If you’ve never seen a Lakenvelder dairy cow with your own eyes, and its appearance was described to you verbally, you would think: Oh, an Oreo cookie of bovines. A bright white stripe wraps around the middle of the cow.

 

Also known as the Dutch Belted, the Lakenvelder has been known in the Netherlands as a standardized breed since the 1700s, a breed highly prized for its milking and fattening abilities. Some people believe that the milk from these cows is more easily digestible because of its soft curd and high protein/fat ratio. Sadly, these cows have something in common with many of our dog breeds: The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy now lists the Lakenvelder as a critically rare breed of livestock in North America, and some experts place its numbers at fewer than 200 registered animals in the country.

There is another connection to one of our dog breeds, and it begins with Eduard Korthals. Born in Amsterdam in 1851, Eduard was interested in dogs, breeding, and training them even as a boy. Eduard, however, didn’t make a dime on his interest. This didn’t sit well with his father, a prosperous banker, who probably kept waiting for Eduard to become self sufficient, and not dependent upon the yearly allowance he was given by dad.

The common ground they did share couldn’t overcome the financial conflict between the two, and that shared interest was the breeding of animals. Papa Korthals bred cattle as a hobby, and (big reveal ahead) the Lakenvelder breed was not only what he bred, but what he introduced.

We don’t know if Eduard’s father lived long enough to see the success of his son’s development of the Korthals Griffon, a breed we in the United States and Canada know as the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon. We’d like to think that the elder Korthals would have approved of the balanced dog his son developed.

Eduard’s dogs had all the abilities a pointing dog should have. Even today, their coat color blends with its natural background, and can withstand almost anything the North Sea – and any other sea –  could throw at it. They are hardy, reliable, hard-working, and adaptable hunting dogs that can work close on all terrain.

What’s not to love?

Image: Wirehaired Pointing Griffon by Scott Wallace Digital Designs is available for purchase here.