Owen Lippert grew up in Vancouver, where his mother, Margaret Lippert (née Lambert), was a writer. He remembers her writing or helping to write scripts before the family moved to Hawaii in 1965.
Owen spoke very warmly about his mother and her abilities as a writer:
“My mother was a superb writer who never got the break she should have. Margaret excelled at scenes of people’s meeting and interacting. Her set pieces were authentic, timed perfectly, and compelled one deeper into the story.”
Chuck Eisenmann and his dogs were also part of Owen’s childhood memories. He remembers Chuck bringing the dogs to the family home, and one demonstration with Toro has stayed with him ever since:
“Chuck would bring the dogs to the house and show what they could do. I remember one party where Chuck asked Toro to find the bird in the cage. Now we did not have one so the request seemed strange even to a 10 year old (me). Toro went over and placed his paw on a woman. Everyone looked then burst into cheers. She pulled her hair back to reveal bird in a cage earrings.”
Owen also remembers asking Chuck how many words Toro knew:
“The only other clear memory I have is that of asking Chuck how many words did Toro know. A strange question from a 10 year old. He took it seriously. He said around 1200 words. He said it was hard to know exactly as they understood words in context not just blurted out.”
That recollection fits closely with the way Chuck described working with his dogs: not simply teaching them to respond to individual words, but speaking to them in sentences and giving them the opportunity to understand meaning from context.
Owen remembers Chuck himself as someone who tried to help his mother during a complicated period in her life:
“I remember Chuck as an outgoing guy. I think he wanted to help Margaret who was struggling with three boys, quarrelling with the Vancouver Catholic bishop over the role of women, and wondering how the hell did a quiet girl from Victoria end up in this craziness.”
Margaret died in 1990 and is buried in Victoria, British Columbia.
We’re very grateful to Owen for sharing these memories of his mother, Chuck and the dogs.