Celebrating Good Friends and A New Champion!

I have a lot to celebrate and am pleased to report that the shows in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, were an overwhelming success for us! I also want to acknowledge the efforts of three of my good friends on my behalf. Without their help, I would not be celebrating that show's successes. Thanks Karen, Jan, and LaVonne!

...Supportive, Never Leave You Hanging, Make You Look Good, and Are Always Close to Your Heart.

I had never been to the the 5-day show in Ft. Wayne (October 30 - November 3), but since none of us were able to attend this year's ALAC National Specialty in CA, we decided we'd find shows closer to home. Ft. Wayne was the choice. We needed the 3 of our bitches plus one other to make the major. Marilyn entered her puppy bitch and the major was built! However, due to my family coming earlier in October, I had taken enough vacation days that month and was unable to attend all 5 days. Then Karen, Jan, and LaVonne had an idea. What if they took Windy to the shows without me and I showed up for the weekend shows. All we needed to do was find a way to get Windy from Illinois to Wisconsin!

On October 22nd I drove my daughter and her husband to the Moline airport to catch their flight home to FL. From there I traveled northward (in the snow!) to Maquoketa, Iowa, where LaVonne met me. We transferred Windy to her car; she took her back to WI, and the following day she and Windy drove north so LaVonne could give her to Karen, who would be showing her for me.

All four of us had dogs that just needed a win or two to finish. There were 4 bitches entered each day Wednesday - Friday, and five entered on the weekend, making each day a major. Wednesday, Karen and Jan's Secret took WB for the major. Wednesday, Jan's male, Carson, got the final points he needed for his championship. Things were off to a good start.

I set off for Ft. Wayne Thursday morning in driving rain. The rain persisted the entire trip but was especially bad when I arrived in Indianapolis. In addition to slowing me down, the rain decreased visibility and made the drive more than a little nerve racking. Once I noticed the Lhasa ring time had come and gone, I kept checking my phone expectantly, hoping one of the ladies would call me with results. No such luck. Did Secret win again and finish? Did LaVonne's Toffee win and finish? Did by some miracle of God Windy win and get her second major? I remained in suspense for the entire 7 and a half hour trip.

Arriving at the hotel, the suspense continued. I wondered why no one was forthcoming with the show results. Since they were not volunteering information, I assumed the news was bad for me so I finally asked if we had a new champion Secret or a new champion Toffee in the room. I received no direct answer. Someone pulled out a cell phone and pointed it my way. One look at the screen and I was in shock. It was a photo of Windy and a display of ribbons, including the Purple Winners Bitch ribbon! Windy had her second major! All she needed was one more point!

Friday, Karen and Jan's Secret took WB and we had a new champion in our hotel room!

Saturday, I showed Duncan, who took first place in his class then totally went bonkers in the Winners Dog class when I put him behind the Open Dog. Duncan wanted to play. He was fidgeting, lunging, and basically making an idiot of himself. Oh well...Linda's Open Dog won and that gave him his Championship. So far, so good...two males and one of the girls had earned their championships.

Saturday, the 5th bitch, belonging to Cindy, who had not been there the previous 3 days, took the major.

Sunday, Duncan decided to behave. He took Winners Dog for a point. Unbeknownst to the rest of us until it was too late, Cindy pulled her bitch, which broke the major, which meant that LaVonne had no chance of finishing Toffee. By the time we had that figured out, LaVonne and Toffee were in the ring. I had some moments of panic, thinking how ironic it would be if after all week Toffee finally took WB only to have it do her no good since she needed three points and not two to finish. Fortunately, the judge declared Windy Winners Bitch, giving her the final point she needed for her championship (plus one extra besides!) Oh boy, was I ecstatic! I could not stop smiling! I still smile at the memory.

A quick switch of armbands and Ronnie had Windy, I had Duncan, and we were back in the ring for Best of Breed. Secret took Best Opposite, giving her her first major points toward her Grand Championship, and Duncan took Best of Winners, upping his points for the day from one to two! He now has 4 points.

Here are some pictures commemorating the week! Some of these photos were taken by Jan Graunke and others by Ronnie Crowder.

Duncan

Brothers Jimmy and Duncan with me

Thursday WB class: Karen with Windy, LaVonne with Toffee, Marilyn with Cinnamon

Karen with Windy in the grooming area

Windy moving with Karen

Windy with me outside the ring. That's LaVonne behind the ribbons!

Of course, we had to eat, so Friday evening seven of us had dinner at the Granite City restaurant where the food was good, the waitstaff inattentive, and the fun and laughter brilliant! We were celebrating the week's good fortune so far. Daryl had finished Jan's dog Carson and his Select placements earned him some Grand Champion points. Secret had just finished that day, making her the 3rd from her litter to earn her championship. Windy had won a major the day before.

Daryl, Jan, Ronnie, and Marilyn

Karen, me, and LaVonne

Carson

Secret

Toffee

One of the best parts of the weekend was letting Marsha, Windy's breeder, know that Windy was now a champion. Her championship gives Marsha 10 champions, earning her the American Lhasa Apso Club's ROM (Register of Merit) breeder designation. Congrats, Marsha!

Now my focus turns to the two puppies, Duncan (now 9 months) and Lila (now 6 months). Their next shows (actually Lila's first shows) will be in Edwardsville, IL, the first weekend in December. I took both to class earlier this week. Duncan did fine but Lila wanted her nose to the floor and was not happy at my constant "head up" reminders! There always has to be a challenge.

I know that many of you are waiting for me to announce a litter on the way. Nature has not been too cooperative with my plans lately, so all I can say is that we are hoping to do a breeding later this month, with puppies due at the end of January. If you are on our notification list, I'll send you an email when puppies are born.

Although here in Macomb Halloween was sort of a bust due to the rain, Ella's family in Des Moines was in the spirit of the holiday.  Here's a photo they sent of Ella at Halloween:

Ella and a giant Jack o'Lantern

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

Joyce

P.S. I thought it might be fun to show you a picture of Duncan and Jimmy when they were babies. They are 4 weeks old in this picture.