04/06/2024
Apologies to the beautiful wife of Gen. Paredes, Ms. Sarah Laing Paredes of Sanafe Cockers, Mr. Noel Flores of Olympic Cockers, Mr. Rudyard Chua Sing of Yaki's Cockers, Mr. Benjamin "Benjie" Lumanlan (+) and Mr. Allan Espinosa of ESQ Cockers for the unintentional omissions I have made during the revision of the History of American Cocker Spaniels here in the Philippines. Here is its newest revision. If I have missed someone or something else, please don't hesitate to send me a PM. This article is a very long read but truly worth the "long read" if you are genuinely interested to know the "who's who" that contributed to our Breed here in the Philippines and the beautiful dogs that made up the whole History of Cockerdom in our Country. Again, this is the...
"History of the American Cocker Spaniels in the Philippines (2024)"
The start of the American Cocker Spaniel Breed here in the Philippines came in the 70's. This was the time that our Mother Club, The Philippine Canine Club, Inc., was just in its infantile years. Personalities such as the Laurels, Carpios, and the Penafels, who were avid Cocker Spaniel Enthusiast, imported dogs and showed them back then to their Philippine Championship titles.
However, It was only in the late 80's and 90's that our Breed really came into light. The husband and wife team of Mr. Joseph Ong Chuan and Esperanza Ong, though they started with the "Traditional" looking Cocker Spaniel bred by the Penafels and showed it to its Philippine Champion title, started importing the "Modern" type American Cocker Spaniels. These are the dogs that had plusher headpieces, stronger, slightly sloping toplines,off-the-back tail sets, and heavier coats. With Mr. Ong's deep interest in Pedigrees, knowledge in bloodlines, and his artistic grooming abilities, he was able to put the Breed on the Dog show map and gained much popularity. His most popular import was Am. Ch. Ph. Gr. Ch. Riviera's Searidge Hotshot aka "Hotshot", a Ch. Frandee's Forgery son and Mr. Ong's first All Breed Best in Show winner. Making Ch. Hotshot the very first American Cocker Spaniel to win such an award in our country. Ch. Hotshot is also a notable Top producer of Champions during his time. Another import of Mr. Ong, that gained much in popularity here in our country, is Am. Ch. Ph. Gr. Ch. Snowy River's Acclaim aka JJ, a Ch. Jazzman Claphands son. He started the love of Enthusiast for everything Buff. Everybody in the show world loved the sweet expression on Ch. JJ that he also became a top producer in our Country. And so the importing of beautiful Modern American Cocker Spaniels by Mr. Ong and his wife, Espie, continued. They brought in Am. Ch. Ph. Ch. Weston's Band of Gold- son of the very famous Am. Ch. Palm Hill's Caro Bu's Solid Gold, Am. Ph. Ch. Cobb's Lonestar- from Texas, USA, the ever famous Am. Ch. Can. Ch. Ph. Ch. Bleumoon's Hershel P. Jangles- father of most of the Chocolates in the whole World, Ph. Gr. Ch. Cobb's Texana and dogs from PS Cockers, My Ida-ho Cockers, Cashmere's Cockers and Mardi Gras Cockers. All these made up what we all now know in Philippine Cocker History as the St. Joe's bloodlines, owned by Mr. Joseph Ong Chuan and his wife, Esperanza Ong - the pioneer of Modern American Cocker Spaniels in the Philippines.
Because of the hype and attention that our Breed has gained through the efforts of the couple behind St. Joe's Cockers, new Enthusiasts started joining in. Included in the "Second Generation" American Cocker Spaniel group, Ms. Celestina Chua created her Celest Cockers bloodline by combining the Ch. Hotshot bloodline with those of the Cashmere Cocker imports of Mr. Ong. Dr. Wilfredo Baldonado created his beautiful string of Baldonado Cockers by infusing Ch. Hotshot's bloodline with those of the Palm Hill's. Ms. Genie Raymundo created her Rayburg Cockers bloodline by combining Ch. Hotshot's bloodline with the Mardi Gras bloodline. Other notable Breeders that followed in creating their own bloodlines by using existing lines from St. Joe's are Dr. W***y Sy, Mr. Nelson Uy, Arch. Jimi Lim, Mr. Xavier Lance Dy, Mr. Allan Espinosa of ESQ Cockers who bred Gr. Ch. ESQ's Bring Back to St. Joe's (later to be purchased by one of the Fourth Generation Breeders, Ms. Mary Anne Sagarbarria) and Jojo Canlas who showed his Black girl, Ph. Ch. St. Joe's Keep me Warm, to her Championship before migrating to the USA.
During the boom of American Cocker Spaniels in the Philippine Show rings in the late 80's and early 90's, several people pitched in with the promotion of the Breed and maintaining its popularity by importing other superb quality dogs as well. Enter the "Third Generation" American Cocker Spaniel group. These are the people that attained their kennels' popularity by importing their own Top winners from the USA, with a few incorporating them with the existing St. Joe's bloodlines in their breedings. First in the list is Ms. Celda Cojuanco Teopaco - Santos. Ms. Celda is responsible for putting Particolors up in the Front of the Breed by importing Am. Ch. Ph. Gr. Ch. Juban's Jubilant Jazz aka Pal- son of the most sought after Top producing Red & White dog in the USA named Ch. Juban's Georgia Jazz. Now, let's talk about Ch. Pal's name for a second, before we continue on, a bit of a Trivia for everyone... Ch. Pal was named for two things. One, it's because he was literally the family's house Pal (not Pet) for life and second was because he was shipped to the Philippines via PAL- Philippine Airlines. Ch. Pal went on to conquer the Philippine Show scene by winning numerous Best in Show and Best in Specialty Show wins. He was the first Particolor in Philippine history to do so. Quite consistently...if I may add! There was never a non-tense moment during the time he was being shown. Ch. Pal went on to sire numerous Particolor Champions during his lifetime. Ms. Celda also imported from the USA the Brother and Sister duo, sired by the famous Am. Ch. Makkell's Matinee Idol, named Gr. Ch. Cibi's Musical Major and Ch. Cibi's Claire de Lune. Another famous name in this "group" is Mr. Motoei Furukawa. His first import was Am. Ch. Ph. Gr. Ch. Overoak's Silverhall Signal aka Signal. Ch. Signal is the son of the famous Ch. Silverhall's Soldier of Fortune and he is the full brother to Ch. Overoak's Rising son. Followed by the beautiful Am. Ch. Ph. HOF. Ch. Searidge See You at Davis aka Davis- a Ch. Lydgate Lawbreaker son, Am. Ch. Ph. HOF. Ch. Lacie's Blackout, and Am. Ch. Ph. HOF. Ch. Darkehaven's American Idol. These beautiful Best in Show winning dogs, along with a few St, Joe's breedings created the famous Clerwood Cockers known here and in the USA. His most famous breeding in the States, residing with its owners, the talented Handlers Mike and Linda Pitt's, is Am. Gr. Ch. Clerwood's Speed of Light. Another personality in this group is Ms. Laura "Nanette" de Guzman of the Wyndora Cockers fame. She was responsible for importing the beautiful, typey Am. Ch. Ph. Gr. Ch. Denali's Wild at Heart aka Joey, the sweet Red & White girl, Ch. Snowy River's I'm so Precious, and Am. Ch. Ph. Gr. Ch. Cashmere's Cartel aka Owen- a Ch. Baliwick's Blakmale son. If "typey-ness" is your choice amongst the different Cocker types, these are the dogs for you. There is no missing that these are real American Cocker Spaniels when one gets face to face with Ms. Nanette's dogs, especially after she puts her hands on these dogs for grooming. Ms. Nanette is known in the Cocker World as a very meticulous groomer. Not a strand of hair will be out of place after she has gone through her dogs with her grooming skills. Ms. Coty Otsuka is another prominent personality in this group. She imported Am. Ch. Ph. Gr. Ch. Derano's Alabama Slammer as her foundation Bitch, along with Am. Ch. Ph. Gr. Ch. Kamp's Snow Cap and Am. Ch. Ph. Gr. Ch. Nosowea's Home Game to complete the famous Coty's Cockers. She incorporated into her breedings Ms. Celda's Ch. Pal to add type and those combinations produce her Top Homebred Best in Show winners, one being his famous Red & White homebred Multi Best in Show winner, Boomer. Also included in this group is Mr. Rossano Osi of Osi Golden Cockers. He imported the ever famous Am. Ch. Ph. Gr. Ch. Crazy Q's dance with Darkehaven aka Kevin and the beautiful Am. Ch. Ph. Gr. Ch. Krismyth's Tarnish Sterling. Ch. Kevin went on to become a Best in Show winner, Top American Cocker Spaniel winner during his time and became the torch bearer of Osi Golden Cocker Spaniels. Another famous breeder from this group is Ms. Fe dela Rosa. An independent Breeder during her time, she brought in the Cindee's bloodlines from the USA, concentrated on this particular bloodline and finished several Champions from it. Mr. Benjamin "Benjie" Lumanlan imported his Particolor foundations named Ch. Hi-Acre's N Brent Perfect Match and Ch. Hi-Acre's East of Eden. These two gave him his jumpstart in his Particolor breeding program which he concentrated on along with his King Philip-based Solid colored breedings. And last but not the least, and certainly the most beautiful (LOL) of them all in this group, is Ms. Bianca Araneta - Elizalde. Ms. Bianca brought in the sought after Homestead bloodlines into the Philippines and concentrated in creating her Enara Cockers with them. She is also the first to introduce the Brown White & Tan American Cocker Spaniel color into our country.
Then we have the people that made up the "Fourth" Generation American Cocker Spaniel group. These are the people who entered the Cocker scene in the early to mid 90's. After finishing his BS Biology degree in California, Patrick R. Chuakay Go relocated with all his dogs to the Philippines. Already been showing in the USA for four years by then, and by the request of his Father to relocate to the Philippines to learn and eventually run their local Family Business named King Philip Tailors, he eventually gave in, traveled to the Philippines and started his kennel here in Manila. He chose the kennel name "King Philip" to commemorate the reason why he was in the Philippines- his Father's Business. Mr. Patrick brought in with him his first two Specials named Am. Ch. Ph. Ch. Sarah N' Kemar's Giv'em Lil Harry. Ch. Harry was Mr. Patrick's first American Cocker Spaniel show dog that was handled to his Championship by the talented Mr. Jim Sargeant and Am. Ch. Ph. Gr. Ch. Jem's Platimun Gold- a Ch. PS Reach for the Gold son, handled by Ms. Kris Munoz Lebrene. Ch. Peter went on to be Mr. Patrick's first Best in Show winner, winning his first Best in Show in just two months of showing in the Philippines. Ch. Peter eventually ended as the Top American Cocker Spaniel that year and enjoyed a place in the Top Dogs in the Philippines. Following the arrival of Ch. Peter was Multi BIS Ph. HOF Ch. Calfrance's Ups D'ante aka Diego, Multi BIS Ph. HOF Ch. Endles Luv's Braveheart aka Cochise - a Ch. Forjay's Soul Sensation son, Am. Ch. Ph. Ch. Endles Luv's Dakota Warrior, a Ch. Lamar's Montana son, Gr. Ch. Kasino's halloween Prankster aka Trick - a tightly Palm Hill's linebred dog sired by the beautiful Ch. Valhalla's Irish Cream, Ph. Ch. Brookwood's Decaffeinated aka Sanka- the dog that stamped the Brown and Brown & Tan color at King Philip's and son of Ch. Brookwood's Battle Plan, Ph. Ch. Gemstone's Carpe Diem aka Franklin - son of Ch. Brookwood's Rea's Creek, Ph. Ch. Tripod's Mt. Rushmore aka Rush, Multi BIS Ph. HOF Ch. April's Coty's Advantage aka James (Co-owned with Ms. Coty Otsuka of Coty Cockers), and Ch. Sandcastle's Blue Suede Shoes aka Elvis - who was responsible for the Roans that carries the King Philip prefix and the existing Roans currently in the Philippines, to name a few. All these plus the imported girls, most notably, Cashel's Once in a Bluemoon aka Truffles (Brown & Tan, USA), which were imported by Mr. Patrick, became the core of King Philip Cockers three Varieties. Mr. Patrick was awarded as "PCCI's All Breed Top Breeder of the Year 2007"- amongst All the Breeds' Top Breeders and "Number 2 All Breed Top Breeder in the 60 years History of PCCI in 2022" . Mr. Rudyard Chua Sing is another personality in this group. He started his Yaki's Cockers bloodline with the purchase of his Particolor foundations from Ms. Coty Otsuka's Coty's Cockers. This eventually lead to him finishing numerous Particolor Champions and Grand Champions under his kennel prefix Yaki's. He was also the owner of Gr. Ch. King Philip's Dear Abby and Ch. King Philip's Raggedy Andy, who eventually became his foundations in Buffs. The third personality in this group is Ms. Junko Murphy of Murphy's Cockers. She started with the purchase of three American Cocker Spaniels from Mr. Patrick of King Philip Kennels. The girls to be remebered is Ph. Ch. King Philip's Pl***oy bunny and Ph. Ch. King Philip's Pin-Up-Girl. Eventually, Ms. Junko brought in the beautiful Best in Show winning Particolor, Am. Ch. Ph. HOF Ch. Calfrance's Boy George aka Georgie. Ch. Georgie is sired by the famous Top producer in the USA, Ch. Far Ace's Pretty Boy Floyd. Then came Ph. HOF Ch. Crestail's Right on Target, Ph. HOF Ch. Tell Tail's None the Less - a product of Artificial Insemination of frozen semen from the long deceased, Top producing Ch. Tell Tail's Les Brown, Ph. HOF Ch. Mountview's Christopher Colombus - a Ch. Denali's Christopher Robin son, and a few more imported from Brazil and Argentina, Ph. HOF Estribillo de la Gran Aldea. These became the ingredients to Murphy Cocker's success in the Show rings and in her breedings, eventually landing her the title "PCCI's All Breed Top Breeder" also. The fourth personality in the group is Ms. Mary Anne Sagarbarria and her daughter Kaye. Though their career was short lived, it is still worth to mention their contribution to the Breed. They imported and showed the beautiful Ph. HOF Ch. Crystal, bred her to Mr. Patrick's Ph. HOF Ch. Diego and produced two beautiful girls for them. One eventually became a Grand Champion and the other a Ph. HOF Champion. This Mother and daughter duo later on also owned the famous Gr. Ch. ESQ's Bring Back to St. Joe girl. The fifth personality included in this group is Mr. Noel Flores of Olympic Cockers. Mr. Noel was able to purchase the beautiful Brother and Sister, USA import duo, Gr. Ch. Cibi's Musical Major and Ch. Cibi's Claire de Lune, sired by the famous Am. Ch. Makkell's Matinee Idol, from their previous owner Ms. Celda Cojuanco Teopaco-Santos. He also imported Am. Ch. Ph. Ch. Crazy Q's Need for Speed (USA), a Ch. Doggone Newsflash son and he was also able to purchase the elegant, Ch. Hi-Acre's and Westglen's "Corrine". These became his foundation in Cocker Spaniels. Mr. Noel's most notable breeding is Ch. Olympic's Knight to Remember. Ch. Olympic's Knight to Remember eventually paved the way for the entrance of another personality in this group named Ms. Sarah Paredes of Sanafe Cockers. Ms. Sarah bred her girl, Pamper's Zaz, to Ch. Olympic's Knight to Remember and produced for her her Top Winning dog named Gr. Ch. Sanafe's Platinum Phatzo. And when one of his kennelmates was bred to Ms. Junko's dog named Ch. Murphy's King Philip aka Tailor, Ms. Sarah was able to produce another winning dog named Ch. Sanafe's and Murphy's Tailor. Mr. Jojo Canlas is another exhibitor/personality included in this group. Mr. Jojo, upon his return from living in the USA for several years, returned to our Breed, purchased a girl from King Philip Kennels, campaigned and finished his girl, Ch. King Philip's Autumn Skye- a Ph. HOF Ch. King Philip's Rodeo Rider daughter, and became the new foundation of his Habsburg Cockers. Ch. Skye gave Mr. Jojo his first homebred Champion named Ch. Habsburg's Infante Ludwig aka Ludwig who finished in just two weekend's of showing. Ch. Ludwig is sired by Mr. Patrick's dog Multi BIS Ph. HOF Ch. Int. Ch. King Philip's Sunday Silence aka Sunday. Other people who belonged to this group and campaigned Cocker Spaniels bred by King Philip Kennels were Mr. Andy Raspadas, Mr. Vhon Dwayne, Mr. Daniel Soriano, Ms. Angel Romero, Mr. Brian Lim, Mr. Paulo Jon- President of the Iloilo Kennel Club, Mr. George Dy and his wife Ms. Ellen Dy.
After the "Fourth" generation American Cocker Spaniel group's time, the Breed went on a low in the Philippine Show circuit. Everyone had their own priorities to follow which led to the down swing of entries in Cockers at the shows. There was even a time that there were no Cocker Spaniel entries at the Dog Shows at all. But after a couple of years, a Doctor and his close friend entered the scene. This Doctor's entry into the Cocker World ushered in what we now call The "Fifth" Generation American Cocker Spaniel group but this time with Cockers coming from different sources. Dr. Rhionel Sohagun, along with his silent partner Mr. Marc Lu, imported a few dogs from Europe and Asia which will eventually be his foundation for his American Cocker Spaniel plans. Dr. Rio and Mr. Marc imported the fabulous Black dog named Ph. HOF Ch. Run. He carried with him numerous titles from different countries and landed several Best in Show wins for Dr. Rio and Mr. Marc here in the Philippines. Then the beautiful Am. Ch. Ph. Ch. Korean Ch. Silverhall's Stormborn aka Storm, joined his kennel along with the Tricolor, Gr. Ch. Patrick and the Chocolate dog, Ph. HOF Ch. Sam. However, with the advent of their well planned Breedings, Dr. Rio suddenly passed away of an illness and Mr. Marc migrated to a different country. Leaving their beautiful dogs and their first two Daisyhill American Cocker Spaniel litters behind. Ending the short but meaningful era of the "Fifth" Generation American Cocker group of the Pre-Covid 2000's.
After the Covid Pandemic, several Enthusiast showed interest in the Breed. This ushered in the "Sixth" Generation American Cocker group. With the availablity of Dr. Rio's dogs in the market, Mr. Nathan Simbulan saw the opportunity to start with another Breed after dabbling in Golden Retrievers for a short time decades ago. He purchased Dr. Rio and Mr. Marc's imports Am. Ph. Gr. Ch. Silverhall's Stormborn aka Storm, Ph. HOF Ch. Sam, and the beautiful top producer Gr. Ch. Prada along with the Black & Tan son of Ch. Storm and Gr. Ch. Prada named Ph. HOF Ch. Mucho and the daughter of Ph. HOF Ch. Run and Gr. Ch. Prada named Ch. Daisyhill's "Georgia". Mr. Nathan's breedings goes with the kennel name Checkmate PH. Mr. Jonel Trinidad, a close friend of Dr. Rio, took under his wing, campaigned and finished Gr. Ch. Daisyhill's "Hunter", Ph. Ch. Daisyhill's "Cisco" and the beautiful Chocolate girl that Dr. Rio and Mr. Marc imported named Ph. Ch. Rosie. Mr. Jonel's Trimestar Cocker breeding has already begun showing strength with the Major win of Trimestar's Blak Widow amongst tough competition. The third person in this group is Mr. Bert Jimenez. Mr. Bert was able to purchase a couple of Dr. Rio and Mr. Marc's breedings and campaigned them to their titles. These are Ch. Daisyhill's "TanTan" and Ch. Daisyhill's "Felicity". The campaigning of these dogs and finishing them for the late Dr. Rio and Mr. Marc, landed the two as the "Top Breeder of American Cocker Spaniels for 2023". Something that the good Doctor must be smiling about up in heaven. Another personality in this group is Ms. Marilou Uy. Ms. Marilou imported the gorgeous Black dog named Ph. HOF Ch. Stormy. Though born in Europe Ch. Stormy traces his ancestry back to Ms. April Stitch's winning April's Cockers in the USA. Another one of her imports is her beautiful Ph. HOF Ch. Buff girl named Lily. These two are proving to be a great asset and start for the Lady Pink Carnation Cocker Spaniel bloodline of Ms. Marilou Uy as at the tender age of 6 months, a daughter from this pair has already been winning Majors after Majors. And lastly, we have the fourth memeber of the "Sixth" Generation group, Mr. Gerald Soteo. Mr. Gerald imported from Europe the strong-toplined Tricolor boy name Ph. Ch. Romeo and his sweet little Red & White girl named Ph. Ch. Juliet who, by the way, finished undefeated from the 6 to 9 month Class.
The future for our Breed looks to be on the positive side. With these people in the hobby and by the looks of their dogs and their breedings, I see great things to come for them in the future. I cannot wait to see "what" other details I will be adding in this article in the future or "who" I'm going to be adding to it.
