Yesterday's Newsday obituary of Long Island real-estate developer Roger Rechler made a throw-away reference to him as a "dog breeder."
But for those in the fancy, he was much more than that.
Rechler inherited the famous Afghan-hound kennel of Sunny Shay (who died of a heart attack in the ring at a dog show in 1978), and Grandeur Afghans made their mark on the breed with dogs as famous as Shirkan and Tryst, the kennel's swan song.
In recent years, Rechler owned and backed very successful show dogs in other breeds, most recently the English-imported Akita, Macey, who won the Working group at Westminster this year and last.
Long Island, once bustling with famous, well-run kennels, is now more bereft of them than ever.
Comments (2)
So sorry to hear of his passing, his whole family and all his businesses are clients of ours. He is one of the biggest names in development here.
I remember the Sunny and the Grandeur Afghans. Here's a link to that history.
http://www.afghansofgrandeur.com/index1.html