Grifón de Bruselas"Stanley Dangerfield"

When Stanley Dangerfield died on September 28th 1988, he was still a youthful-thinking 77. Not many people guessed his real age, and he was one of the advocates against mandatory retirement at any age. He felt that many judges could still do a good job into their eighties as long as they didn´t, as he would say “go ga-ga”. Very few people realised that Stanley was sick, not of mind but in body. He felt that he was not being fair to the exhibitors if his physical pains (of which he never complained, right to the end of his life) should impair his concentration.
He did, however, continue to write his damning articles about the Kennel Club in England. These articles were among some of his best writing. I am sure they irked the governing body but even his detractors had to admit that he was right in many instances; others were too scared to agree. It may surprise some American readers to know, at the same time, he was extolling the virtues of the American Kennel Club and the leadership of its then President, Bill Stifel.
Stanley enjoyed the American scene, and wrote engaging articles about his trips here. Most of all, he admired the all-breed judges he met, such as Derek Rayne. Lang Skarda and Bill Kendrick and he also had a close relationship with Maxwell Riddle, who contributed special articles to the International Encyclopaedia of Dogs, edited by Stanley and the late Elsworth Howell. He had stories about them all, including Percy Roberts and Alva Rosenberg.
As well as judges, he had a great affinity for handlers, particularly the terrier man. He started in Wire Fox Terriers in 1936 and, when pressed, he would have to admit that the terrier handlers working in America were the best. In his own words, Gorges Ward, Ric Chashoudian and Peter Green were”bloody marvellous”. Writing about “style” and handling, he said: “ But, alas, it´s the States rather than Britain that produces style.” At the head of the list he placed Frank Sabella, but he admired all the other true professionals, far too many to mention here. He also loved to write and talk about the characters in our sport: George Rood, Lina Basquette, Roy Holloway, and the late Don Starkweather.
Although he promoted British dog breeders as being the best in the world, he never hesitated to make exceptions in the case of Pat Craig, Walter Goodman, Mona Berkowitz and expatriate, Nigel Aubrey-Jones. And, again there were others but I didn´t keep a list.
He estimated that he had examined more than half a million dogs in his judging career, which started in 1952. His assignments took him to 62 different countries and I believe this is still a record. In addition, he was the Chief Steward at Crufts for over a decade; the first to judge Best in Show there single-handled; secretary of the Labrador Retriever Club for six years; Chairman and President of the national Terrier Club and, needles to say, he was one of the topall-rounder in Britain.
In this country, Stanley Dangerfield was perceived and reported on as being charming, debonair, lean and handsome and always inmaculately clad, sometimes with a touch of flamboyance.
Unfortunately, his formidable achievements were seldom if ever published. It was his judging ability which made his return trips more and more frequent to these shores.
Little did many people know that in his own country, apart from his judging skill, he was also a television celebrity, presenting over 250 television shows on dogs and other household pets. He also wrote columns for various publications including women´s magazines and leading national newspapers, the Daily Express and the Sunday Express. His greatest pride, however, was in his presentation of Crufts dog show for BBC television, on which he explained to the general public, in simple terms, the meaning of the show, and how the judges came to their decisions; he was at this best as a communicator. It is incredible to think that he performed this task for 27 years. He, alone, made Crufts a household word and, in fact, to some people he was Crufts. He retired from this arduous task while he was still in top form in 1981.
It was in the late ‘50’s that he finally succumbed to the charms of the smooth Griffon. His first, a red named Tazzle, appeared on many of his television shows and he also wrote about her in many of his articles. During the ‘60’s, he was President of the Griffon Bruxellois Club, and he did much to promote the breed. He would have Griffs around him for the rest of his life.
Stanley was never at a loss for words, except in one instance, when an Australian lady, a spectator at a dog show in Denmark, was introduced to him and she, being unfamiliar with both dog shows and Stanley’s international reputation, remarked, “ Do you mean to tell me that you, a grown man, spend your life watching little dogs walk up and down and try and guess which ones is the best?”
She was, of course, Lucille, the future Mrs Dangerfield, and Stanley is quoted as saying, “I fixed her. I married her and gave her a tiny Griffon called Seamus as a wedding present.
Seamus and his son Ginty, were part of the furniture at “Thatcham”, the charming Dangerfield home in Camberley. Father and son each had their own personality. Stanley loved to exhibit Ginty’s powers of tracking, retrieving one of his toys hidden in the garden, a feat he never failed to do. A black smooth Griffon, Ginty unfortunately did not like to show but his father, Seamus, a black and tan, loved the show ring and with either Lucille or Stanley showing him, he became the top winning smooth of all time. They colour was never a problem in England as it has been in the US. For me, Griffons will always be the sight of those two wonderful little dogs, sitting on their hassock in the middle of the living room.
Despite his close association with the Brussels Griffon, it was in America, not in England, that Stanley first awarded a Best in Show to this breed. The occasion was Salinas Valley Kennel club on August 16, 1981, and the dog was the rough-coat. Ch Wallins Charlie Brown, owned by Mme Sachiko Takada, shown by Eddie Boyes.

Stanley never let the success he had in dogs override the love he had, not only for the dogs he owned, but for dogs in general. He always said that there was no such thing as a bad dog, only bad dog owners. He preached this in his television programme and his columns. He was a great public relations man for the world of the dogs. With his charisma the general public believed his every word, we could certainly use him today as a spokesman.
I think it is safe to say that Stanley Dangerfield had fame thrust upon him and although he took full advantage of the opportunities afforded him, he still remained very modest. When he was judging, he never complained about the lack of comfort in the cheap hotels, although his own home was a paragon of comfort, filled with treasures which he picked up on his world travels. I also never heard him complain about the bad food, although at home he regarded himself as a gourmet. I saw him arrive at judges´dinners on the back of a motorcycle, travel to shows in my son´s hot-rod car, return from shows in my help´s battered Volkeswagon bug. No one would ever know that his mode of travel in England was usually in his beloved Bentley. Maybe that is why he so enjoyed his trips to America, he could let his hair down.
He gave good advice freely and unfortunately I did not always take it, but on one occasion he more or less saved my reputation. We were on the same judging panel in Belgium where I judged seven herding breeds with which I was familiar. All went well until the last moment when I was told I would be judging the first group (herding). There were breeds in there that I have never seen before. I was in shock. I leaned over to stanley and said, “How do I do this?” His only reply was, “Fast!”. I obeyed and survived.
I will always treasure the funny little notes we exchanged. His were usually from all corners of the world, written on the paper currency of the country he was visiting. Unfortunately, Stanley was not a spend-thrift and therefore the messages were on the lower currency denominations. Otherwise I might have been wealthy today.
I was at his home when he wrote that he would be retiring. He just handed me a hand written page of paper, which he must have written while I was in his presence. The words brought tears to my eyes, I could not believe that such a momentous decision could be written so casually.
He did not wait for my comments, but retrieved the paper, picked up the phone and dictated his notes to the dog magazine Our Dogs, to which he was a regular contributor.
It was hard to keep track of his illness as he always sound in good spirits when I spoke to him on the phone. Lucille would later let us know the truth. I will never forget the last day I called him; he never spoke to me but I hope he heard my voice. He had a stroke and died shortly afterwards.
The world of my family is a sadder place without him for he brought such fun into all our lives. We never stop telling Stanley Dangerfield stories but we are not the only ones. His relaxed charm and knowledge touched many people and, we hope, improved the lives of numerous creatures.
He moved among aristocrats, celebrities and every other layer of society with equal ease. To loosely quote Rudyard Kipling: “He walked with Kings, yet did not lose the common touch”.
With this talents, he could have been a success in many others fields. Thank goodness he chose to watch little dogs walk up and down and try and guess which one was the best.