I Found A Treasure!

Last night I pulled a great many of my old Lhasa magazines off the shelf of the bookcase. I was on a hunt for some information and intended to dig through the stacks of history to find what I was looking for. Someday when I retire and have a lot of time on my hands I intend to read through all those past issues of ALAC Bulletins, Lhasa Apso Reporters, Lhasa Tales, and Lhasa Unlimiteds. The photos alone are wonderful.

But I was on a quest last night and had no time for reminiscing.

Luckily, I found the information that I needed right away – just where I thought it was. That in itself is a miracle! Then, as I was organizing the piles of periodicals to put back on the shelf, I unearthed The National Geographic Magazine from January 1954. "Now why do I have this?" I asked myself. So I started to flip through the pages and noticed some dog pictures. Okay…dogs. Makes sense since that entire section of the bookcase is devoted to books and magazines about dogs. But why would I have such an old copy of a National Geographic?

Tucked among articles about the "Mighty Walls of Zion," the "Friendly Atom," and the discovery of a 2,200 year old Greek ship, I found the article by John W. Cross, Jr. containing the dog photos: "Westminster, World Series of Dogdom." Then I found the treasure. The bottom right hand corner of page 101 contains a color photo of a Lhasa! The caption read, "Hamilton Pehma once trailed the Dalai Lama in his palace. House guard to Tibetan aristocracy for nearly 800 years, the Lhasa Apso is rarely sentimental about man. Champion Pehma, one of a few hundred 'lion dogs' outside Tibet, came to America as a gift from the Dalai Lama to explorer C. Suydam Cutting."

The National Geographic color picture shows Pehma in full coat, a gold Lhasa without dark tippings, looking rather unkempt, as Lhasas tended to look 55 years ago before grooming became so crucial for show dogs.

The article is a good read too! It contains 38 photos of people and dogs that I am sure would also be historical treasures to people involved in the breeds pictured.

Life is good when you have a Lhasa to love you!

Joyce