R.I. P. Steve Lino - Page 1

From the UScA web site:

Steve Lino

We wish to extend our condolences on the passing of one of USCA's earliest members - Steve Lino. Steve passed away Sunday, May 27, 2012. Services were held on May 31.
Many will remember Steve as a national competitor from the South East region. Although he has not been active for years in the sport his impact is strong to this day in our club, sport,and breed.
Steve Lino bred for over 50 years under the UScA-registered kennel name of von LinMarc. His resume outside of dog sport includes training director for several police departments and his own Kennel business in Pennsylvania and Florida. , In their kennel business, he trained countless clients, with their dogs of all breeds and types.
He ran a car body shop and a very respected Dog food supplement company, Loveland. His other passion was deep sea sport fishing in which he had a charter business in Costa Rica.
Steve acquired his first GSD in 1958 while on active duty in the US Navy. He showed dogs in AKC before there was a UScA, his pre-Schutzhund interest including conformation, obedience and tracking.
Steve was among the first to investigate Schutzhund as a sport in the early 1970's attending one of the first seminars for Schutzhunds in United States by Gernot Reidel. From there, he competed in many regional and national events including winning the 1989 North American championship and being on WUSV world teams in 1987,1989, and 1990. Steve was a regional director for the Souteastern region and an original member of the Breed advisory committee. His belief in the total dog can be seen in how BAC influenced UScA's foray into a breed program.
Steve was progressive in the breed. He worked with many of the top trainers from Europe and then was an excellent teacher and mentor to people here in the US.
In USCA, Steve was a Gold Sport Medal winner.
Steve is survived by wife of over 50 years, Deloris (Dee) and a son Mike

  Heart-felt condolences to Steve's family and friends.

RIP Steve. Condolences to family and friends from the PDB.

Very sorry for his family's loss.

Very sorry to hear of Steve's passing.

Pharaoh's mother came from one of his all time favorite females.  We spoke on the phone several times and I sent him pictures of his "grandson".

Many superior dogs came from his breeding or importation.

He will be missed.

Michele

My condolences to Steve's family and friends.  

Ajay Singh
 

Oh no... this is terrible news.

My dog (the dog in my avatar) came from his kennel and is probably the best, most intelligent, loyal dog I've owned, and I have only ever heard good things about him and his dogs, even if I have never had the pleasure of speaking to him myself. I've read many things he has written on other forums and he most certainly knew what he was talking about when it came to dogs.

Rest in Peace, Steve... reunited with Peddy and the others at last.

Condolences to Dee, family and friends. Dee is also an awesome trainer.
I have one of Steve's pups.
Very intelligent and affectionate DDR girl.
I spent hours at their house when I picked the pup up, and Steve regaled with stories about dogs and the personalities around them.
Steve had been in German shepherds longer than I have been alive and I'm over 50.
He started in AKC showing and ended up being in the WUSV. So he knew ASL, GSL, WL, you name it.
When Steve started in GSDs there was no split. Even ASLs were just one generation away from German dogs. This was before Bernd Lierberg so BSZS and BSP dogs were one and the same.
He considered his best dog a Cliff Huhnegrab son.
You couldn't bullshit Steve about dogs and schutzhund, extreme drives, etc. He was training working dogs and police dogs before schutzhund was introduced to the U.S.
He bred for the all-around, utility working dog with great looks. The GSD as it once was.
It's too bad as people like him go to the great beyond we have fewer and fewer people left who knew GSDs before the splintering.

 
 

condolences to Dee and family....a good man gone too soon.

R.I.P. Steve, and my sympathies to all his family and friends