BELLMONT, NY : Siberian husky world mourns accident victim on Friday, December 2nd, 2016

The close-knit world of Siberian husky show dog owners shared fond memories of a Chateaugay man killed in a traffic accident Friday afternoon.

Norbert A. Kanzler, 84, co-owner of the world-renowned Innisfree Kennels in Chateaugay, was killed in a car accident in the Town of Bellmont.Sharon Osharow, owner of Kristari Siberians in Tennessee, said she spent four years with Norbert and his wife, Kathleen, when their kennel was still in Maryland in the early 1980s. She later went on to establish her kennel, first in California and now in Tennessee, but the bloodline for her dogs comes from Innisfree.

"They were like my family. Everybody is in shock," Osharow said.

She said that while Kathleen and her daughters are seen as the face of the kennel and its award-winning bloodlines, Norbert worked mainly behind the scenes to keep things together.

"He was a great man. He had a great sense of humor and a great work ethic," Osharow said.

The couple met while he was in the U.S. Army and established Innisfree, first in Maryland and then in other locations, before they settled in Chateaugay in the 1980s.

The common bond was a deep love of dogs, especially Siberian huskies. He worked to care for those dogs right up until his last days, she said.

"He loved the dogs. That was his world," Osharow said.

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Siberian husky world mourns accident victim