Dr. Pullen Obituary

(This article was submitted to the Norwich Terrier News, but was not published.)

Phyllis Kouwenhoven Pullen, M.D.
10 Feb 1923 - 22 Oct 2018

Dr. Phyllis Pullen died at home at the age of 95 after a short illness. Dr. Pullen bred Norwich terriers under the "Jerusalem" kennel prefix, the name of the street on which she lived. She bred her first Norwich "Jerusalem Mugwump" in 1985, and over the years bred 38 litters, with her last litter being bred in 2013. With regards to her dogs, Dr. Pullen was perhaps most proud of her home-bred champion "CH Jerusalem Tyler Too" who took reserve at Montgomery in 1989, and went on to have progeny on both sides of the Atlantic. One of Tyler's sons, "CH Jerusalem Chutney" (Chute), had to have an eye removed because of primary lens luxation (PLL). Dr. Pullen allowed Chute to be tested with the PLL DNA test; thereby confirming that PLL in Norwich could be detected with the PLL DNA test.

After obtaining a bachelor of science degree in mathematics at Goucher College, Dr. Pullen married Keats Pullen Jr, an electrical engineer at Aberdeen Proving Ground and raised three sons. Being bored with housework, she decided to go to medical school. She re-enrolled at Goucher and took pre-med courses in biology and chemistry. Despite having family connections with Johns Hopkins University (her father was an associate professor of engineering; her uncle Dr. William Kouwenhoven, the inventor of the heart defibrillator, was a professor emeritus of engineering), the medical school told her that a married woman with children had no place in the school. She next approached the University of Maryland School of Medicine, which admitted her. Dr. Pullen received her medical degree at the age of 35, graduated magna cum laude, and performed her internship and residency at the University of Maryland Medical Center. She established a general ("country doctor") practice out of her home, a 25-room stone house built in 1772. She worked until she was 85 and retired in 2008.

After her husband of 55 years passed away in 2000, Dr. Pullen lived on her own until the last two months of her life. Dr. Pullen is survived by four sons, a daughter, eight grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

I first met Dr. Pullen in 1997, purchasing a "pet" Norwich from her. As I am the same age as one of her sons, I am sure that she always thought of me as a "kid". As I showed, bred, and became a judge, we had a good laugh over the years about my purchasing "just a pet". I will miss visiting with Dr. Pullen and our many telephone conversations about dogs.

--- Blair Kelly, Shaksper Norwich

A 2017 photo of Dr. Pullen with her dogs Georgie and Bertie.