LES MONTAGNES SERBES

OD SRPSKIH PLANINA

DEPARTURE OF DILBASH, ARRIVAL OF DADASH.

Dilbash developed into a beautiful and very strong male. He had an exceptionally powerful built, large and handsome head, tall (deep) snout, beautiful teeth, and a very pleasant personality. Naturally, he also had his drawbacks: somewhat lighter eyes and pennon. At about 18 months of age he begun to participate in dog shows and at one of the shows we were disturbed by his peculiar behavior. He appeared afraid, lost; he shook his head without interruption. This was the beginning of a fatal brain illness, which the veterinarian, internist at the Veterinary School Clinic, characterized as the encephalitis. Dilbash lost his sight and smell, he could no longer feed himself, or drink on his own. He retained his pleasant predisposition, jolly and with a good appetite; most of all, he loved life. We tried all remedies, and cortisone therapy, and homeopathy. His condition did not change for months at a time, while his care took its tall on our health. Finally, I arrived at a "major decision" and Dilbash was euthanized in the spring of 1983 when he was only 2 years old.
We were again on the market for a male dog. We knew that Boskovic had still one of Dilbach's brothers and we begun the negotiations to purchase him. Once he agreed, we took off for Macva to pick up the dog. On our way there, some 30 km away from Belgrade, we rented a boat and spent one day visiting the renowned swamps Obedska Bara . The swamps originate from an old branch of the river Sava, which became the natural habitat for the waterfowl and famous hunting ground for the wild boar. Marrais d'Obed
Marrais d'Obed Marrais d'Obed
Macva is a region south of Sava, extending all the way to the river Drina on the west, and Kolubara on the east. Although it has mountains, it also contains a lot of fertile farmland. Boskovic'c parents lived at the foothills of the mountain Cer, and he built a weekend home in the same area.

paysage de Matchva

Montagne Cer
StepanovicThe mention of Cer, brings back to memory the history of Serbia and the famous, World War I Battle at Cer. In fact, the war started with the Battle at Cer, which lasted for ten full days, from the 15th to 24th of August, 1914. As the Fifth Austro-Hungarian battalion crossed the river Drina and advanced into Serbia, the second battalion crossed Sava and occupied Sabac. The battle did not proceed by the planned side attack but, contrary to the orders of the Top Command, it took place as a head-on attack on the Austro-Hungarian army. The Serbian army was under the command of Stepa Stepanovic, who was awarded the title of Vojvoda for the success of this battle. Both Austo-Hungarian armies were defeated and had to retreat. The casualties were enormous. Of the 200,000 Austro-Hungarian and 180,000 Serbian solders that took part in the battle, 25,000 of the enemy solders were killed and 4,500 imprisoned, while the Serbs lost 16,045 solders and 250 officers. This was the first winning battle of the Serbs and their allies in the World War I. It raised the reputation of the Serbian army and it contributed to the Austro-Hungarian delay in concentrating its forces on the Russian front.
Our trip to Macva brings the recollection of one of its great sons, the famous Serbian painter and our personal friend, Milic of Macva, who passed away prematurely, a year ago. One of his paintings represents Vojvoda Stepa Stepanovic.
Milic de MatchvaVoyvoda Stepa Stepanovic dans la bataille de Cer
Dadash and my family

At the foot of mountain Cer Rade Boskovic and his aging parents greeted us. As he waited for us, tied to an old plum tree, Dadash looked pitiful. Upon our insistence, they let him loose to roam a little around. He immediately surprised us by his hunting instinct, as he repeatedly caught pigeons nesting nearby, and devoured them, feathers and all. It was apparent, that he was in need of proteins. The old folks cried bitterly as we lead away their Darko, as they called him; Dadash also wanted to stay on his farm. As we arrived in Belgrade, we immediately took a "family picture".
Dadash


When Dadash arrived to our farm in Belgium, he encountered our very territorial and aggressive Zoé; the "war" between them lasted a couple of days. In the end, everything turned well. Dadash was also a tall and large dog, like Dilbash, a little darker, and again with light color eyes and the hind leg under somewhat open angles. While with us, he grew even bigger and developed a large thorax. He must have weighed over 70 kg. Dadash had a fantastic predisposition; he never attacked either other dogs or people. He was a very good-natured dog. Zoé remained in control. We could finally make plans for her procreation.
Dadash
Dadash