Rottweilers & German Shepherds of Distinction
Hello. My name is Betty Burden
and I would like to welcome you to the online home of Vom Hognadottir
Rottweilers
and German
Shepherds. Our Rottweiler and German Shepherd kennel is located in
Pilot Hill, California, approx' 30 miles east of Sacramento, CA. (Pilot
Hill is in El Dorado County, CA in the Sacramento metro area). We have
been breeding top quality
Rottweilers
and top quality
German
Shepherds with stable temperaments, sound structure and high
intelligence for over thirty years.
I am often asked about the
origin of my kennel name, what it means, and how you pronounce it. I
wanted to use a unique kennel name that I knew no one else would have,
and that would have a special meaning. I am originally from Iceland, (I
came to the U.S when I was 19 years old, and speak fluent Icelandic and
English) and Hognadottir [pronounced: Hog-na-daughter] is my Icelandic
family name, and a big part of my heritage.
Here is a basic
explanation of how Icelandic family names work, taken from a wonderful
website by Eve Andersson. You can visit her site here for further
information, pictures, and some very interesting facts about Iceland.
"About 10% of Icelanders have a family name that is passed down from
generation to generation, as is done in Europe and North America (e.g.,
Mary and Joe Smith's kids also have the last name Smith). Most families
in Iceland instead use a patronymic naming system, where the last name
of the children is taken from the father's first name. For example, if
the father's first name is Gunnar, his son's last name will be
Gunnarsson and his daughter's last name will be Gunnarsdóttir."
So, as you can see, being a daughter, my (maiden) name is "Hognadottir",
so my kennel name became "Vom Hognadottir".
My love for the
German Shepherd breed began when I was a young girl. My best friend had
two German
Shepherds. These wonderful dogs would pull us on sleds in the winter
months and then on carts in the summer. There was no need for horses
with these dogs around... and so it had begun! My love of
Rottweilers
began not even two years later, upon discovering how intelligent,
extremely loyal and willing to please these dogs are. (much like the
German Shepherd) I knew that I would always have a Rottweiler in my
life. My love and devotion continues to this day as I try to give others
the same wonderful experiences with these dogs that I have had.