McFaul had already acquired his Shearer lead dog FOXSTAND'S SUNDAY (who was 3/4 Wheeler background) shortly before the Wheeler transaction. Around a dozen dogs were transferred from Harry Wheeler to the MacLean/McFaul partnership, but not all were retained; six Wheeler males and a bitch were immediately re-sold to Bill Shearer. When I interviewed Donnie ca. 1970 and questioned him about that, he simply replied, "I sold the long-coats to Bill Shearer," (who was noted for his preference for long-coated Siberians). Three Wheeler males and two bitches, then, were kept by McFaul for his breeding programme. McFaul later added two more Siberians from the FOXSTAND bloodline to his breeding, FOXSTAND'S GEORGIA and BELFORD'S JALAPER , both obtained from Charles Belford. In 1962 he bred one litter from a bitch from his neighbour Allan Gagnon, GAGNON'S VIXEN.
The following, then, were the McFaul-Seppala foundation animals for the period 1951 through 1963:
- VOLK OF SEPPALA, Wheeler male (by BURKA OF SEPPALA 2nd ex POLLY OF SEPPALA)
- BILKOFF OF SEPPALA, Wheeler male (by TSERKO OF SEPPALA 2nd ex PEARL OF SEPPALA 2nd)
- VODKA OF SEPPALA 3rd, Wheeler male (by VODKA OF SEPPALA ex KATRINKA OF SEPPALA)
- FOXSTAND'S SUNDAY, Shearer male (by POLARIS OF SAPAWE ex FOXSTAND'S SUKEY)
- BELFORD'S JALAPER, Belford male (by FOXSTAND'S RUDOLPH ex FOXSTAND'S GEORGIA)
- ZARINA OF SEPPALA 3rd, Wheeler bitch (by KINGEAK OF SEPPALA 2nd ex POLLY OF SEPPALA)
- BILKA OF SEPPALA 2nd, Wheeler bitch (by VODKA OF SEPPALA 2nd ex VIXEN OF SEPPALA 2nd)
- FOXSTAND'S GEORGIA, Shearer bitch (by FOXSTAND'S SUGGEN ex FOXSTAND'S COLLEEN)
- GAGNON'S VIXEN, Allan Gagnon bitch (by PIETRO OF SEPPALA ex GAGNON'S TOULA)
It must be emphasised that McFaul's Seppala principles were extremely clear-cut and were those shared by Harry Wheeler and Bill Shearer: the only sources for these bloodlines were dogs of Leonhard Seppala origin or stock imported directly from Siberia. The stock added to the Wheeler base by McFaul all came from Shearer origins, and in every case it was either traceable to Wheeler lines itself or to Poland Spring lineage through the Shearer foundation bitch SIGRID 3rd OF FOXSTAND. The examples of Wheeler, Shearer and McFaul are so clear that it is difficult to understand why so many self-designated breeders of "Seppalas" today ignore those principles completely. Those breeders who have dispersed mixed-lineage "Seppalas" throughout the U. S. A., the U. K. and Europe, yet who never in their lives saw a McFaul dog in the flesh, are not likely to know more about Seppalas or to possess better judgment than Donnie McFaul, Bill Shearer and Harry R. Wheeler.
The influence of the McFaul Seppala stock was enormous, even though the kennel bred for only 12 years. A succession of fine males were sold to Keith Bryar, establishing a strong line of pure Seppalas in New Hampshire; others went to Joel Nordholm and J. Malcolm McDougall. Individual McFaul dogs influenced the breeding of Earl F. Norris (ANADYR), Dr. Harold Frendt (LITTLE ALASKA), Art and Judy Allen (NATOMAH), to name only a few. Nevertheless, the McFaul kennel terminated in 1963 without a successor kennel and the pure Seppala McFaul/Shearer bloodline was at great risk of extinction by 1970. Four of the best remaining McFaul individuals, DITKO OF SEPPALA, SHANGO OF SEPPALA, VANKA OF SEPPALA and DUSKA OF SEPPALA were used for breeding in the MARKOVO rescue period, along with other stock of McFaul derivation, and extinction was thus averted.
Pure-strain examples of the McFaul/Shearer bloodline still exist today, although their numbers are not great. Perhaps the Leonhard Seppala stock that has been so valued for almost a century will not survive very far into the new millennium. But for now their struggle for survival continues. The dogs bred by Donnie McFaul remain alive in the memories of a few old folks as an inspiration still.
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PEDIGREE -- DITKO OF SEPPALA (Opens in a new window.)
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PEDIGREE -- SHANGO OF SEPPALA (Opens in a new window.)
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PEDIGREE -- DUSKA OF SEPPALA (Opens in a new window.)
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PEDIGREE -- McFaul influence: MIKIUK TUKTU TORNYAK (Opens in a new window.)
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PEDIGREE -- McFaul influence: MALAMAK'S OKLEASIK (Opens in a new window.)
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PEDIGREE -- McFaul influence: WILLI-WAW'S GALE OF CUPID (Opens in a new window.)
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PEDIGREE -- McFaul influence: UELEN'S BEOWULF OF SEPP-ALTA (Opens in a new window.)
