I recently came upon your website as I conducted a search for information about the lineage of two Lhasa Apsos that were part of our family. I first became acquainted with Lhasa Apsos in the Tibetan village of Upper Dharamsala, India(McCleod Ganj( where I lived for a period of time in 1973-74. After my return to Canada I maintained close contact with the Tibetan community in Canada, and later became involved in Tibetan cultural affairs.
Read more…including Ted’s tribute to Loki.
Filed under: Gompa Lhasa Apsos
As I stood silently in the room awash with bright colors, I was struck by several thoughts.
How could it be I am standing inside a gompa, a real gompa? How could it be a lama’s dog, an Apso named Dewa, was waiting outside?
Filed under: Gompa Lhasa Apsos
An open house was held September 11, 2006 to welcome guests from Europe, Canada and various parts of the United States. Some had journeyed specifically to see the Gompa dogs!
Filed under: Gompa Lhasa Apsos
May 2006 Ruth flew to California, with a stop in Colorado, hand-delivering puppies to hosts in each local, meeting new people and reconnecting with others.
Filed under: Gompa Lhasa Apsos
Beware—one look into the almond eyes of a Gompa Lhasa Apso and you will lose your heart to their souls and the mysticism of their Tibetan heritage!
Generally smaller than today’s westernized Lhasa Apso, these little “Gompa dogs” (in Tibetan, gompa means monastery) are direct descendants from the monastery dogs at the Drepung Monastery in Tibet. Protected and fostered by Lama Gyen Yeshe the bloodlines of these shaggy little treasures of the past have remained untainted and their physical characteristics are true to the monastery Apsos that once ran freely through the great halls and passageways as part of Tibetan monastery life.
Filed under: Gompa Lhasa Apsos
The Gompa Lhasa Apso story is not such an easy story to tell. Why? Because it is not just one story; it is made up of many.
More than fifty people in seven countries over twenty-five years are part of the story. Most of them had no idea that they were going to play a part, until they did. And no one knew what the final outcome would be for the dogs along the way.
Filed under: Gompa Lhasa Apsos
Small, long-haired dogs, Lhasa Apsos are an ancient breed originating on the high plateau of Tibet in the Himalayas. Hardy and well adapted to extremes of climate and altitude, they served as sentinels within Tibetan monasteries and homes, resulting in a temperament that is alert, independent, and discriminating toward strangers.
With evidence of existence for millennia, the geographical isolation of Tibet resulted in scattered information reaching the rest of the world. Until the last forty years only diplomats and adventurers traveled to isolated regions of the Himalayas. Near the turn of the twentieth century several foreign diplomats were gifted with Lhasa Apsos by His Holiness the 13th Dalai Lama, introducing the breed to western civilization.
Filed under: Gompa Lhasa Apsos
September 10, 2005 marked the premier screening of a Lunchhouse Production, Ancient Treasure. The audience journeyed into the mists of ancient Tibet, visiting the origins of the Gompa Lhasa Apso, ending with an exhibition of several Gompa dogs. Imported from Nepal, they represent the breed as it lived for centuries among the monks in Tibetan monasteries. As such, they provide a rich and diverse gene pool, and insights into management of small population genetics.
Filed under: Gompa Lhasa Apsos
Ruth Gerath and Debby Rothman, met a number of dogs for the first time in April 2005 at Its a Dog Party. Debby wrote an article about the experience which was published in the Fall 2006 issue of The Lhasa Bulletin.
Filed under: Gompa Lhasa Apsos
October 20, 2004 a group of six Gompa Lhasa Apsos made their first public appearance to a standing room only crowd…
