We’ll Miss You Wilfried!
The United Schutzhund Clubs of America and it’s members join with The German Shepherd Community around the world in mourning the loss of a special man and loving guardian of the German Shepherd Dog, Wilfried Scheld.
Since joining the SV in 1971, Wilfried Scheld held numerous positions at every level, including his local Ortsgruppe, his Landesgruppe and was an internationally respected SV judge and Koermeister as well as the SV’s National Warden for Herding. Herr Scheld also served as the herding coordinator for the VDH (the German Kennel Club) and was President of the FCI (International Kennel Union) Commission for Herding Dogs. He was also involved with the Sheep Breeding Association of Hessen, the VDL (National Association for Sheep Breeding).and the AAH (Consortium of Breeding for Old German Herding Dogs).
It is easy to list his many offices and accomplishments on behalf of the breed and herding. No one can deny his influence will continue to shape the breed and the herding community. For those of us fortunate enough to have spent time with him and to call him friend, it is harder to find words to express our gratitude for the gift his life was. Wilfried was kind, gentle, loving, and sharing. Sharing of himself, his knowledge, his joy and his love for the German Shepherd Dog, but this wasn’t the only breed he trained, he trained all Dog Breeds. Wilfried’s intelligence was awe inspiring and his curiosity for life and learning was pure and infectious. Anyone who spent time with him got caught up in his desire to decode the mysteries of the world.
During one of his visits, we went to the zoo. He studied each animal, pointing out structure and movement. When we stopped at the hippo habitat, he was marveling at nature for designing such a strange creature when one of the hippos started to run. He was more excited than a child on Christmas Eve. I was enthralled with his “critique” of it’s structure. He noted the bowed, toed in legs. In his words, “We would never deliberately breed such an animal. If you study his structure, it predicts his movement would be slow, cumbersome and awkward. Yet, see how quickly and gracefully he runs? We must remember to respect nature.”
Wilfried Scheld worked as a chemist at the University of Giessen. He was a loving son, brother and uncle. Our condolences to his family and friends on his passing. The world was truly enriched by the life of Wilfried Scheld. He is missed.
