ChowTales featured in AKC Gazette – June 2016 issue! Article by Love Banghart

Lil and Me — ChowTales™ History Archive curator, Sandra Miller with Lil (photo not part of the AKC Gazette article)

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that the magazine I spend COUNTLESS hours in, researching old chow articles, show wins and stud books, would ever display the ChowTales name in print!!! I am deeply honored and grateful to Love Banghart for her gracious write-up, using valuable breed column space in this publication to give chow “heritage” its own special place in AKC Gazette history. Thank you from the bottom of my heart Love!

AKC GAZETTE Chow Breed column – JUNE 2016

WONDERFUL CHOW CHOW HISTORY ARCHIVE ONLINE

“If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday.” ~Pearl Buck

Our AKC Chow Chow standard states “ An ancient breed of northern Chinese origin, this all-purpose dog of China was used for hunting, herding, pulling and protection of the home. While primarily a companion today, his working origin must always be remembered when assessing true Chow type.“ Have you wondered why this is a requirement for the breed? You will find many answers on this wonderful Chow Chow Archive site: ChowTales. This site contains an amazing collection of photos, articles, and videos dating back to the 1800s and before.

Did you know that there was a Chow on the Titanic? That the dog that Admiral Dewey made famous in 1913 was a Chow Chow? President Calvin Coolidge and his wife owned Chows? Are you interested to see photos of the Chow Chows imported from China? Wanting to see movie clips of chow chows at a dog show in the 1920s? The archives contain all of this and much more.

Over a period of 110 years, the AKC Chow Chow standard has changed 4 times after initial creation in 1906. Each of the standards is available on this archive (1925, 1941, 1986 and 1996) It is very interesting to note the changes and see photos which document the impact that these changes had on our breed.

Our breed has benefited from the generosity and passion of a very dedicated artist, Sandra Miller, and her gifted technology specialist husband, Steve Miller. They are respected past-breeders/ exhibitors of our breed and have created and funded the archive project. Although legally blind, Sandra personally restores the photos prior to inclusion on the site. They are dedicated to the ongoing development of the archive project website The archive is easy to navigate, browse and most of all, is searchable.

The website is permanently hosted and entitled the “CHOWTALES ARCHIVE”: https://chowtales.com

The site focus is specifically on pre-1950’s chow images, articles and ephemera with the stories to go with them, in an easy on the eyes format. The collection that they have is extensive and the stories behind the photos mindboggling. Chow fanciers extend a big THANK YOU to all the chow memorabilia collectors worldwide who have been contributing their own collections and content to the archives.

Paper photos and articles eventually get tossed in the garbage or deteriorate over time so every tidbit of information is preserved digitally, which guarantees it will not be lost to future generations. This website is a virtual museum for the chow breed. Even though the curator, Sandra, and her husband no longer breed or exhibit they feel it is important to remain involved with this breed which they are deeply passionate.

Categories of photos and articles in the archive include Breed History, Celebrities, historical articles, The AKC Chow Standards, and International Chow Standards, Collectables and Curated photos. We hope that you will take time to enjoy this archive and know that you will benefit from the knowledge you will gain of the history of our beautiful breed.

-Love Banghart [email protected]

Chow Chow Club Inc. chowclub.org

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