Til Niquidet – Lifetime member of the CFSC
Recently the Canadian Finnish Spitz Club was approached with a suggestion of nominating one of our long time club members for a lifetime membership on her outstanding contributions to the club. I am very pleased to announce that the executive of the CFSC have voted to approve Til Niquidet for her long record of service for a lifetime membership. I could go on about the reasons for this decision but we have had several of our members wonderfully put this into words.
CFSC Secretary –Taru Korrensuo
I am grateful to the Canadian Finnish Spitz Club for this honour. I have been a member of the Finnish Spitz community since 1975. In 1976 we held our first breed booster show and in 1976 I attended the inaugural meeting of the Canadian Finnish Spitz Club. I was editor of the newsletter, was a member of the first Board of Directors of the club and I have been active in the CFSC in every year ever since. It is a huge honour to have my years of service to the club recognized in this way.
Til Niquidet
Kind words...
Til Niquidet: a mentor, a friend, and so much more…
The first time that I met Til was in someone’s hotel room where a meeting of the Canadian Finnish Spitz Club was taking place. A friend of mine thought that I would enjoy sitting in on the meeting that she had heard about after watching the breed earlier in the day. My friend wasn’t wrong, I did enjoy it. I had not met any of the people there, but the two people that I do remember from that meeting, and subsequently became long-time friends of, were Joan and Til. I do not remember how old Til was, but I do remember that I was impressed with her presence, her knowledge of the breed and her way of speaking when she had something to add to the meeting. She might say that she remembers our first meeting differently, but this first impression only became more solidified as time went on. Attending any show where Finnish Spitz were exhibited usually meant a trip to either B.C. or to Calgary. These shows, in the early years, provided an opportunity to see more Finnish Spitz, learn about them from either Joan or Til, and to watch them in the ring. We used these shows to conduct the AGM for the club, to gather from near and far, and to meet all Finnish Spitz enthusiasts. We always had a breakfast (hosted by someone from the club) or went out for dinner (if we were not at an outdoor show) and made sure that a group photo was taken. These shows were well attended, and we always had a wonderful time. Til was always willing to discuss, demonstrate, or educate while she was grooming or waiting at ring side. As a family new to the dog show world we had a lot to learn. My children, who are adults now, always talk about going to these shows and of the visits we had with Til. Years later we were still attending shows, not as exhibitors, but a spectator, and we still took every opportunity to find Til’s benching area and then proceeded to help where we could, playing with puppies, walking dogs, holding dogs at ringside and just talking dogs in general. Whenever we met, it was like we had seen each other the weekend before. It was never awkward. We talked dogs and kids, watched dogs, hung out, went for dinners, and just had a great time. The few times that we stopped there while on a road trip, we were always in danger of bringing home something or more than one something. My children call Til when they have a problem with their own dogs (neither of which are a Finnish Spitz) as do I. Her wealth of knowledge and her willingness to share it has been a blessing to all of us. My adult twins will drop by if they are out on the road as well. Til never knows when one of us will telephone and say that we are on the way through and can we stop for a visit. The answer is always yes, and when will you be here. Her yard is always available for a camper or a tent and the tea pot will be on. Til helped me through raising three teenagers, and Bill and I did likewise with her own two daughters. Raising daughters isn’t always easy, but then neither is raising dogs, litters of puppies, or saying that final good-by to a much- loved pet. Til has been there for it all with a kind word and sage advice. I was asked if I would write a few words about Til. I thought about it for awhile, then just sat at the computer, started to write, and just let the words come through as they would. Til is my friend! She has been my friend for many, many years and I suspect she always will be. For that, I am very lucky indeed. Til is my mentor, in life and well as in dogs and I could not have a better one. Now that my interest is mainly horses these days, I always follow what I have learned from her. “Do what you can, with what you have, learn from someone you respect and then use your common sense.” This advice has stood me in good stead for the better part of forty years and still counting. Til is Finnish Spitz. She loves them, understands them and above all protects the integrity of the breed that we all love and admire. I cannot wait for the day that I will pick up a book written by her about Finnish Spitz. And when I see one in Edmonton, I know that it is probably one of hers and I think hmmm…maybe it's time for another one. Til, we will talk…because there is no one else that I would get adog from, and that says it all!
The first time that I met Til was in someone’s hotel room where a meeting of the Canadian Finnish Spitz Club was taking place. A friend of mine thought that I would enjoy sitting in on the meeting that she had heard about after watching the breed earlier in the day. My friend wasn’t wrong, I did enjoy it. I had not met any of the people there, but the two people that I do remember from that meeting, and subsequently became long-time friends of, were Joan and Til. I do not remember how old Til was, but I do remember that I was impressed with her presence, her knowledge of the breed and her way of speaking when she had something to add to the meeting. She might say that she remembers our first meeting differently, but this first impression only became more solidified as time went on. Attending any show where Finnish Spitz were exhibited usually meant a trip to either B.C. or to Calgary. These shows, in the early years, provided an opportunity to see more Finnish Spitz, learn about them from either Joan or Til, and to watch them in the ring. We used these shows to conduct the AGM for the club, to gather from near and far, and to meet all Finnish Spitz enthusiasts. We always had a breakfast (hosted by someone from the club) or went out for dinner (if we were not at an outdoor show) and made sure that a group photo was taken. These shows were well attended, and we always had a wonderful time. Til was always willing to discuss, demonstrate, or educate while she was grooming or waiting at ring side. As a family new to the dog show world we had a lot to learn. My children, who are adults now, always talk about going to these shows and of the visits we had with Til. Years later we were still attending shows, not as exhibitors, but a spectator, and we still took every opportunity to find Til’s benching area and then proceeded to help where we could, playing with puppies, walking dogs, holding dogs at ringside and just talking dogs in general. Whenever we met, it was like we had seen each other the weekend before. It was never awkward. We talked dogs and kids, watched dogs, hung out, went for dinners, and just had a great time. The few times that we stopped there while on a road trip, we were always in danger of bringing home something or more than one something. My children call Til when they have a problem with their own dogs (neither of which are a Finnish Spitz) as do I. Her wealth of knowledge and her willingness to share it has been a blessing to all of us. My adult twins will drop by if they are out on the road as well. Til never knows when one of us will telephone and say that we are on the way through and can we stop for a visit. The answer is always yes, and when will you be here. Her yard is always available for a camper or a tent and the tea pot will be on. Til helped me through raising three teenagers, and Bill and I did likewise with her own two daughters. Raising daughters isn’t always easy, but then neither is raising dogs, litters of puppies, or saying that final good-by to a much- loved pet. Til has been there for it all with a kind word and sage advice. I was asked if I would write a few words about Til. I thought about it for awhile, then just sat at the computer, started to write, and just let the words come through as they would. Til is my friend! She has been my friend for many, many years and I suspect she always will be. For that, I am very lucky indeed. Til is my mentor, in life and well as in dogs and I could not have a better one. Now that my interest is mainly horses these days, I always follow what I have learned from her. “Do what you can, with what you have, learn from someone you respect and then use your common sense.” This advice has stood me in good stead for the better part of forty years and still counting. Til is Finnish Spitz. She loves them, understands them and above all protects the integrity of the breed that we all love and admire. I cannot wait for the day that I will pick up a book written by her about Finnish Spitz. And when I see one in Edmonton, I know that it is probably one of hers and I think hmmm…maybe it's time for another one. Til, we will talk…because there is no one else that I would get adog from, and that says it all!
John Doe
Written by Kay Bunker Finnish Spitz Club member and enthusiast of the breed
I got my first Finnish Spitz from Joan Grant in 1988. Til was there, and she was there when I took Pila to Golden for her first breeding. Til was there at my first shows, first CFSA Specialty, first club get-togethers, first breed seminars, and pretty much every Finnish Spitz event since. Til has been there for our breed, our breeders, and our club for many years. All of this shows Til’s incredible knowledge, dedication, and tenacity when it comes to our sport. It isn’t easy or for the faint of heart.
Til has been a friend and mentor to many of us. We may not have been able to be together often, but always were able to pick up right where we left off.
Congratulations Til, this is a well-deserved honor.
John Doe
Denise Friesen
Dear Til:
You have been an extraordinary member of this club and work hard to further the education of and the betterment of the breed as a whole. You have fought countless situations in where you felt you needed to speak out for the breed.
When my parents first started out with this breed it was not as widely known as it is today thanks to your dedication and the showing and promoting the breed as no one else has. Many hours have been spent driving to deliver puppies or going to shows.
Thank-you for all of your hard work and dedication to the breed, you most certainly are an advocate and a life-long spokesperson for Finnish Spitz. I think the breed is in very good hands.
John Doe
Kelly Bunker
We first met Til in the autumn of 1998. We were looking for a puppy to be the protege of our 14-year-old Eskie cross and had decided on a Finnish Spitz after visiting Joan Grant. We were on Joan's wait list when we got a call from her one afternoon telling us that another breeder who lived close to us was expecting a litter of pups and wondered if we'd like one of her dogs. I met Til for the first time later that afternoon and not too long after we welcomed Pikkinokka's Kaivo Mala into our home.
We kept in touch with Til and one day Kathy was shopping in the big town of Nakusp and ran into Til who suggested that Mala was a nice looking Finkie who might do well in dog shows. Being essentially pet people, it took a bit of persuasion, but Til was persuasive and persistent and in a surprisingly short time we were hooked on both the breed and the peculiar alternate universe that is the 'sport' of purebred dogs.
Through these 20+ years Til has been our guide, mentor and friend. As a guide and mentor Til has been invaluable. Her knowledge of the Finnish Spitz; raising, grooming, showing, and breeding has, more often than not, guided us in all these areas through our years in the breed. Obviously, as we moved from strictly pet people to showing and breeding, we began to look at emphasizing different aspects of the Finnish Spitz and, Til helped us along with some support and a lot of constructive criticism and information. Til is not a cuddly grandma dispensing cookies and cozy cliches; she is a sharp and sometimes caustic teacher whose views are driven by her vision of, and passion for, her dogs. We don't always agree with Til (although, most of the time we do), but we always listen to her views with attention and respect, and Til, while she hasn't always agreed with us, has given us plenty of room to explore our vision and deal with our own mistakes and successes.
As a friend, Til has been great the whole time. In her role as friend, she is, as most of us know, as much of a vulnerable and sensitive human being as anyone. We've seen her go through a lot in the last 23 years both good and bad and we've seen the behind the Finkie Goddess there is a sensitive, loving and very likable person who is subject to all the travails that life throws at people, but who carries on, we suspect because she loves her dogs so very much.
On top of everything else, Til bred our absolute favourite Finnish Spitz; Pikkinokka's Zuni Zoom, the bestest dog ever and an ideal we'll try to replicate in our breeding.
A lifetime membership is the least we can do for you Til! Thank you again.
John Doe
Larry Hyink and Kathy Hartman, Born To Bark Kennels