In Loving Memory of:

Ch. Hi Vu The Invader

'Charlie Brown'

There are some days and some things that will remain burnt into your memories. Days that were so emotionally charged that you can remember the day, the people, even the weather. One of those days was the day that President Kennedy was assassinated, one was the day that my grandmother died and one was the day that Charlie Brown was struck down by a hit and run driver.

Charlie had humble beginnings, shown above going Best of Breed at a puppy match, judged by Claudia Schroeder, he went on to gain his first points at the CCA National Specialty at 10 months. Lovingly handled by Steve Barger.

The following was written by Claudia Schroeder and published in the October, 1970 edition of Paw Prints. It says so much more than I could.

A Tribute To Charlie Brown

Sire: Ravette's Wayside Traveler
Dam: Glen Hill Cloth of Gold
Breeders: Dr. John D. & Lee Fielding

"Heaven Gives It's Favorites Early Death"

Ch Hi Vu The Invader was shown a total of eleven times as a puppy, with only one class defeat. Beginning with his spectacular Winners Dog and Best of Winners awards at the 1968 Collie Club of America Specialty at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, when he was 10 1/2 months old, his progress to the title was uninterrupted. At his next four shows, three of them majors, he was Winners Dog under judges Benjamin Butler, Hollis Wilson, Gus Sigritz, and Henry Stoecker, to complete his title three weeks short of his first birthday. Writing in the CCA Bulletin after his judging assignment at the national specialty, John Lindeman said: "I can still picture the eventual Winners Dog, and Best of Winners, Hi Vu The Invader... His quality was outstanding and the over-all picture was one of complete balance. His nicely refined head qualities were his greatest attributes, especially in stop, backskull, eyes and ear carriage. He was in good coat and had a body which had all the working parts in good order."

The freshly-crowned champion was then retired from the ring to wait out his gawky adolescence - although even that trying period was less awkward for him than for most - and to begin his career at stud. As Sally Futh pointed out in COLLIE REVIEW, The Invader had "a stellar pedigree, his sire being a son of Bellbrooke's Master Pilot out of a Patrick daughter; the dam by Glen Hill Full Dress, again out of a Patrick daughter." He was, indeed, "to the manner born"!

When he was two years old, The Invader made his debut in the specials class. Shown sparingly, and never handled by anyone other than his owners or close friend Steve Barger, he captured nine Best of Varieties - including one at Harrisburg, PA, under Oren Kem, with an entry of 139 - and a Best of Opposite Sex under Pat Shryock, with 153 entries. Twice he placed Fourth in the working Group: At Harrisburg, with a working dog entry of 1,156, and at Tidewater Kennel Club, under Mr. Skarda.

During his brief lifetime, he sired 37 litters totaling 248 living puppies, with several bitches in whelp to him, due this Fall. Two of his sons have begun their journey to the title: Ruflane Trailblazer, with both majors, is breeder-owned by the Rev. and Mrs. Hans Boehringer and Delawood Country Gentleman has 11 points, is owned by Bob and Monna Wolfe and handled by Mary Hutchinson. Sharing honors at the Devon Sweepstakes October 3 were an Invader son and daughter, Debandale Invincible and Asgard's Hi Vu Invictus.

We have been writing so far about Ch. Hi Vu The Invader, the sensational young point winner at the largest CCA Specialty in history - a dog just entering his full maturity, ready to realize his early promise. It is too soon to assess his impact on the breed, but his death is obviously a loss to the entire fancy. W have not attempted to write about "Charlie Brown", whose loss is - to a host of friends - incalculable.

It is impossible to capture Charlie's spirit on paper. It is too easy to say, "He had the true collie temperament;" yes, he had that - but he also had a personality all his own. He was an irrepressible clown as well as a kind friend, an exuberant puppy as well as a staunch companion. "Charlie stories" abound. There was the time he decided that the specials class at the largest dog show on the East Coast was the ideal place to roll on his back, four feet kicking absurdly in the air. His mortified mistress was close to tears, but Charlie was unrepentant - he had heard the ringside titters, and was immensely pleased with himself. Weren't dog shows supposed to be fun, and wasn't he having fun? They still talk about the "Charlie Brown party" following a 1969 Ohio show. Several local exhibitors drove out together, and their crated dogs were left overnight in the care where Charlie was kenneled. Charlie discovered some sandwiches left behind by the human members of his group, and in a burst of altruism, was moved to share the feast with his captive pals. All but one, that is; for when the first early-riser appeared to exercise the dogs next morning, she found the remains of the "party" paper plates and cups and napkins! - strewn about the car and in all of the crates - except Ch. Wickmere War Dance! "Charlie doesn't believe in feeding the competition," explained Mary later.

He believed in living life to the fullest, did Charlie, and his raffish gaiety was contagious. From the time Mary brought him home to Hi Vu from his Ohio birthplace, an alert nine-week-old, Charlie made it clear that he was not going to be just another dog for the Hutchinsons. He was going to be a very special dog, a once-in-a-lifetime do, and he seemed to sense that as he jostled his way into the affections of everyone who knew him. Show dog, stud dog, sure - that was fine; but it was never enough for Charlie, and his owners were constantly surprised, delighted, and sometimes exasperated, at his antics - but always more and more under his spell.

He helped the family through some hard times, too. Whenever Mary felt she could not endure the heartbreak of dog-breeding, there was Charlie, and who could resist the lure of founding a strain of collies with his sense of fun, his beauty, his gallantry? So Mary and Bill were led back into collies, whether they would or no, and as Charlie Brown's fame grew, so did that of Hi Vu.

On Monday, September 28(1970), Charlie followed two of his kennelmates through a small opening in the fence of their exercise yard. Intent on exploring the wide world beyond his kennel, he was missing for twelve hours, hours during which his distraught owners combed the nearby woods and patrolled the busy highway that passes before their door. When he emerged into the road from a woodland adventure that had turned into a search for romance, Charlie was struck by a hit-and-run driver. Tragically, he had chosen to return by the one stretch not covered by the Hutchinson's search party.

Charlie is buried at Hi Vu, but he has left behind him, among his human friends, living memories - memories that are imperishable.

Contact me at: kantu@1bigred.com

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