The reason is unknown but for pity the two Pyreneans were sold separately short after the first litter. The possibility that existed to re-establish the breed was lost. From 1947 until 1955 not one Pyrenean was born in Holland. In 1953 I bought my first Pyrenean, a bitch "Claudette van de Rozendoorn", and started my kennel "Du Grand Patou". The father of Claudette came from the "De Fontenay" Kennel of Mrs. Harper Trois Fontaines (UK), the mother from the French Kennel "Du Pic du Jer" of Mr. and Mrs. Abadie-Toulet.

When I decided to mate this bitch in 1955 there was only one Pyrenean dog in Holland, Basquaerie Nicki. The problem was that nobody knew where he was. Marquise de Villers who imported the dog from the U.S.A. had sold him but did not know where he had gone to. Eventually I found him at a small farmhouse in the surrounding of nijmegen.
Nicki was 9 years ol and came in my kennel. The circle was closed: in 1937 a dog from Best went to the Basquaerie Kennels in the U.S.A. and in 1955 a dog from the Basquaerie Kennels in the U.S.A. came to Best - Holland, by coincidence and after a long way!

Isabella du Grand Patou (Ch. Basquaerie Nicki x Claudette van de Rozendoorn) 1 year old

Two litters were born in my kennel out of the combination Nicki x Claudette: the first one on 15-10-1955, five dogs, four bitches, the second one on 24-10-1956, seven dogs and four bitches. Nicki died in my kennel when he was 12 years old.

This article was first published in the INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PYRENEAN MOUNTAIN DOGS, 1987 by Mr. F. A. Dekkers, who is also the editor and publisher of the IJGPMD, which was published in the years 1985 - 1989. Mr. Dekkers was so kind to give me his permission to share some of the interesting issues of his magazine with other Pyr Fanciers on this Web Site.