Vaskur frá Þorvaldsstöðum

Vaskur frá Þorvaldsstöðum in Breiðdal was one of eight dogs that Mark Watson purchased in Iceland and brought to California in the 1950s to breed Icelandic sheepdogs and prevent the breed from becoming extinct.

Apart from Vaskur, we know the names of four other dogs:

Bósi frá Höskuldsstöðum (1955, Skagafjörður)

Brana frá Hvanná (1955, Jökuldalur)

Konni frá Lindarbakki (1956, Breiðdalur)

Auli frá Sleðbrjót (1956, Jökulsárhlíð)

Shortly after the dogs arrived in California, a canine epidemic broke out, and some of the dogs died. Watson later moved back to England, taking the surviving dogs with him.

Vaskur survived the epidemic and moved with Watson to England. There, he gained attention at the Crufts show in 1960. He competed in the category “Any Variety Not Classified at this Show,” a mixed class, and won first place. The judge, Mrs. W. Barber, had this to say about Vaskur:

“Vaskur completely won me over as a good-looking, medium-sized dog. Sound and with the essentials of his breed standard clearly defined, he was a happy and friendly dog to meet and appeared to be enjoying his outing.”

Vaskur was awarded in the categories “Novice 1” and “Open 1.”

The Icelandic Kennel Club (Hundaræktarfélag Íslands - HRFÍ) was founded in 1969 at the Hótel Saga in Reykjavík. One of the club’s main goals was to protect and breed the Icelandic sheepdog.

An image of Vaskur frá Þorvaldsstöðum was later used as the model for the club’s logo.

The Icelandic Sheepdog Division (Deild íslenska fjárhundsins - DÍF) was established in 1979 and operates within the HRFÍ as one of its largest divisions. Its logo is the same, except that Vaskur faces the opposite direction.