Show Results!

"I get by with a little help from my friends."
- John Lennon

First the big announcement: We have a new CHAMPION! Ch. Karlyn Joyslyn Who's The Fairest (Mira) won the three point major on Saturday at the Belleville, IL show under judge Luc Boileau to finish her championship. One of her co-breeders, Karen Schlais, was there to witness the win. I was so excited. Mira showed well that day and I was proud of her. I'll post a picture of her when I get it (and if I like it!)

It was one of those show weekends when everyone entered could go home happy because we all won a major! Four of us had 9 class dogs entered: Polly had a male in the Puppy Dog class and a female in Open. Karen had a male puppy, a female puppy, and a female in the Bred By Exhibitor class. LaVonne had a Bred-By male and a Bred-By female. I had Belle in Bred By and Mira in Open.

• Mira took Winners Bitch on Saturday for the 3 point major that finished her.
• LaVonne's male "Winslow" took Winners Dog on Saturday and then took Best of Winners for the crossover major.
• Karen's jet black puppy dog "Ace" took Reserve on Saturday, won Best Puppy, and took a Puppy Group 3. His black and white parti-color litter sister "Ivy" took Reserve on Saturday.
• On Sunday Polly's puppy dog "Mark" took Winners Dog and Best of Winners for the crossover major.
• Karen's Bred By "Carley" took Winners Bitch. That was her second major, so she is well on her way.

On Sunday I had to keep Mira in the show so that the major would hold. Of course, none of us wanted her to win again so I had to try hard not to "show" her to her best advantage. That entailed me putting a lead on her that she does not like, not offering her liver as bait, not brushing her and tidying her up in the ring, not stacking her but just letting her stand naturally, not making eye contact with the judge but keeping my head down, and walking around the ring with the lead dragging, as if I was out for a Sunday walk in the park. UGH…I hated it. In spite of my best efforts, she won the Open class. Oh no…then I was panicked! She did not need to take Winners Bitch and win a major that she did not need. Those majors are precious and, any more, way too hard to come by. So I repeated my sloppy handling performance and Mira ended up taking Reserve. Whew!

Now, you are asking, "But, Joyce, what about Belle?" Well, Miss Belle did me proud, especially on Saturday. She did everything right and showed so pretty. She won the Bred By class. Of course that meant she had to compete against Mira for Winners Bitch. A huge "Thank You and I'm So Sorry My Dog Embarrassed You" goes out to friend Sandy Copeland who took Belle back in the ring for me and was quite chagrined when Belle put on the brakes and just laid down on the mat. If she couldn't go with mom, she was NOT going to go at all. Judge Boileau was disappointed and chewed on me a bit for not showing Belle instead of Mira in the Winner class. He liked Belle better and told me he would have put her up instead of Mira! I told him that that was what I was afraid of!

On Sunday, judge Joe Gregory had a different opinion of Belle and gave her a third place in her class of three.

Thanks also goes to Polly who saved a great grooming space for Karen, LaVonne, and me. By the time we got to the show site, the grooming spaces were gone. Had Polly not been looking out for us, we'd have ended up in one of the open-air livestock buildings at the fairgrounds. Not a happy thought for a chilly March weekend.

Except for the damper put on the weekend by the warning that some animal rights activists were on the fairgrounds, it was a great weekend filled with good sportsmanship, friendship, and laughter.

For those readers who do not show, please understand that animal rights groups, including PETA, are not a friend of dogs, dog owners, and dog show people. These activists often go to shows and open crate doors, hoping the dogs will run loose and what ??? – get in a dog fight, run into the street and get hit by a car, get lost and end up in an animal shelter? What a way to show you "care" about animals and their welfare! We were warned by the show-giving club and the AKC Rep. never to leave the dogs unattended at our grooming set up for that reason. Later announcements were made not to leave water in the crates left in the building over night, and if we did, to empty the bowls and wash them to make certain someone did not put a toxic substance in the water. I don't understand why the crazies think they need to harm innocent, well-loved, and obviously pampered dogs.

Perhaps when I can find the words to describe the scene, in another post I will tell you about buying a celebratory bottle of wine and how, since we had no corkscrew, we were able to free the cork (which was not really made of cork at all) using a scissors, two screws, a nail clipper, a tube of mascara, and a nail file. On second thought, perhaps that scene is best left to your imaginations. (You might imagine Ethel and Lucy giving it a try!) What I will tell you is that it can be done if you are determined enough and laugh enough. We were and we did -- and that wine was good!

Life is good when you have a Lhasa to love you – especially when she is your newest champion who likes to cuddle with you on the sofa!

Joyce