Lhasa Apso Blog: Picures, News, and Updates

Hi! Here it is July already. The weather here is beastly hot, but that is easier to deal with than tropical storms and wildfires. My heart goes out to those who've suffered from nature's whims. Watching the TV and seeing the devastation caused by fire and water makes me realize that for all our technology and advancements, in the man vs. nature struggle, nature always has the upper hand.

Much has happened since the last post. The highlight of the end of June was that all of our family members were home at the same time. Here's a picture of the family. Our daughter lives in Florida, and our youngest son lives only 3 hours away, but his work seldom allows him time to come home. Our oldest and his family live here in Macomb. We all had a great time catching up and sharing memories. Oh, the things they tell about their childhood escapades make me so glad I was unaware of what was going on at the time!

Our town's annual celebration was held during that weekend. I usually miss it because of a dog show in Iowa City, so it was nice to take our granddaughter to the carnival. I talked her into riding with me on my favorite ride, the Scrambler! She loved it, so we rode it a couple times on Friday night and then went back for three more Scrambler rides on Saturday. She also loved the swings that arced up and out. As for me, I was content watching her ride those things. We took her to the parade where she eagerly scooped up the candy (mostly tiny Tootsie Rolls) thrown from the various floats. It was a great weekend of family togetherness and fun. I wish we could all be together more often.

Since my last post, three of the puppies have left. Noah, who was renamed Oliver, now lives in Kentucky. His owner wrote, "This past week has been a blast! Oliver is so smart! I still can't believe how quickly he is catching on to things! He has learned to fetch his toy and bring it back to me. He loves his crate…he'll go in there to play and sleep and never puts up a fight about it. In fact, most of the time, it's his choice to go in it…He's loved going to the salon! He's getting lots of kisses & attention, but those days wear him out and lastly, he loves to eat!..."

Cooper left also. His family includes a 5-year old girl who thought about renaming him "Noah" but changed her mind. Having played with our 6-year old granddaughter, Cooper was thrilled to have another little girl around. His owner wrote, "Cooper is great. He has adjusted really well. My parents came over the weekend and my father mentioned that he is already very attached to us. We absolutely adore him... He is very active. And chewing up a storm! We just couldn't be happier with him."

Boomer left a couple days later. Newly named Wrigley, (Cubs fans, anyone???) He also immediately charmed his new people. His new owner wrote this the morning after they took him home, "Good Morning. What a good puppy. He went right to sleep in his bed last night without a sound and slept until 7:30 this morning without a peep. Just thought I'd give you both a morning update. I don't know how I'm going to get anything done. He is too cute!!"

Rain 9.5 wks.

I love hearing about the "kids" and how they are getting along in their new homes. Rainy leaves tomorrow. Flash, who may be renamed Lucky, will wait for his new family to come from Canada to get him near the end of July.

Flash 9.5 wks

Flash will not be lonely when Rainy leaves tomorrow because Windy came home from a dog show with me early Sunday morning (more about that dog show in the following paragraphs). Windy came to me from North Dakota. She was bred by my friend Marsha Susag. Her sire is my Ch. Walker, and her dam is Marsha's Ch. Lindy. Below is a picture of Windy with her two moms, Marsha and me! Windy is adjusting to her new life with us. Since she had no siblings, she's not quite sure how to deal with the other puppies. She's learning to cope!

Windy and her two moms

Lynn's street rod

So...the weekend dog show: The show was in West Bend, WI, a 5-hour drive from Macomb. Because my husband, who generally stays home with the dogs when I have to go out of town for work or a dog show, was gone that weekend to Des Moines with his street rod for a big regional street rod event, I decided I could go to the show only if I entered just the Saturday shows and only if my daughter-in-law was available to stop by to take care of the dogs. She was! Bless her!

In addition to the Kettle Morraine all-breed show during the day on Saturday, the Greater Milwaukee Lhasa Apso Club hosted an evening specialty. I am proud to say that Rafe and Maggie both did very well. At the all-breed show, Rafe took Winners Dog over 2 adults under judge Darlene Stuedemann for 2 points. She later gave him Best of Winners, which upped his points to a 3-point major. Hurray!! -- his first points at 7 months and a major to boot! He also took Winners Dog for 2 points at the GMLAC specialty that evening under judge Anne Hier. She did not give him Best of Winners, which was disappointing because it sure would have been nice to have both majors out of the way. Nonetheless, I was thrilled with the win!

Maggie at Kettle Morraine

Maggie also won at the Kettle Morraine show. She took Winners Bitch for the 3-point major. That was her second major and now she needs just three single points for her championship. At the evening show she placed 4th out of 5. Oh well...

Special thanks go to my friends Jill and Karen. Jill took care of Maggie while Rafe was in the ring and Rafe while Maggie was in the ring. She kept them calm and their coats looking good. Neither dog appreciates me being in the ring with the other, so it was nice to have Jill's help. "Grandma" Karen stepped in to show Maggie when we realized that both dogs had to go back in the ring. (I call her 'grandma' because she is the breeder of Maggie's mom, Mira.)

I'll post pictures of the wins if the dogs look decent. Neither of them was much interested (or cooperative) when it came to posing for the photos.

After the specialty, I packed the dogs and equipment in the car and began the 5-hour drive home. It was a long day, beginning Saturday at 2:45 AM and ending at 2:30 Sunday morning when I finally fell into bed! The drive was uneventful. The highlight of the trip was making it through the tollbooth outside of Dixon, IL, three minutes before it closed for the night. (I hate having to take one of those little cards and mailing in the toll money.) The last 30 minutes of the drive were no fun, as I fought sleep. Home was a welcome sight!

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

Have a great 4th of July Holiday!

Joyce

Windy's parents: Walker and Lindy