From the President: Winter 2024

Remembering Lena Amirian and supporting the Lena Amirian Memorial Spinone Health Fund.

I have owned and loved dogs all my life, but Lena Amirian changed my relationships with dogs. Gifted with the rare and unique ability to truly “read” a dog, Lena saw every dog as an individual and intuitively understood what each dog needed to learn and to perform at its best. For those lucky enough to work with her in the early 2000s, she transformed us as well. 

The Lena Amirian Memorial Spinone Health Fund 

When Lena died in 2019, she left behind an immense legacy and it was a great loss to all who knew and loved her. SCOA’s health fund is named after Lena Amirian because of her profound work with the breed and the enduring impact she made upon Spinone owners during the early 2000s, when the Spinone was first recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC) and the Spinone Club of America (SCOA) was named as its AKC parent club. 

Lena touched so many with her generous spirit, wealth of knowledge, infectious enthusiasm, gracious manner, and passion for the Spinone. The Lena Fund, as it is casually called, was established in her memory as a step towards helping to achieve longer and healthier lives for our beloved breed. 

Lena and Spinoni 

Lena earned a NAVHDA Versatile Champion title, an AKC Master Hunter title, and Best of Breed at Westminster KC with BISS CH Rufus di Morghengo MH. SCOA’s Rufus Cup is so named because of his accomplishments in field and show. Lena was also a conformation judge, a NAVHDA judge, an influential breeder, and active in several Club committees. Lena did it all, but she also brought many of us along with her, generously sharing her love of the breed as well as her understanding of dogs. 

As a member of the Yankee Chapter of NAVHDA, Lena began the original Spinone Only days around 2000. It was an all-volunteer effort that brought together sometimes as many as 65 Spinoni for training and community-building. The friendships built around those days in the field and water training endure, perhaps being most special because we trained together, supported each other, and developed a passion for the breed that was fueled by Lena’s enthusiasm. 

One of the most interesting workshops I saw Lena give illustrates Lena’s gift for teaching handlers as well as for reading dogs. She had a dog brought to the front of the group and gave no commands, allowing the dog to display its natural temperament. She asked us, “What do you see?” The questions that followed made us consider what that dog needed, the implications for its training, and how to build the all-important relationship with that dog. She made us think about each individual dog before we even thought about training – so basic, so rarely done. 

Many of us worked with Lena from puppyhood through to the NAVHDA Invitational level, learned to hunt with her and her husband Ash, and spent many happy days afield. We were given some memorable gifts, one of the largest being her selfless desire to help preserve the breed in conformation and hunting.

It was Lena who said that I would never have a bond so great as one that I would share with a dog I trained and hunted with, and she was right. 

The Lena Fund and Giving Back 

The Lena Fund is dedicated to advancing Spinone health by supporting scientific research and the dissemination of health information. We hope that many Spinone lovers will help in this work by donating as we approach this holiday season. 

Recently, SCOA donated $4,000 from the Lena Fund to the Kennel Club Genetic Center in Cambridge towards an Idiopathic Epilepsy study that includes the Spinone. By donating through the Health and Rescue Foundation of the Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen Club of America, our $4,000 actually brought in $8,000 for this project. This is the kind of critical use of funds that we hope will further breed-specific research, wherever it takes place in the world. 

Please consider Donating to the Lena Amirian Memorial Spinone Health Fund.

Ann Bagnell, President

Spinone Club of America

Questions? Contact the Health Committee at Health@SpinoneClubofAmerica.com.