It all began with Billisa van Zaandam, known as Truda, born 17th May 1957 by  Int. Ch. Billo van Zaandam ex Thordisa van Zaandam.  In the two photos on the right she is 10 weeks, in the two below she is 11 months and 14 months.

In due course she had a litter of puppies to Vermeer Brellhector.  Eleven puppies were born, but despite the best efforts of our vet, who was an almost daily visitor, they died, one by one, until three weeks later when Truda herself was found dead early one morning.  There were two remaining puppies, one of which had already started to weaken, and it died very soon, but we were left with one to hand-rear, and she thrived to become Truda in her turn (left, at 6 weeks and 9 weeks.)

Truda II was soon joined by Tessa ( Theresa van Zaandam, born 17th March 1959, by Theron van Zaandam ex Janikin of Einich) right.

Tessa was not very successful in the show ring, being very slow maturing, a little light in the body for a number of years, and she took a long time to get a full coat, which, when it came, was a glorious thick and fitted one.  She was, however, a wonderful mother, producing very high quality puppies which went on to become key members of the van Zaandam clan (below left, Tessa at 1 year, below right, Truda at 9 months)

No cause for the deaths was ever known as samples sent to a well-known vet school went missing on arrival.

Below, my sister and myself at a local show in 1961 with two of Tessa's first litter, Al Borak and Artemis.

The judge at our local shows was always Katherine Raine, well-known in the dachshund world for over 40 years.

Truda had two litters, and from the first litter came Daphnis (Daffy, below, 1964 - 1980) whose sire was Commandant of Duroya.  She was shown until 1970 and she was a particular favourite of Bill Siggers. 

In 1980 Audrey Woodiwiss kindly gave me her Ch. Krazikaze Kracker of Duroya (Bess) on breeding terms, during which time she had two litters.  Below left, Bess on the right with her daughter Duroya Kalia of Heemstede on the left, and below right, looking after the children.

After Bess's death I took in a rescue boy, Pilgrim.  (below left, Trimingham Tiptoes, 1979 - 1992, by Duroya Joker / Hanovarian Wild Rose).  He was a tremendous character.  On one occasion, when he was 13 years old he fell down a fissure in the ground caused by cliff erosion at Crackington Haven on the North Cornwall coast and he had to be rescued by the coastguards.

By the time Pilgrim died I had a long day away from home and it was no longer possible to keep a dog.  So I waited more-or-less patiently until retirement, when Sally and Laura Newman let me have Bettekee II (Leazehond Pacific Blue at Heemstede,  left.) 

Bettekee only goes to shows to please me, but she loves her agility (right) even if she doesn't always do exactly what is asked!

Some of our pups have gone to interesting homes - one was sold into the home of Princess Diana in the early sixties, and in the mid-eighties Michael Yeats, the son of W. B. Yeats bought a Heemstede for his daughter.  Apparently W.B. Yeats had a Keeshond.  Also in the sixties a puppy was sold to an elderly Romany gypsy lady living in a horse-drawn caravan in Driffield.  She had worked for Mrs. Fry on the Isle of Wight and was determined to have a Keeshond.  She knew what a good Keeshond should look like, too!  We used to go and sit in her field round the camp fire and drink tea with goat's milk.