Janet York with Corneel, MBIS/MBISS Ch./DKC/BDA/CAN/SKC/CKCSC,USA/INT CH Corneel V.H. Lamslag CDX AX AXJ NJP CAN CD.
Fri, 01/13/2023 - 10:49pm

In Depth

An interview with Janet York, Piccadil Cavaliers

Nearly 40 years ago, Janet Brewster York was a single mom, albeit an empty nester, with a successful marriage, family and sex-therapy practice in New York City. Her children, who were away at boarding school, said, “Mom, you need a dog.”

“It was the beginning of the end,” says York affectionately.

In response to her children’s suggestion, York researched breeds and chose the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, a throwback to fond memories of her childhood, when she accompanied her father, Edward Cox, bird hunting with his Labrador Retrievers. “Starting around age 7, I would go bird shooting with my father. I would use a 12-gauge shotgun. Our dogs would flush the birds and then retrieve them to hand,” she recalls.

Today York breeds one or two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels litters a year under her Piccadil prefix, whelping them at her Manhattan penthouse.

Mondrian head shot.

 

A consummate owner-handler, York believes that Cavaliers are very loving and become quite attached, and so they excel with their owners. Accordingly, York handled the top-winning Cavalier in breed history, MBIS GCHS/CAN/DKC/CKCSC,USA CH Mondrian V.H. Lamslag CD RE (“Mondrian”), to 15 Bests in Show earned from 2006 to 2010. Her homebred Cavalier, MBISS GCHP/CAN GCH Piccadil’s Dream A Little Dream Of Me CDX BN RE SWNE SHDN CGC TKN (“Catcher”), was the No. 1 all-breed dog in the American Kennel Club’s National Owner-Handled Series in 2017.

York’s first Cavalier, CAN/CKCSC,USA/CDA/BDA/SKC CH Maxholt Special Love Story UDX CAN/BDA OTCH (“Piccadilly”), arrived in 1984 on British Airways in a beautiful, handmade wooden box crate that she still treasures today. The tricolor male from the U.K. was bred by the late Peggy Talbot (Maxholt).

“Piccadilly was the dog of a lifetime,” she says. “He became the most-titled Cavalier in breed history, a record that held for many years.”

A rare breed in the U.S. at the time, the Cavalier did not achieve AKC breed recognition until 1996 via the efforts of its parent club, the American Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club. However, the original breed club and registry founded in 1954, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club, USA (CKCSC, USA), offered many specialty shows and opportunities for championship titles for Cavalier fanciers. 

“I realized shortly after I got Piccadilly that he was very talented,” York says. “Besides being my first show and obedience dog, he was an excellent flushing dog and would even point.”

 

Piccadil head study.

 

True to the toy spaniel breed’s intelligent and biddable nature, Piccadilly, with York at the end of his lead, earned champion titles in the Canadian Kennel Club; CKCSC, USA; Continental Dog Association; Bermuda Kennel Club, and States Kennel Club. His prowess in obedience led to an AKC Utility Dog Excellent (UDX) title and Obedience Trial Champion (OTCH) titles in Canada and Bermuda. In 1990, York took Piccadilly to the World Dog Show in Prague, where he was critiqued favorably.

Not one to approach endeavors halfheartedly, York says her passion for Piccadilly “made me pick up sculpting in 1988 with absolutely no training. I found space to work and some people to work with. I continued to sculpt until just a few years ago when back issues and arthritis in my thumbs took over.”

York’s acclaim as a sculptor led to twice receiving the Evelyn Monte Sculpture Award, in 1988 and 1994, and three times the Ellsworth Howell Art Sculpture Award, in 1991, 1993 and 1996. Her bronze life-size sculpture of Piccadilly, valued at $10,000, caught the eye of Dutch Cavalier breeder Hans Boelaars (V.H. Lamslag) while judging a CKCSC, USA, show in 1994, prompting their pivotal partnership in Cavaliers.

 

Piccadilly and himself.

 

“Who’s Who Among American Women” lists what York describes as “the chapters of my life,” most which came before Piccadilly and her career breeding and showing Cavaliers. A New York native who graduated from Briarcliff College, York first was a kindergarten and first-grade teacher of children with special needs in 1964 and 1965 in Charlottesville, Va.

Switching careers, she trained in nursing at the University of Iowa, where she graduated in 1966 with highest honors. York worked at the Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital from 1966 to 1974 until growing disenchanted with being a charge nurse. “I wanted a profession where I could help people, as I got tired of being put in charge of the floor instead of patient care,” she says.

York enrolled at Marymount Manhattan College, graduating summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1975. The psychology degree was required for admission into New York University’s human sexuality and clinical psychology graduate program, from which she graduated with honors in 1978. She also received a master’s degree in family therapy at the Ackerman Family Therapy Institute in New York City.

During York’s 13-year tenure as a therapist, Piccadilly came into her life. “We were never separated. He always went with me, even to my job,” she says, recounting Piccadilly’s segue to therapy-dog work.

“One boy had been in a terrible fire and was catatonic. Everyone had given up on him. The child would sit on the floor, and Piccadilly would sit with him. After four or five sessions, the boy’s finger and eyes started to move. In six weeks, he had near normal movement and was doing things.”

York’s first Cavalier breedings were sired by Piccadilly. “He never produced himself,” she concedes, adding that there were not a lot of Cavaliers in the country at that time. “I was real picky in choosing breeding partners.”

Careful breeding is a hallmark of the Piccadil program. “Health, temperament and structure are the priorities that I focus on,” York says. “I have never used outside bitches in my breeding program, but I have used outcross males when I needed to diversify my gene pool.

“Breed longevity in the 1980s was seven to 10 years, though Piccadilly lived to be 12 years of age. Today, it is 12 to 14 years, if not longer, thanks to breeders waiting longer to breed dogs combined with the great strides we’ve made in health testing,” she says. “Vigilance in testing for eye conditions, cardiac health related to mitral-valve disease, patellar luxation and hip dysplasia as well as screening for the neurological disease syringomyelia have contributed to increased breed longevity.”

York’s contributions giving back to the dog fancy include serving as a member of the board of directors of the Progressive Dog Club of New York and Meadowlands Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club. She also is on the board of the AKC Museum of the Dog and the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center. She is a member of the Port Chester Obedience Training Club, Doggie U K9 Academy and Suffolk Obedience Training Club.

Perusing 30-plus albums of photos and memorabilia of winning Cavaliers she has campaigned — the equivalent of 43 dogs that earned conformation champion and grand champion titles and 13 dogs with performance titles — York has been asked to choose an exemplary dog she bred and three not of her breeding. Her picks are a favorite retired homebred Piccadil and three dogs bred by Boelaars of Venlo, Limburg, Netherlands. All have a special place in breed history.

 

Favorite Piccadil Homebred Cavalier

 

A linebred tricolor male whose sire and dam York also bred is her choice to represent Piccadil’s finest. MBISS GCHP/CAN GCH Piccadil’s Dream A Little Dream Of Me CDX BN RE SWNE SHDN CGC TKN (“Catcher”) was the No. 1 all-breed dog in the AKC’s National Owner-Handled Series in 2017, when he also was ranked as the No. 3 Cavalier in breed competition and No. 4 in all-breed. Born March 9, 2013, the now 9-year-old is retired from dog shows, except for the occasional Veterans class.

“I chose Catcher because he is a beautiful tricolor. He has excellent movement and is beautiful on the up and down,” York reflects. “He has a handsome head, well-balanced conformation, and wonderful, loving temperament, fearless and outgoing.”

 

Catcher.

 

Sired by the tricolor Ch. Piccadil’s Boogie Woogie Broadway MX MXB MXJ MJG OF out of the Blenheim AM/CAN Ch. Piccadil’s Love Is All There Is CD BN RE, Catcher represents the quality traits of both parents. “Catcher inherited good health from both parents. His mother lived to be 16 years old,” York says. “His drive for performance is from his father.”

Besides being a tremendous show dog, Catcher has excelled in obedience, rally and scent work. “Catcher is my best pal,” York says, noting his success in less than a year of training for scent work. “This bird-nosed Cavalier wins everything.”

Catcher also is helping to continue the Piccadil line as the sire of dogs and bitches that are achieving conformation and performance titles as well as proving their gentle-natured ways as therapy dogs.

 

The Cavaliers of V.H. Lamslag

 

Three tricolor male Cavaliers bred in the Netherlands by Hans Boelaars stand out as excellent breed examples, says York, who holds each one close to her heart because she became their owner-handler.

MBIS/MBISS Ch./DKC/BDA/CAN/SKC/CKCSC,USA/INT CH Corneel V.H. Lamslag CDX AX AXJ NJP CAN CD (“Corneel”), born in 1993, was her first Best in Show winner. He is the maternal great-grandsire of half-brothers Fredrik, born in 2002, the winner of four Bests in Show, and Mondrian, born in 2003, the top-winning Cavalier in breed history with 15 Bests in Show, a record that stands today.

York recalls meeting Boelaars in 1994 when he was judging the CKCSC, USA, show in Williamsburg, Va. “I was showing Piccadilly, my first Cavalier,” she says. “Hans saw me running from obedience to agility to rally and the breed ring with Piccadilly. I have always liked the balance because working with my Cavs as a team is what turns me on.

“Hans was interested in my sculpture of Piccadilly as he saw it in an album I had with pictures of my sculpture work. He knew I loved tricolor males. He said, ‘I think I have a tricolor dog that should be yours. I will go home and write you a letter. I want you to come over and see him.’

“I went there, and he took me outside where there were 15 Cavaliers running around in a pen. He said, ‘See if you can find the right one.’ Corneel came right to me. He was exceptional. I ended up giving Hans the sculpture of Piccadilly in exchange for Corneel.”

Corneel head study.

 

Corneel was not only York’s first Best in Show winner; he also was the first owner-handled Cavalier in breed history to win Best in Show. Altogether he won four Bests in Show. Corneel’s first Best in Show was awarded in 1999 at the Langley Kennel Club in Hampton, Va., under judge Arlene Czech, upsetting a high-ranked Afghan Hound shown by an important handler.

Whelped December 29, 1993, Corneel was sired by Barak Mishmar HA Emek, and his dam was Marianne V.H. Lamslag. Neither parent was a champion at the time but later became champions in the Netherlands.

“Corneel was very special,” York says. “He was a real showman and perhaps the most beautiful tricolor ever. He had well-broken markings on a clear, pearly white coat and the sweetest expression. He was ideal in size, structure and movement. He had a good rear and good front.

“At this time Cavaliers were a rare breed, and I had a dog who rarely lost. He had brown under the eyes, and this is when the push began to change the standard to require black surrounding both eyes.”

Less than a year after arriving in the U.S., York piloted Corneel to three championship titles and was training him in performance sports. “His versatility really showed at an Eastern Dog Club show back when it was held in Boston,” she says. “At 7 a.m., we did agility, and he did great. Then, he rested. We went into the breed ring, and he won under Michele Billings, who could not take her eyes off him. We did novice obedience, and he won his class. Then, we went into group, which also was judged by Michele Billings, and he won.”

As Piccadilly was the impetus for York to become a sculptor, Corneel inspired York to write six charming children’s stories about her Cavaliers from the Netherlands that were published from 1999 to 2009 and are still sold today. Corneel was the star of three books, and his great-grandsons, Fredrik and Mondrian, were each featured in a book. The sixth book was titled “Over the Hill to Piccadillyville.”

“I had taken a creative-writing course during nurse training in Iowa that served me well as I wrote these stories,” York says.

 

Corneel portrait.

 

During the campaigning of these Dutch-imported Cavaliers, York also began developing her self-described “crazy collage ads featuring my dogs and me” to help promote them to the dog fancy. “Some people clipped and saved the ads,” she says. 

Meanwhile, MBIS/MBISS Ch. CAN/DKC/CKCSC,USA CH Fredrik V.H. Lamslag CD RAE2 (“Fredrik”) won four Bests in Show and was the No. 2 Cavalier all-systems in 2005 and 2006. Born July 25, 2002, he was sired by Xtra Arizona Man Of Fairytale Forest out of Michelle V.H. Lamslag, whose grandsire was Corneel. Fredrik, who lived to be 13, is the maternal grandsire of Catcher, the homebred Piccadil Cavalier whom York chose for this story.

“I just adored Fredrik,” says York. “I loved his temperament. His head was breathtakingly beautiful, and his markings were perfectly correct. He did not have the perfect topline or perfect tail, but he put himself together and you were impressed. Although his topline was always correct when he was standing, on the move it could be off a little. He carried his tail a little higher than what we like in a Cavalier, which is straight off the back or slightly up.”

 

Fredrik portrait. 

 

York recalls a memorable Best in Show won by Fredrik in 2006 at the Lakes Region Kennel Club in Meredith, N.H. “It was pouring rain when we went into the Best in Show ring under judge Roger Hartinger,” she says. “Pointing to Fredrik, he said, ‘Only one dog went around the ring not scared of anything. He is my pick.’”

Fredrik’s half-brother MBIS/MIBSS GCHS/CAN/DKC/CKCSC,USA CH Mondrian V.H. Lamslag CD RE (“Mondrian”) was named for the famous 20th-Century Dutch painter Piet Mondrian. “Mondrian was truly an incredible dog,” York says of the male who holds the breed record to this day as the winningest Cavalier in history. His 15 Bests in Show were won from 2006 to 2010, and in 2009 and 2010, he was the No. 1 Cav all-systems.

Born Sept. 22, 2003, Mondrian was sired by Pascavale Designed, and his dam was Michelle V.H. Lamslag, who was also Fredrik’s dam. A star at specialty shows as well as all-breed shows, Mondrian won Best of Breed at the 2010 American Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club National Specialty under judge Sandra Goose Allen.

“The minute I saw Mondrian’s movement, it was a thing of beauty,” York says. “He would float around the ring. His movement was his strongest point. When you saw his down and back, he was flawless. He also had a level topline, and his front and rear were parallel. He had an enormous, beautiful tricolor coat. When people looked at him, they knew he was special.”

Reflecting on the changes that have occurred through the years, York notes that today the Cavalier is no longer a rare breed. In 2021, the Cavalier ranked as the 15th most popular breed in the country based on AKC registrations. “More and more people are discovering that the Cavalier is a very special breed as the years go by,” she says.

Whereas York used to go to dog shows every weekend, she now alternates with rally, obedience and scent-work competitions. A mainstay activity with her Cavaliers are therapy visits to hospitals, nursing homes and reading programs at public schools.

“This love and passion I have for my dogs got me into sculpting, writing books for children and doing fun dog ads,” York says. “Breeding and showing are such an important part of my life, especially now that I am retired. My Cavaliers are my life.”

 

 

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