Youngest Certified Helper in the USA
By L. S. Young

                     

     It was Labor Day weekend 2007, on the beautiful island of Hawaii, that (possibly) the youngest helper known to date, was certified by USA Judge Nathaniel Roque. That young man is Eric Kahulilani Young at age 14. Eric, a sophomore attending The Kamehameha Schools, is the son of Ted and Laurel Young. They were the founding members that established the first sanctioned club with the USA in the State of Hawaii back in 1994 and consequently held 10 trials on their training field.

     Eric has been raised with dogs his whole life.  His parents established the vom Younghaus German Shepherd breeding program back in 1991. Eric has been caring for the dogs and the kennels since he was 5 years old.  At age 11 he could feed and care for up to 50 dogs on a daily basis.  Eric has been working with his dad training dogs in obedience for many years but took a strong liking to the protection phase about 1 year ago.  They train rain or shine twice a week for 3-4 hours with a small training group. 

     Eric is raising and working 3 of his own pups from birth and looks forward to competing with them when they are of age. Eric is a dedicated dog owner, good student, talented drummer, saxophone player and a brown belt in Judo, beginning at age 4. He has no time for TV but is always moving ahead towards his goal of reaching the nationals as a handler and a helper and entering the HOT trials.

     The members of Schutzhund Hawaii were very supportive in welcoming Eric to work their dogs and offered their support.   Judge Nathaniel Roque made a statement.  “More young people need to become active in this sport of Schutzhund.  The Youth ARE the future. They will be the ones to continue the sport.”  Congratulations Eric!