Casanova Giacomo Thiwahe

Casanova Giacomo Thiwahe “Rémi” comes from our very first litter, bred under the Thiwahe kennel name before Winyela was officially established. He was one of nine puppies, growing up among his blue merle brothers and black-and-white sisters. As it sometimes happens, the little black-and-white boy did not attract nearly as much attention as his more colourful siblings. By the end of his second month, when the others were leaving for their new homes, we realised that perhaps Rémi was simply meant to stay. And so he did, becoming my brother Pavel’s best friend and companion.

Despite being first and foremost a family dog, Rémi achieved an incredible amount from a very young age. At only fifteen months, he earned his Croatian champion title in Zagreb, and just a few months later, at around eighteen months of age, he successfully passed the HWT herding test with me. By the age of four, he had added numerous other titles and achievements to his collection.

What makes all of this especially meaningful to us is that Rémi was never a dog trained and campaigned every day. He lived with my brother, while I often worked with him only at weekends. His willingness to work, natural talent and ability to switch effortlessly between family companion, show dog and working Border Collie were simply part of him from the very beginning. Not for a single moment have we regretted the decision to let that overlooked little black-and-white puppy stay — Rémi became an irreplaceable part of the Winyela family.