Lhasa Apso Blog: National Specialty: Part I

This year's American Lhasa Apso Club's National Specialty is over. The week was a whirlwind of activities and very little rest. This is Part I. More will come later when I have more time to write! I have so much to report!!

Jan's photo of loaded van

The planning and preparation for the journey to Albuquerque began long before my Wisconsin friends (Jan, Karen, and LaVonne) pulled into the driveway at 2:30 PM on the 8th to load my piles of stuff into the van we'd rented for the trip. Their journey began at 6:30 AM with Jan and Karen leaving Manitowoc, driving to Madison to pick up a dog from a friend who was ill and unable to make the trip, then driving to LaVonne's to load her stuff and her dogs. When they opened the doors to the van in my driveway, my heart sank. It was loaded floor to ceiling and I could see no way my dogs, suitcases, and equipment would fit. Jan was more optimistic than I, and, sure enough, all the essentials fit (barely!). I had to leave behind a couple pieces of equipment and the larger items I planned to donate to the auction and raffle. Because we could not fit his crate into the van, Karen left Danny's crate at my house and held him on her lap for about 5 hours until we arrived at his new home in Missouri. Both he and she were glad that leg of the journey was over!


LaVonne's photo of the van's interior

LaVonne's photo as we unloaded

The journey from my house included the stop in Missouri to drop Danny off, a stop somewhere in Kansas at 3:00 AM to catch a few hours of sleep, and stops along the way to potty the dogs, a feat which involved unloading part of the van and rotating dogs into the various exercise pens.

Rain slowed us down on Saturday night and made stopping to potty the dogs a problem until we found a truck stop with a covered sidewalk area. Since it was after midnight, we were able to set up exercise pens and keep the dogs' coats and feet dry.

This photo was taken at a lovely rest area in Oklahoma during Sunday morning's potty stop. That's me in the blue sweatshirt, refilling a water bottle. Raven is in the pen on the right. Her grandpa, Zorro, is the black and white clipped-down Lhasa in the pen in front of me. The other person in the picture is LaVonne.

The concrete was still wet from the rain, but we used vinyl-backed tablecloths, newspapers, and piddle pads to keep the dogs from getting too wet. Traveling another 12 hours with wet dogs would have resulted in horrible mats!

That particular rest stop in Oklahoma had a unique (to us anyway) feature: a fenced in, concrete area for dogs! We did not use it, preferring to set up and use our own pens but, being used to rest stops where dogs were allowed only in the most weedy and unattractive-looking areas, this rest area seemed quite dog friendly. Below are some photos of the dog runs, concrete and fenced areas with separate runs for large and small dogs.

We ran into huge traffic congestion on the interstate about halfway between the Oklahoma border and Amarillo, TX. Fortunately, as we approached the line of cars and semis, we were at an exit ramp. We took it, pulled into a nearby gas station, learned the back up was the result of an 8-vehicle pile-up that occurred miles ahead, and were given an alternate route to take (which happened to be part of the historic Route 66!) and were thus able to continue our journey.

Ironically, we found out upon arrival in Albuquerque that Miki and Sue, two Lhasa exhibitors from Minnesota had been involved in the wreck. The accident happened as the road narrowed from two lanes to one due to construction. A semi slowed or stopped abruptly and the cars and semis behind it piled up. Sue's car was totaled, and Sue's arm was broken. Miki and the dogs were not injured. After a trip to the emergency room, they rented a car and made their way to Albuquerque. Sue showed her dog in spite of her broken arm. What a trooper!

I was told that a wonderful Good Samaritan, in the guise of a tow truck driver, watched over the ladies' Lhasas and equipment and was of great help in finding a car rental agency and getting them loaded and back on the road. What a blessing such people are! It is nice to know that kind people are still willing to help strangers, especially strangers with dogs.

Landscape in TX or NM

Our van full of weary women and Lhasas made it to the Crown Plaza in Albuquerque sometime between 8:00 and 9:00 Sunday evening. The unloading took a long time as we sorted equipment, suitcases, and dogs and determined the items belonging to each of us. I found the room Marsha (my friend from North Dakota) and I were sharing and moved in, exhausted but happy to be there at last! Walker and Raven were glad for the opportunity to stretch their legs.