Lhasa Apso Blog: I'm Baaaack!

Nope, I have not been hiding under a rock, although these past few weeks I've often wanted to jump into bed and pull the covers over my head and just sleep.

Things have been happening around here! My work at the Center for Best Practices in Early Childhood Education has a grant-writing component, so that is one thing I have been focused on since the Request for Proposals came out in April. I had help from my staff of course, but the bulk of the responsibility was mine. I am pleased to say that the proposal is now finished and ready to be copied and boxed up and sent on its way next week. Then the long and stress-filled wait begins. Will we get the grant or won't we? The jobs of 12 people depend on the funding agency saying "Yes" to our proposal.

We journeyed to Iowa at the end of April for our granddaughter's 11th birthday. We took her to lunch, then went shopping and she managed to stay within the budget I gave her. Afterwards, we went to her Dad's and had some cake and ice cream - and more presents.

It is hard to believe she will be in 6th grade next year. Time really does fly. We miss her since the family moved to Iowa when she was 9. We used to see her multiple times a week.

As far as the dogs are concerned, there is a lot of news and a lot of photos. First, two of the girls finally came in season and will be bred soon. Those of you waiting for puppies, please pray that the breedings are successful and result in pregnancy and puppies.

The news about the dog shows is that we have been quite successful this month. On May 5-7, Josh and Jenna went with me to the Dairyland Classic shows in Jefferson, WI. LaVonne Bennett graciously invited us to stay at her house in Madison, where it was nice to relax after being at the show grounds all day. The weather was windy, chilly, and rainy. Our grooming set up was inside a building but the concrete floors were really cold and the building was not insulated, so we were really uncomfortable at times.

Jenna was not happy about being there, so of course her tail was down and that was that. It was disappointing, but Josh's wins made up for that!

Josh had an exciting weekend.
Friday: Anne Savory Bolus awarded him Best Of Breed/Best Of Breed Owner Handled and then a Non-Sporting Group 3; Keke Kahn awarded him Owner Handled Group 1, and John Cole awarded him Owner Handled Reserve Best In Show. 
Saturday: David Bolus awarded him Best Of Breed/Best Of Breed Owner Handled; Keke Kahn awarded him Non-Sporting Group 3; Anne Savory Bolus awarded him Owner Handled Group 1); and Keke Kahn awarded him Owner Handled Reserve Best In Show. 
Sunday: James Reynolds Best Of Breed/Best Of Breed Owner Handled and David Bolus awarded him Owner Handled Group 3.  It was a great weekend for us and I am grateful to all the judges who appreciated Josh. I am very proud of him!

And here are the photos we had taken of those wins! We were not able to get a photo of his Owner-Handled Group 1 win on Saturday because the judge left while we were in the OH Best in Show ring, and on Sunday, we did not want to wait around for photos after the OH group judging. It was time to pack up and make the long drive home.

Anne Savory Bolus - Non-Sporting Group 3


Keke Khan - Owner Handled Non-Sporting Group 1

John Cole - Non-Sporting Owner Handled Reserve Best In Show

Keke Kahn - Non-Sporting Group 3

Keke Kahn - Owner Handled Non-Sporting Group Reserve Best in Show

Last weekend we were at the Scott County Kennel Club show and had some nice wins. It was Onyx's (Joyslyn's Onyx) first show and she took Reserve to Jenna. Jenna earned 1 point and now needs just 3 singles to finish. Josh took Best of Breed (nothing in Group though). The club hosted a veteran's competition so we took Breaker (GCH Joyslyn's Heartbreaker). Breaker will be 9 in August. He is Josh's sire. Ten dogs were in the ring for Best Veteran in Show. Guess who won? Breaker!!! I'm so proud of him. He showed perfectly, not one misstep and he had a great time too! Judge for Breed and for Veteran BIS was Mr. Wayne Bousek. On Sunday, Onyx took the point over Jenna and Josh took Select Dog. Onyx competed in the Non-Sporting Best Puppy Group and took 2nd. We then packed up and drove home. Lynn went along to those shows with me since we'd entered more dogs than I could juggle alone. By the next time I post, we should have received Breaker's Best in Show Veteran photo. I hope it turns out well.

Jenna, Onyx, and I - along with my friend Jane Chapin and two of her young Shiba Inu - have been attending training classes in Peoria. It takes us about an hour and 45 minutes to get there. Class lasts and hour and then we drive home. This coming Monday is our final class. Onyx is doing well, but Jenna hates class as much as she hates showing now. She used to love the ring, but the long break over the winter really changed her mind. If she did not just need 3 single points, I would be tempted just to forget showing her, but that's too close to a championship and I've invested a lot of time, effort, and money just to give up. Miracles do happen, right? Just look at what happened with Greta!

Here is a picture I took of Jenna after she was bathed for last weekend's show.

Joyslyn MLS Dakota Je Na Sais Quoi

Oh, speaking of bathing, I have to tell you another story. Last Friday I spent from 7AM to 2PM grooming and bathing the 3 show dogs plus Greta, Kimmi, and Rafe. Then I threw some dog towels in the washer and left to get gas and money for the weekend trip to Rock Island. Jenna, Greta, and Onyx were in the utility room. While I was away, the floor drain in the utility room overflowed when the washer was emptying, and I came home to the girls splashing around the room, wet up to their shoulders. They had to be re-bathed. Let's just say I was not a happy person and leave it at that.

Yesterday morning the plumber came. Hopefully, whatever he did to the drain to clean it out was successful and there will be no more overflows. I am now $200 poorer than I was before the plumber arrived.

Remember that I told you we were in Jefferson, WI, for the show at the first of the month? Well, a friend sent me a link to an article about the October festival that will be held in Jefferson. It is a Harry Potter festival! The article begins, "Are you a muggle, or a wizard? We don’t care if you’re a Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Slytherin…you definitely need to put October 20-22 on your calendar, because one of Wisconsin’s biggest festivals will be happening this fall, and you don’t want to miss it. In fact, even muggles will want to attend. Check out this magical festival!"

Those dates are too close to the American Lhasa Apso Club's national specialty week for me to be able to go, but it sounds like a good time!

At this point I want to recommend America's VetDogs Treats. My dogs love these treats and, as you can read for yourself in the ad below, buying them also makes a difference to veterans with disabilities.

Notes and Photos from Puppy Buyers and Friends

I have heard from some of you that you enjoy reading about Mary Rees' Lhasa Belle's work in agility. Mary sent a photo of Belle and a note about her, along with a link to more photos.

Mary wrote, "I was waiting for pics from the Bichon Trial—none of Belle; so here’s a pic from another event; she was the last to run; photographer probably didn’t want to wait around for last dog. It was a Novice JWW and a little more curvy than Belle is use to; she did well; Qd, no faults, enthusiastic, a few sec over time. The judge in the ring followed us out 'she is just darn cute.' was his comment. Another, judge, there for observation, made a point to come up to us after the run. 'Just wanted to let you know, no faults, Q; she did well.' This judge at another trial commented on the girls, their runs, my handling, their grooming [and] said 'Hang in there for speed, it will come.' It’s not often a judge corners out a novice dog. So once again, thank you for my Belle; she is an gem to my household."

Joe Dobkin, who owns Kimmi's sister Abby, shared this episode about Abby on his Facebook page, "Well, I got my cardio in early today! Today was Abby's Heartguard day...She ran when I was about to give her the medicated chew. We ran up and down staircases, under beds, tables, chairs, in closets, and around curios. Then she vanished without a trace or a sound. Hmmm... I thought, as I eagerly looked and called out for her. There was only one place left to check, as you see in the movies or television—the shower. Yep, she was hiding in the shower—all hunkered down and having pulled the curtain closed so as to not reveal her furry self. I said: "Gotcha'!" She then popped out, devoured the Heartguard in my hand (which she had previously loved) and proceeded to smother me with 1000 sweet kisses- sneaking in a little tooth here and there-as only Abby can. Sneaky Doggy!"

Ted and Eve Polish wrote to me on the occasion of Lucky's 5th birthday to say, "Well time sure flies by. Lucky and his buddies celebrated his 5th Birthday last week. Nothing has changed in 5 years. He plays all day long at the dog day care centre while some of the other dogs have a rest in the afternoon. He comes home and doesn’t stop until bed time. Always full of energy. Eve went to New York for a week with 10 of her friends and I walked Lucky every morning and evening. Our neighbours were shocked as Ev is the walker. I took a lot of ribbing but it's always good for a couple of laughs. Lucky is a chewer and we are starting to realize which toy to buy and which one not to buy. His record of destruction for a new toy is 10 minutes or in dollars $16.09 plus tax. We still have the purple bottle bunny and he still plays with it. It is the only one to have survived for 5 years."

(I will add here that Ted is not the first puppy buyer to tell me that his Lhasa still has the toy that I sent home with them. Judy Laffoon told me that Raven still cherishes the blanket and big stuffed bone pillow I sent home with her. Others have said the same. I'm sure that others of the puppies no longer still have or love the toy they left here with, but still, it is interesting...)

Here is a photo of Kim and Snickers taken on Kim's birthday. Kim wrote that Snickers thought the cake was for him!

Denise wrote about her puppy Duncan, "Just a couple of cute photos of Duncan just back from the groomers. I make sure they don't cut his lashes. I love reading your blog and keeping up with your news on new and past pups!! So many look similar to our Duncan! He is such a looker and he certainly knows it. Hope all is well and you enjoy your summer."

Kathy wrote about Sophie: "It was good to see Greta’s championship photo in your last blog! Sophie is very proud of her sister! We just returned from a trip to St. George Island, Florida, a very pet-friendly destination in the Florida Panhandle. While Sophie would rather be home than traveling, she did enjoy her visits to the beach, so she could roll around in “who-knows-what”! Here is another picture of her, patiently waiting to get back home."