Lhasa Apso Blog: The End of September? Already?!

"Try to remember the kind of September
When life was slow and oh, so mellow.
Try to remember the kind of September
When grass was green and grain so yellow....
Deep in December it's nice to remember
The fire of September that made you mellow..."

~ Harvey Schmidt / Tom Jones

I know some of you have been checking this blog all week, waiting for updates and new photos. I left for Nebraska last Wednesday to spend some time with family and to help my mom celebrate her 85th birthday. It was quite a week. I returned home late Monday night and have been playing catch-up both at the office and at home ever since.

I still don't have all the laundry done!

But the time spent with Mom and other family members was well worth the long drive. During it I did indeed see many fields of Iowa and Nebraska corn and soybeans looking ripe and nearly ready for harvest.

My daughter and her boys flew to Nebraska for the birthday celebration, and it was a joy to be with them, especially coming so soon after the Hurricane Irma scare. In addition to visiting Mom, we traveled to David City, NE, where we lived before we moved to Illinois, and visited my dear friend, who is also my daughter's godmother. At that point, I was gifted with a pair of socks (see below...no more explanation needed!)

A few of the puppies have left for their new homes; a few more are leaving this coming weekend.

Here are some quick photos taken this AM when none of us (me, my husband, and all the puppies) really felt like participating in a photo session!

Josh x Shadow Puppies - 10 weeks

Finn

Grady

Rafe x Kimmi Puppies - 9 weeks

Penny

Copper

Hunter

Miles

Winslow x Luna Puppies - 7 weeks

Bekka

Chase

Dottie

Griffin

Linc

The American Lhasa Apso Club National Specialty Week is fast approaching. I know it will be time to pack and leave before I am ready to do that!

Some of you unfamiliar with dog showing may be wondering what a national specialty is, so I'm including an excerpt from an AKC article explaining a specialty show. You may well ask why I just did not write an explanation myself. I would respond that I am too tired right now to re-invent the wheel!

From AKC’s article "What’s 'Special' About Specialities?" by Arliss Paddock:

"Whether you’re a prospective owner researching a breed or an experienced breeder, handler, or judge involved in that breed for decades, there is no better place to learn than the breed's national specialty show -- or, simply, "the national." Usually held annually by the breed’s national parent club, the national is more than just a dog show; it’s where dedicated fans of the breed meet together year after year, sharing their knowledge and passion and bringing their best dogs to compete against excellent specimens of the breed from other parts of the country…As with any dog show, the point of the conformation classes is determination of the best breeding stock to continue the breed — and this point is taken nowhere more seriously than at the national. The national offers a look at the state of the breed and where it’s going…But the beauty of the national goes beyond the glory of winning, whether hoped-for or achieved. To a dedicated fan of the breed, nothing matches the experience of seeing a ringful of those dogs that are so pleasing to your eye, wonderfully presented at their best and gathered together in a number that you don’t see anywhere else during the year. If you love that breed, it’s positively heart-stirring…"

Our Lhasa Apso National Specialty week is in St Louis from October 16 through October 19. The theme is "Rolling Down the River."

Although the heading says "Tentative Schedule," what is listed here is what will happen each day. The exact times are missing for most of the events; however, the conformation judging has generally begun at 10:00 AM. The Breeder Education Panel Discussion on Thursday has been re-named "Hot Topics" and the topics to be discussed are locations for future National Specialties and the Breed Standard Committee's work thus far on making revisions to the Standard.

I'll close today with a photo of Josh that just arrived. It was taken of his Group 4 placement at the show in the Amana colonies at the beginning of the month. Sadly, the photo of his Group 3 placement also that week did not turn out well. One would think a professional photographer would have a good eye for whether a dog is stacked up and looking good enough for a picture. Then again, why should she care? Good photo or not, she still gets paid for taking it. (Jan, where were you when I needed you? LOL!!)