The following article is from the Boerboel News about Lucas van der Merwe, one of the founding fathers of the Boerboel, and owner of Mizpah Boerboels. It is important to keep these articles so that we can maintain the history of the Boerboel. Mr. Lucas van der Merwe passed away in late 2010, but he left his legacy in the dogs we now know as "farm dogs".
Boerboel News: Lucas van der Merwe: Passion in Action
Volume 61/1: April 2010
"Boerboel News had the privilege of interviewing Boerboel legend, Lucas van der Merwe of Mizpah Boerboels (between Kroonstad and Vredefort in the Free State, SA), on the 18th March 2010. Lucas van der Merwe grew up with Boerboels in the Northern Free State (in those days the term ‘Boele’was used and people only started talking of ‘Boerboels’ in the early 1950s). He is a founding member of SABBA (member number 3) and an honorary life president. Members 1, 2 were Johan de Jager and Delarey Schoeman. The first three SABBA chairmen were Johan de Jager, Nic van der Linde, and thereafter Lucas.
According to Lucas Boerboel ‘politics’ were already very active in his days of chairmanship, and at times, he would receive up to 40 telephone calls per day. The founders had one common purpose: The Boerboel must survive as living Africana.
Mizpah is a Hebrew name from the Bible, and means ‘God be with you until we meet again’. According to Lucas, the Boerboels from Mizpah are the product of strict selection over many generations to establish the unique Mizpah bloodline.
In the early years of Mizpah, he raised the puppies on porridge and milk only. Dog food was not yet available. When Lucas bought the first ready-made food for dogs, it was a bag of Epol that had to be fed dry. He gave it to the domestic worker in the kitchen and told her to make porridge for the dogs. After a while, the one pot became four pots as it swelled from the water and nobody could understand this kind of floury substance. Lucas later suggested to Epol to produce the food in pill-form as the meal made the dogs sneeze.
To prevent the rats from feeding during the night, Lucas feeds the dogs in the mornings only. He also keeps milk goats to help feed the puppies. He finds this an excellent feed, as it promotes growth and does not upset puppies’ stomachs. It was also interesting to see how much the Boerboels loved the watermelons meant for the goats - they ate until only the green skins were left!
Lucas also breeds the Jack Russell. At one place, there is a ladder built right over the Boerboel fence. This is to prevent the Jack Russells from storming into the camp when the gate is opened. So far, the terriers have not learned to climb ladders!
As far as the temperament of the Boerboels is concerned, Lucas says that it was bred to be a guard dog during the Great Trek in the 1800s. Along the trail, they were developed to be more functional as guard dogs. Thus, aggressive dogs could not be tolerated.
He says that piebald Boerboels always existed. On the farms, all the shepherds had piebald dogs to accompany them as they could be easily identified among the sheep and in the veld, and not be mistaken for wild beasts.
Lucas warns against the breeding of too big and aggressive dogs. He regards the Boerboel as a medium sized dog, and not one of the giant breeds. He says that brindle is the most popular colour, and if he had a choice, he would only have brindles. He calls the black Boerboel the ‘ultra-brindle’.
Lucas does not breed with any dog that has a tendency to be aggressive, snappy, has too much lip, or shows signs of entropion.
He ensures that he always has stock for the immediate treatment of his dogs. This includes medication and antibiotics for diseases such as tick fever, bite wounds, deworming and the regular treatment (dip) for fleas and ticks.
Lucas’s favourite dogs are honoured with a special note on his ‘Memorial Wall’ and certain ones qualify to be buried in a heroes' acre. His favourite dog was Tolla, and they were together everywhere all the time. According to Lucas, he could just drop his hand anywhere and it would be on Tolla’s head. Tolla, at the age of eight years, was allowed in a restaurant because the owner agreed that he qualified as a senior citizen, and should not have to sit alone in the bakkie. The age of the dogs that have died (mainly because of cancer), ranges between 9 and 10 years.
He also remembers Tekkies, Mizpah’s ‘Doctor’, whose habit it was to lick and clean the wounds of the other dogs. His gravestone (translated from Afrikaans) reads:
Never hungry again
Never cold again
His voice is quiet
The doctor of Mizpah has returned to the Great Doctor
Rest in peace, old friend"
