Our First Show of 2018

For being such a short month, February sure packs a big punch as far as holidays and celebrations are concerned. Today, for example, Illinois takes a state holiday to honor Abraham Lincoln's birthday because, you know...Lincoln and Illinois. He gets his own holiday here.

I returned last night from a four-day show in Indianapolis. I had not gone to that show for at least 10 years, mostly because none of my Lhasa friends ever enter there and there is no sense in going by myself. However, I really enjoyed the venue and now want to add it to my list of shows to attend. I entered Bekka and Jenna. Bekka turned 6 months old the day before the show started, as did her brother, Beethoven, who is owned by Gwen West.

Gwen is new to showing and I was pleased to mentor her through the four days. Indy was a good place to meet since she lives in Indiana and the drive is not to far for me. She and Beethoven did very well at their first shows together. With only the three Lhasa entered, all of my breeding, the pressure was off. Well...it was off for all of us except Jenna. I hoped and yes —I admit—I prayed— that Jenna would win at least twice and thus come home a champion. That did not happen. 

Jenna hates to show, and even though she won one day and now has only one point to go to become a champion, I just can't see continuing to show her. She doesn't want to be in the ring. She is so scared that she trembles hard enough to make her ringside table shake. She won't put her tail up in the ring, which makes her look very ugly. I recall some lines from "The Gambler:" "You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em..."  I think Jenna has been trying to tell me to "fold 'em" for a long time now and I just have not wanted to listen. A championship means nothing to the dogs. It is we who love them who want them to get the title. Some dogs bask in the fun and challenges of the show ring. They love to show themselves off and strut their stuff in the ring. They seem to thrive on the noise and high energy emotions that surround the show ring. That does not describe Jenna. Quitting is not something I do frequently, but I think it might be best in this situation.

Bekka seems to thrive in the ring. She had a great time. Naturally, her upbeat attitude and showmanship caused the judges to appreciate her more than they did Jenna, so Bekka came home with her first 3 points. 

Beethoven and Gwen went home with 4 points and many many ribbons. He got Best of Winners for the crossover points each day and, since there were no specials, he also got Best of Breed. As a result he was awarded Best Owner-Handled for the three days the clubs had that competition, and Best Puppy on the one day the clubs had that competition. (Jenna took Best Bred By on one day but I did not show her in that group competition. I was not going to press my luck.) Before we left, Gwen had a photo taken of Beethoven with all his ribbons and plaques showing his various awards. I'll post it once she gets it from the photographer and sends me a copy.

So that's the news about shows. Our next ones will be in March.

I heard from Janice and Gigi. They sent a photo of Cinder with her “Wabbit” writing, "She loves that thing, which is almost as big as she is, and drags it with her from room to room."

Marilyn wrote that her husband had knee replacement and the dogs (Maci and Hunter) are helping him recover. Her friend Kathy said that his “medical team” is right on top of things!  The photo showed both dogs on top of Dennis as he lay on the sofa. Kathy had emailed previously that her Lhasa, Sophie, was a very good nursemaid for her while she recovered from a surgery. She also sent a photo showing Nurse Sophie at work!

Jennifer sent a lot of cute photos of Grace. I chose a couple to show you. Jennifer wrote, "Hi, it's been awhile since I have sent you an update on Grace. She is  doing great. She is funny and bouncy and very very stubborn. Who does she get that from? She still loves her kitty and can't understand why all kittys don’t like her. We were in NY and QB with all the snow and she loved it... My life would be empty without her, I love her so much. She is doing really well with my roommate, she is the one who babysits when I have to go out, Grace loves going over there. She is a happy little dog...It is hard to get good pictures of a black puppy who is never still, but I try. These were taken when my son Cody came over, Grace LOVES him, he was playing with her in the back yard…She is jumping at a cat toy on a fishing pole."

From Lori:  "Finn got fixed…and he wasn't even broken, ha-ha! (Like you never heard that one.) He had surgery less than 24 hours ago and he's already back to playing with Emma. It hasn't slowed him down one bit." The next day she wrote: "BTW, Houdini managed to get out of his onesie during the night. When I woke up, he was buck naked and the onesie was lying in the middle of the bed...still snapped! How did he do it???"

Finn in his onesie, which he removed during the night!

With Valentine's Day drawing near, I want to remind you of all the unconditional love that our Lhasas give us through the year and to again say:
Life is better when you have a Lhasa to love you! 

Lhasa love to you all,
 










Joyce