for all German Shepherd Dog Non-Profit Organizations and Clubs to have a FREE listing of their organizations. About German Shepherd Dog team aims at eventually enlist all the Non-Profit organizations and clubs related to the German Shepherd Dog breed in the website. All they need to know are the perfect address contact details and name of the concerned persons related to a specific club or org. They expect the clubs and the organizations to provide the About German Shepherd Dog team to provide all necessary information in regard to any alteration in their concerned person and/or contact details.

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GSD News: GSD Breed Standard Amendment

Good News German Shepherd Dog Lovers!

Good news is that the breed standard for German Shepherd Dog breed has been amended in terms of their coat types. Yes, GSD owners who are enthisiasts of the long coat variety of German Shepherds will be happy now to learn that the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) has approved adopting the long coat type as a distinctictive breed variety with effect from January 1, 2011. In the resolution of 2008 -2009 Federal Assembly, the SV had filed a motion with the FCI for adopting the coat type “Long Straight Topcoat with Undercoat” as a distinctive variety in the GSD breed. I feel really glad to inform you that the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) has approved the motion filed by the SV with effect from January 1, 2011.

What does this mean?

By approving this motion of the SV, the FCI allows the specific variety of German Shepherd Dog breed with “Long Straight Topcoat with Undercoat” hair type:

1) To participate in the breed surveys
2) To participate in the breed specialty shows across the globe.
3) To get entitled in the breeding program officially, subject to certain principles to be maintained.

Check out in details information on the approval of “Long Straight Topcoat with Undercoat” hair type by FCI. Click on GSD breed Standard Amendement.

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