Miscellaneous

Tomorrow the countdown begins as the passing days take me ever closer to October 7 when three friends from Wisconsin and I head for New Mexico and the American Lhasa Apso Club (ALAC) National Specialty. Three of us are taking two dogs each. The other has three. (We are renting a BIG van for our trip.) Walker and Raven are going with me. Walker is entered in the Top 20 Competition, a Veterans Sweepstakes, and the Veteran's classes at the two ALAC specialty shows. Raven is being shown in the 9-12 puppy class in three shows.

To be honest, I have not packed a single item yet. However, I have multiple to-do and to-take lists lying around. Guess what I'll be doing this weekend?

Speaking of Walker. His 9^th birthday was September 22. He is doing just great and looking as beautiful as ever.

Walker, May 2011

I appreciated the September 25 blog entry at this address:  http://time4dogs.blogspot.com/2011/09/huffington-post-puppet-for-animal.html

The post was written in response to an article that described various celebrities jumping on the "mandatory" spay/neuter bandwagon and calling for federal regulation supporting it. I also found some interesting information not only in the article but also in the comments that followed that gave me food for thought on the spay/neuter issue. The ALAC Code of Ethics states, "ALAC strongly supports the practice of accompanying the sale of all puppies or adults sold as pet quality with a 'spay/neuter contract' stating that no AKC registration papers will be transferred to the buyer until the seller has received veterinary certification that surgery has been performed." So for years and years, that has been my practice and, frankly, the vast majority of puppy buyers expect it. Most comment, "Oh sure, we planned to do that anyway." But new data about health issues is giving many breeders pause for thought about what is best for our puppies. Like so many health-related issues in our lives, the key is obtaining good information through research and reading and honest discussions with your dog's veterinarian. Read the blog post and comment with your thoughts if you desire to do so.

At the beginning of the week, I attended Illinois' Sharing a Vision Conference. What a great three days of listening to early childhood professionals discuss issues related to children. I came away excited, educated, and revived! I was especially fortunate to once again meet Hedda Sharapan, a woman who worked with Mr. Rogers from the time he began the Mr. Roger's Neighborhood program. I was glad to learn that various episodes are available online at pbskids.org/rogers and at fredrogers.org and look forward to sharing them with our granddaughter. If you have young children or grandchildren and have fond memories of Mr. Rogers, then visit the websites with them. Mr. Rogers is timeless!

Great news awaited me at home when I looked at Facebook and discovered our son's metal band, Black Fast, had been named "Best Metal Band 2011" in the St. Louis area. The four band members are working hard practicing and writing music, making occasional appearances, and trying to promote themselves while at the same time holding down a couple of jobs and/or attending classes to finish degree work. An article in the St. Louis River Front Times said, "Black Fast's take on the genre is authentic but not elitist, referencing Iron Maiden's endless sweeps, Megadeth's hook-laden riffs and Mastodon's stoner-friendly structures. We'd be hard pressed to find a more purified source of metal in St. Louis, even if we melted down the Arch and sold it for scrap." Yep, I'm a proud mom!

Belle

Finally, Belle has been bred and we await the results, keeping fingers crossed that puppies will be born in mid-November.

I doubt I'll be posting again until after the specialty, so wish us safety as we drive to and from Albuquerque, as well as lots of fun, good times, and good fortune in the show ring that week!

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

Joyce