In Loving Memory of Joachim Pilz
On the night of the last Euro-OES-Show on June 9, 2019, after the show and the Gala party, Joachim died at the age of only 65!
I had met him around 40 years ago at the dog shows. At that time he had a nice dog that I "used" and from that moment we became friends and that never passed. He was just like me, possessed of the breed and that was of course a good basis!
When Roberto Arcion (Italy), in 1985, said that a European show might be desirable, we were very excited. Roberto then organized his national Italian Clubshow and called that show (not based on anything) EURO-OES-SHOW. Many Europeans were present during this show, including a number of breeders: Pedro Frean, Barbara Muller, Claude Ritter, Eef ter Mors and Joachim Pilz. This group decided to investigate whether there might be a possibility to set up a European Show. This turned out to be impossible due to the official structures that applied at the time so, we decided to do it based on voluntary participation of the European clubs. We established a number of ethical rules that European clubs should then voluntarily adhere to and succeeded! The clubs agreed with this. It was also desided that the Euro-OES forum would then determine which club would be allowed to organize the show the following year.
From that moment everything started to turn. Joachim has attended 31 of the 33 euro-es shows and has always been concerned about promoting the euro show and getting some finances for the organization. The euro show was really HIS thing! In the time before the last show he was already very sick. He was in intensive care regularly! He wanted his partner to just go to the show and she wasn't allowed to talk to anyone about the extent of his illness! He apparently felt his end approaching and he didn't want this to negatively affect the mood on the show.
As said, the night after the show was over and the usual party was celebrated, Joachim died in silence in his hospital bed in Germany. Goosebumps for everyone who has known him and knows the motivation behind this event !! The OES lovers all over the world owe a lot to Joachim!
Dear Joachim, RIP
Eef ter Mors