Excerpt from Electric Co-op publication...

"You'd be hard pressed to find a dog owner who doesn't think his pet is a Champion, and in its own way, each dog truly is a champ. Some dogs, however, exceed the uncomplicated definition of the champion that might be applied to a beloved pet. They may possess all the qualities of the faithful, four-legged friend, but they have something more as well. Boasting generations of purity in their lineage, these dogs are born with everything perfectly in place, as well as the ability and desire to show off their perfections. These are dogs that have officially earned the title of Champion. They bring home ribbons and plaques and enormous amounts of pride for their owners.

However, it's not just luck and good breeding that turns out a Champion. Owners of Champion dogs spend a great deal of time and effort honing their pets perfections, working them on commands, and keeping them healthy and happy. The results, however, are a collection of awards too numerous to display in one place, and very happy dogs. Hi-Cliff kennels is set in a peaceful, picturesque corner of Eau Claire, Wisconsin against a uniquely landscaped drop of hillside. Inside the kennel, however, the mood is anything but peaceful, for Hi-Cliff is home to a lively bunch of German Shepherd's."

Written by Mr. Don Cliff, 1999...

I had the usual childhood living in a small community; going to school in the winter time and working and vacationing on my grandparents farm every summer. So I learned to love and work with animals at a young age. I belonged to the 4H Club for many years, showing cattle and horses. At the age of 15, I learned how to fly, so after high school in 1946 I joined the Air Force for four years. In the Air Force I was a weather man stationed at what is now Chicago International Field. Just as I was about to enter my flight training school in Texas, I was injured and ended up at Walter Reid Hospital in Washington D.C. It was there that I met my wife, Patricia, when going on a blind date. We were married in Chicago, January, 1951. After living in Chicago for one year, both with good jobs, we decided that we did not like living in a large city. We then moved to Eau Claire, Wisconsin and I took the first job I could find which did not pay very much... 95 cents per hour. During the next few years I worked my way up to be plant engineer while Pat was being a good housewife, raising our three children and taking care of me. In 1966 we had the opportunity to buy the business that later became Cliff Industrial Corporation. Then with Pat's help working as secretary, bookkeeper, treasurer and general all-around helper, the business grew to where we could have a very comfortable lifestyle. This last year, 1998, we sold the business to my son.

We have been involved in a number of activities over the years. When our children were young and were interested in water skiing, we built our own jet boat. It would pull six water skiers at one time. During this time we also built a gyrocopter with pontoons which we pulled back of the boat. The first time we flew the gyrocopter and landed it near a beach with a lot of people, they clapped. After the children grew up and got married I became involved with Super Vee racing. There was a young man in our city of Eau Claire who had been a modified scooter champion. At times he would come into our machine shop and we would make parts for him. He then got into the Super Vee racing, which used a Volkswagon engine, a smaller version of an Indianapolis racer. After doing that for a couple of years, his father and I bought a full-blown Indianapolis race car. We competed on the racing circuit for a couple of years going all over the country and Mexico City. The team at that time was known as the Cliff-Menard Racing Team, later to become, and still is, the Menard Racing Team. After this period in our lives we became involved with showing German Shepherd Dogs. No wonder we ended up with high blood pressure.

Hi-Cliff kennels was established in 1986. The name Hi-Cliff came about because customers coming into the machine shop would always say "Hi Cliff" I don't really know if they could not remember my name as Don or thought that my first name was Cliff. So that is how the name of our kennel came about.

We bought our first German Shepherd Dog, a male, silver and gray, as a small puppy about 1970. He was not what you would consider a show dog, but was a very intelligent dog and a good companion. We loved him dearly. I took him through obedience training and taught him many tricks. One of the tricks that he learned was how to do arithmetic. I would ask him to add or subtract and he would bark a number of times until I raised my little finger slightly. No one ever caught on to the signal that I was giving him. This dog's name was Maxx. He loved everyone and took very good care of our children as they were growing up. The only person he did not like was the paper boy. We had several over the 14 years of his life. One of the first paper boys would ride in on his bike and kick at him. I had taught him to bring me the paper and so I always told the paper boys to just give him the paper. After that we never had a problem with it. One time I was standing talking to one of the paper boys who was quitting his route and Maxx came up to the bike and chewed on the bag that the papers were in. The paper boy, quite surprised asked me "Why did he do that". I told him about the boy that used to kick at him and I said that he knew he could not bite a person so he bit the bag instead. In the house it was quite convenient as my wife and I each read a part of the paper and Maxx would exchange pieces back and forth between us. When Maxx passed on we thought that we would never get another dog that would compare with him. It was a little over a year when we decided that our life was not complete without a German Shepherd Dog.

We went to a local breeder and purchased Jerland's Bear-On-Cliff OFA who turned out to be another super smart and friendly dog. We started showing him when he was a puppy. We were new to showing and so was our handler, Kent Boyles. Bear-On was our first Champion. He also had a CD title and was a therapy dog, along with being our house dog and guardian for many years. We also purchased a female out of Lothario by the name of Jerland's Racine OFA who also became a Champion. We called her Pepper. She was a small female who had great suspension and moved beautifully around the ring. Pepper was the dam of Rising Starr who when bred to Von Saar's Field of Dreams produced Hi-Cliff's High Hopes. High Hopes was two times Select Canadian Champion and Select American Champion. She was also the No. 1 German Shepherd Dog in both breed and all-breed for the years 1996 and 1997.

After both Bear and Pepper became Champions, we showed them at our first National in Houston. I believe that was 1986. It was at this show that we saw Von Saar's Baby Ruth, and we became partners and friends with Helen Franklin. We campaigned and finished Von Saar's Baby Ruth, Von Saar's Limelight and Von Saar's Laredo. Ruthie and Laredo were both dark dogs, very clean coming and going, had good bone, outstanding personality and superb movement. Laredo and Ruth both finished their Championships in a very short time.

It was 1993 when we became partners with Sandy Anderson, who has been one of the best breeders in Canada for many years. We were able to become co-owners of Canadian Grand Victrix Champion Echolane's Holly v Woodside who, with Gail Sprock as the handler, became an American Champion. Some of the other dogs we have campaigned and had success with are Am Ch Can MV Sel Ch Woodside's Van Halen OFA, Am Sel Ch Can MVx Sel Ch Woodside Future Vision OFA, Am Ch Can Sel Ch Hi-Cliff's Laser v Woodside OFA, Am Ch Can Sel Ch Woodside's Easy Street OFA and Can Ch Woodside's Kennedy Echolane OFA the #1 Canadian Sire for 1998.

We are currently campaigning many promising young dogs and bitches. We have co-bred six litters and plan to have more in the future. Our purpose being to only breed quality German Shepherds and leave the breed better than when we started.

Generally Pat and I whelp the litters, but occasionally my son Randy or one of my daughters or granddaughters will help. I don't know why, but our bitches all seemed to have their puppies about 3:00 in the morning, so consequently we are always very tired by the time the puppies are born. I am sure that everyone who has had puppies has known heartaches, as have we. Things do not always go as we would like it to. The hardest part of being a breeder is losing the dogs you love. It's a shame that these dogs who love us, as we love them, do not have a longer life span. Each time we have to put a dog to rest a piece of my heart is torn away. As far as having a favorite dog, about the time that I feel that a particular dog is my favorite, another German Shepherd captures my heart.

Pat and I do most of the work in and around the kennel. We generally get up at 6:00 in the morning, take care of the dogs that are in the house with us, generally three, and then go up to the kennel for between one and two hours. There is always something that needs to be repaired or updated as with any endeavor. We try to exercise and/or be with our dogs during the daytime. Then between 5:00 or 6:00 o'clock we spend another hour feeding and taking care of them. If any of the dogs have a health problem, we have been known to go the extra mile in order to help them. Sometimes, at about 10:00, just before we go to bed, we again go up to the kennel to check them out and give them a good night treat.

We have worked with most of the top handlers in the United States and Canada. Almost all of them are thoroughly professional people with integrity. There have been only a couple of occasions when I have not been completely satisfied with the results of their labor. Naturally, we all would like to win all of the time, but if other people did not win their share of the time there would be no competition and eventually no shows. Everyone that does win should be humble when they do, and congratulate and be happy for other people when they don't.

We have been members of the German Shepherd Dog Club of Minneapolis/St. Paul ever since we started showing German Shepherd Dogs, although we do not get to the meetings very often as we live approximately 90 miles away. We have met and enjoyed meeting a lot of wonderful people in the dog show world, and especially the many people we count as friends. Even though there is a certain amount of competitiveness during a show, very seldom do you see a bad sport and we can all go together and have a bite to eat or drink and still be friends.

Before having so many dogs, we did quite a bit of traveling. Spain five times, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Morocco, Mexico and of course Canada and most of the States including Alaska and Hawaii. Now that we have the dogs, we travel to shows. Perhaps one of the most memorable German Shepherd National Dog Shows was the Los Angeles show where Pat was shot at while traveling from the hotel to the airport. She was traveling in a shuttle van and the bullet missed her by about four inches. A favorite National was the Canadian National the first time I went there... we came home with four Select ribbons. And of course, we cannot forget the National in Lexington, Kentucky where we had our first American Select and damn near froze. My wife's favorite National was where Hope got her Select ribbon after being the last one excused the year before. We also had that happen when Holly was the last one excused. But no matter what title a dog obtains, I love every one of them.