Some History

Going through some old photos and newspaper clippings recently, I came across an article from 1985 which was written about us and one of our Lhasas, Joyslyn's Riunite. The headline reads, "David City Native Joins Hollywood Cast of Dynasty." The accompanying photo shows a much younger Joyce and Lynn with Rio, as we called him.

Jim Reisdorff of the Columbus (Nebraska) Telegram wrote:

A canine star is born. Well, maybe not exactly, but even Lassie and Benji had to start someplace.

For Rio, the Lhasa Apso, the road to animal stardom will presumably start with occasional appearances on the television series "Dynasty." He will play the role of pet to Alexis Carington, the character played by actress Joan Collins.  Rio's Hollywood connections are courtesy of his former owners, Joyce and Lynn Johanson of David City. The Johansons, who raise the Lhasa Apso dog breed, recently sold the year-old Rio to a California woman whose firm specializes in providing animals for use in movies and television productions…

…There is already a Lhasa Apso appearing in the series, the Johansons noted. Rio will apparently stand in for, and eventually replace, the other dog in future episodes to be filmed next television season.

The Johansons said they do not watch "Dynasty" so they're not familiar with the role of the Carrington dog. From others, Mrs. Johanson said they learned the dog is used mostly to reflect the elegance of Ms. Collins' character. "All he does is lay on Alexis' bed and look pretty. So I don't know for sure what Rio will have to do," Mrs. Johanson said…

(Then the article provides a brief description of the Lhasa Apso and history of the breed, as well as a brief history of Joyslyn's Lhasa Apsos.)

…Mrs. Johanson is an English teacher at Aquinas High School while Mr. Johanson is a drama teacher at Concordia Teacher's College in Seward. "Lynn made the comment that he's been working in theatre all this time and it's his dog that makes it to the big time," Mrs. Johanson quipped.

I recall that for a while we kept in touch with Rio's trainer, who kept us updated on Rio's appearances, but the only one I remember is that, in addition to "Dynasty," Rio also appeared in a "Highway to Heaven" episode. Then we just lost touch. It'd be nice to know what other television credits Rio had before his career ended.

Other news…we went to our first show of the year (DeWitt, IA), and it was good to be back in the ring. Walker did "okay," losing on Saturday and winning on Sunday. I took Whisper and Raven along for the ride on Saturday. Maggie got her turn on Sunday. They all seemed to enjoy the trip and the extra attention. Maggie was thrilled when a family came by with a young girl, maybe 7 or 8 years old, who held her and made a big deal over her.

Walker and I are headed to Dekalb, Illinois, early Saturday morning for a show. A Sunday conflict limited us to just the one day but, except for having to be on the road by 3:30 AM, I'm looking forward to it!

The puppies are doing well. The schedule looks busy, so I probably will not get pictures posted until later next week.

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

Joyce