Schipperke · Non-Sporting Group
The Schipperke Wall
The wall is forming · Be among the first families to add yours
Those who have crossed
Jet
March 2010 – November 2023
The kitchen counter — photographed from below, watching what was happening up top, for thirteen years
Example
Pepper
July 2012 – April 2024
Blurred in half the photos — she was never still long enough for the camera
Example
Captain
January 2011 – September 2023
The highest available perch in every room — chair backs, tables, the top of the couch
Example
Licorice
May 2013 – February 2024
The ruff. That distinctive mane of black fur stands out in every close-up
Example
Nico
August 2009 – June 2023
The door. Every delivery, every visitor, every sound — he was there first, every time
Example
Pages marked 'example' are demonstration bridges showing what a memorial looks like — not real families. The small lines beneath each are examples of what Memory Weather surfaces over time.
Remembrance
Schipperkes are remembered for the mischief — purposeful, relentless, and entirely unrepentant. They were the little black devils of the Belgian canal boats, and they never forgot it. Every cabinet was an investigation. Every bag was an opportunity. Every visitor was a security event that required immediate response. Nothing in the house was too high, too locked, or too forbidden for a Schipperke who had decided it was relevant. The chaos was their love language.
They were small and black and tailless and they moved through the house like a shadow with an agenda. The ruff around their neck gave them the silhouette of something larger and more dignified than their behavior warranted. Schipperke families lived in a state of amused vigilance — you never knew what they would do next, only that it would be something, and it would require attention.
“He opened the treat cabinet. We installed a child lock. He opened the child lock. We installed a second lock. He sat in front of the cabinet and stared at us until we opened it ourselves. He won every negotiation for fourteen years.”
What to remember
When you create a bridge, these prompts help you hold the details that matter most — the ones that fade first.
What did they investigate first when you came home — your pockets, your bags, your shoes? What was the inspection protocol?
What was the most elaborate escape, heist, or scheme they executed? The one you still tell people about with grudging admiration?
What did they guard — the specific thing, person, or territory that they took most seriously, despite being twelve pounds?
Where was their vantage point — the highest spot they could reach, the place they perched to survey their domain?
What did strangers say first — about the size, the taillessness, the ruff, or the intense stare that suggested this small dog was running a security operation?
What did they do when you were upset — did the mischief pause? Did they go quiet and press against you in a way that contradicted every other chaotic moment?
Words that stayed
“Twelve pounds of solid black muscle and a ruff that made her look like a tiny lion. No tail. No fear. No boundaries. She was magnificent.”
physical
“He opened three different types of child-proof locks, a sliding door, and once, memorably, a zipper. We never figured out the zipper.”
funny
“Nothing is being investigated. The cabinets stay closed. The bags go unrifled. The house is organized and it is terrible.”
absence
“She was twelve pounds and she ran the house with the authority of a dog five times her size. No one questioned it. No one could.”
character
“Fifteen years of schemes and investigations and mischief and a love so fierce it came disguised as chaos.”
time
The math
Schipperkes typically live 12–16 years.
Hypothyroidism is the most common endocrine concern in the breed. Patellar luxation and Legg-Calve-Perthes disease affect the joints, particularly in a dog as active as a Schipperke. MPS IIIB, a rare genetic storage disease, has been documented in the breed and can be screened for. Progressive retinal atrophy may develop in senior years. The breed's overall robustness and longevity mean that Schipperkes are often the longest-running member of the household, which makes the goodbye feel like the end of an era.
If your Schipperke is in their senior years, this is the right time to start their bridge — while the specific memories are still sharp.
Start their bridge now →The shape of this loss
Schipperke families grieve the chaos. Not destructive chaos — purposeful, intelligent, deeply personal chaos. The daily investigation of every bag, cabinet, and visitor. The security checks. The schemes. The tiny black body moving through the house with an agenda that was never fully disclosed but always being executed. The house is orderly now, and the order is grief.
People who never lived with a Schipperke see twelve pounds of cute. They don't see the intelligence, the relentlessness, the sheer force of personality that organized — and disorganized — every day. The grief is for a mind as much as a body. A twelve-pound dog ran the household, and the household is rudderless without them.
The little black devil went home. The house is heaven-less.
The little black devil went home. The house is heaven-less.
Memory Weather
How a bridge deepens with timeOver time, WenderBridge surfaces patterns already present in the photos and memories you choose to keep here.
Your Schipperke's photos reveal the ruff — that distinctive black mane that made twelve pounds look like a lion in miniature.
Memory Weather notices the blur. Half the candid photos show movement — this dog was rarely still enough for a clean shot.
The high perch. Chair backs, couch arms, table edges — the highest available point in every room, claimed and surveilled.
Memory Weather is available with Full settings.
Questions families ask
Add your Schipperke to the wall
Every Schipperke who opened a cabinet, investigated a bag, and ran the household with twelve pounds of unquestioned authority deserves a permanent place on the wall. Their bridge is free to create, free to visit, and never behind a paywall — because the little black devil's love was the most valuable thing in the house.
Celebrating a living Schipperke?
If your Schipperke is currently investigating something they shouldn't be while looking entirely unapologetic about it, WenderPets has the sculptures and gifts made for that exact tiny, tailless, magnificent troublemaker.
WenderPets →Schipperke bridges are hosted permanently and will never disappear.