Lhasa Apso Blog: August!!

Yes, it is August! And again I am surprised at how quickly the days and weeks go by! I have a lot to share today so grab a drink and a snack and prepare to read.
Since our beloved Lhasas come from Tibet, I thought I'd begin with some advice from the Dalai Lama.

My July has been busy. The Archie and Winter puppies left for their new homes. It was great to meet their new owners after having been in touch via email for so many weeks. Some have sent photos and we'll get to them later.

Speaking of puppies, we are expecting Archie and Misti puppies any day now.

Archie

Misti

Show Results: I Get By With

A LOT of Help From My Friends

Three July weekends were busy with shows, and you need to know that for any show weekend, it is not just the weekend that takes time. At least one day before the show is taken up by preparations (grooming, bathing, drying, packing) and at least one day after is taken up with unpacking, doing laundry, and reorganizing.

Our first show of the month was at West Bend, WI over the July 4 weekend. Rusty showed well and earned Reserve Winners Dog on Saturday. Millie won Best Opposite Sex both days. Emmy did not like being in the ring by herself on Saturday so showed with tail down until she had to go back in the ring for Winners. On Sunday, she showed well enough to take Winners Bitch for a 4 point major. Here is her winning photo. Thanks to Jan Graunke for helping with the photo!

Our second July show weekend was in Marshfield, WI. Again, Rusty showed well and won his class one day, but did not take Winners Dog for any points. Millie took Best Opposite Sex both days. Emmy was awarded Winners Bitch both days, earning 2 more points toward her championship.

I have great friends and want to say that I highly value each of them, in particular Jan Graunke and LaVonne Bennett who also show Lhasas, and Jane Chapin and Pam & Leah Crowley who show Shiba Inu. They all pitch in and help hold my dogs at ringside while I am in the ring with another dog. They help me with picture taking, Provide moral support, and take my dogs into the ring if two of them happen to win since, of course, I can show only one at a time!

At the Marshfield show, Jan and LaVonne went over and above for me. My car died! I was 6.5 hours from home! The tow truck guy (who was one of the nicest people I have ever met) told me he thought there was a problem with the fuel pump (he was right) but it was too late to tow the car to the Ford dealership for service since they were closed on Saturday afternoon. He said he would get the car towed first thing Monday morning.

Stranded!!!

Okay...so how am I and my three Lhasas going to get home? I was more concerned about the dogs than I was about myself. I could stay in a hotel and take a shuttle service to get around, but what to do with the dogs? How serious was the car's problem? Would the garage have time to fix it on Monday? Would they have the part or have to order it? How long would I have to stay in a hotel in Marshfield, WI? Would a rental car be available to get me home? They are hard to come by nowadays. I admit to being beside myself with worry.

That is when Jan and LaVonne volunteered to help. Jan took all my show equipment home with her since we had another show the following weekend, and I could get it from her then. LaVonne took my dogs home with her since she lived on the route I would take to drive home if I was able to get home on Monday, and if I had to stay longer, my husband could meet her 1/2 way on the road to get our dogs.

That was the plan and it worked! LaVonne dropped a sad, worried (and grateful) me off at a hotel where I spent Sunday night. The next day, I took the shuttle to the Ford dealership and waited to learn the fate of my car. A fuel module that had to be replaced. Fortunately, the head of the service department took pity on me and allowed a mechanic to stop work on one car and move mine up in line. (Again, nice people -- they really do exist!!) I was on the road again that afternoon and was able to pick up the dogs from LaVonne and be on my way back to Illinois. I was so glad to be home again.

I am extremely grateful to both Jan and LaVonne for their help and concern and for all their other kindnesses, help, and friendship over the years.

The following weekend, I drove to Waukesha, WI for another 2 days of showing. Rusty took Reserve Winners Dog on Saturday and Winners Dog on Sunday for his first points - a 3 point major. (FYI - a dog has to earn 15 points to be a champion, but 2 of the wins have to be major wins of 3, 4, or 5 points).

Emmy earned 2 points on Saturday and a 3 point major on Sunday by taking Best of Winners. She now has both her majors and a few single points and just needs 3 points to finish her championship. Not bad for being only 9 months old!

Here are photos of Rusty (7 months) and Emmy (9 months) with the ribbons they earned in Waukesha.

Emmy

Rusty

To help you understand a bit about dog show judging, here is an explanation from AKC. (I think if you click the photo you might be taken to an enlargement so you can better read it.)

Retirement!

Once I was back at home in Macomb, I spent my last few days as the Director of the Center for Best Practices in Early Childhood Education at Western Illinois University. I worked at the Center for 32 years, semi-retired at the end of 2015, and now am fully and officially retired. It was a great 32 years!

My staff gave me a wonderful send off with some gag gifts and some touching, serious gifts, and with both funny stories and touching stories of days gone by. We laughed a lot, and I and a few others also shed some tears.

The Center has a great staff--a family really--and it has been my pleasure to be their "boss" for so many years. (Note the tiara they gave me to wear!)

I have been officially retired for only 4 days now and have been so busy at home that I haven't had a chance to enjoy retirement yet. We have 2 puppies who are not thriving and whose food needs to be supplemented at regular intervals. Lynn and I are sharing that job. He is a great help with the dogs and puppies.

At the Waukesha show, Jan, LaVonne, and Mike held a combination retirement and early birthday celebration for me. The chocolate cake was beautiful and delicious. I'd post a photo but we ate it before we thought of getting a photo. Thanks to Cynthia, Mike's wife, for taking the photo of the four of us.

A Shameless Promo!

If you have not already read Rose's Thorn and Havana Brown, two novels authored by my husband, Lynn-Steven Johanson, I want to encourage you to do so, but only if you enjoy reading well-written detective mysteries! Both are available from Amazon and both have received great reviews. Lynn is currently working on the third novel in the series, and it is due for publication in the spring of 2022.

Here are excerpts from a review of Rose's Thorn:

"Rose's Thorn is a wonderfully suspenseful and creative murder mystery. The plot centers around everyone's worst nightmare: a seemingly quiet town turned into a hunting ground for a dangerous predator...
Rose's Thorn is fantastically woven with twists and turns that keep the reader guessing and on the edge of their seat. Each character is introduced in an artful and believable manner...The action scenes as well are very compelling; it comes quickly and with heart-pounding intensity...The characters are realistic and most are likable and relatable which makes the story that much more enjoyable...
Rose's Thorn is a riveting crime fiction that lures you in with a seemingly simple yet complex murder mystery and delivers an absorbing investigation for those that love police procedurals. I loved the plot, the characters (especially the strong female co-lead, Destiny), and the twists and turns. Author Lynn-Steven Johanson has written a thriller that anyone, teenage and up, could enjoy at any time. Just be sure to lock the door!" - Literary Titan

Notes and Photos from Others

Since it has been so long since I have posted, I have a lot of notes and photos to share. Here goes...

This is a recent Facebook photo of Ch. Joyslyn's Beethoven's Fifth West at a show. Beethoven is owned by Gwen West and shown by handler Sue Cannimore. Beethoven is a litter brother to our champions Chance, Bekka, and Gabby, and an uncle to our Millie. I am so proud of them all!

Beethoven with Sue

This photo was sent by Violet. This is Shadow, another litter brother of Chance, Bekka, Gabby, and Beethoven.

From Lynn and Robert on the occasion of Amie's birthday: "Hi, Joyce! The Divine Miss A had a beautiful day on Monday. The clouds were the most spectacular ever here in New Mexico. SHE grows more & more beautiful & loving each day of her life! We are so truly blessed to have this lovely little angel in our lives. Thank you so much for being an awesome breeder!"

From Debbie about Sparkles: "She is a doll. She charmed our Vet and his entire staff. What a smoocher. And Ricky, our male Lhasa from Orlane, melted and is letting her bother him. She also likes to hang out with the POM. I brushed her on my lap and she was okay with it. She is crate trained overnight and will go in the morning on the peepad or outside. She IS a pro at car rides.Thank you again for letting me take her home. She is precious."

Later Debbie wrote, "Sparkles is having a blast with our us and grandsons at our beach house...Here is a picture of her playing Mario Brothers with our six yr old grandson. At 630AM! She is a wonderful dog. So mellow. Such a cuddler."

From Sally about Jaxon and Ginger: "Jaxon is adorable and he is winning Ginger over little by little. Sometimes on our walks he runs up and licks her face. Meanwhile he’s a busy little tyke and we’re having fun. He even liked the beach and the water!...He has been REALLY good- not one accident in the house but we do go out a lot. He sleeps all night in his kennel- no fussing... Ginger is slow to warm as I figured but she isn’t mean - more indifference."

From Melanie: "Harper is doing great. She is keeping us busy. She loves playing with her toys. I got her some little tennis balls and she will chase the ball if I throw it and even bring it back to me. We are working on potty training and she is doing really well. She always goes when we take her out. She knows the way across the patio to get to the door.

We have been taking her for a short walk every day on the leash and she does pretty good. We went to the vet on Tuesday and he said everything looked good. Of course everyone wanted to hold her."

Stacy wrote, "Hi Joyce, Hope you are well.
I was sorry to read about Connor…Here’s a recent photo of Lola and Enzo. As you know, they both have Connor in their line." She sent this photo of Enzo and Lola.

From Kris: "No bath time privacy when Ti is around!"

Mickey wrote, "I am sending a few pictures from Biddy's B-Day. She got a new toy and some ice cream from Zesto's tonight for a treat. She loves to go with Charlie to get ice cream. I can't believe she is 5. She is good. She is bossy with visiting dog relatives, but now they are all getting a bit older and just hang together. We have a few squirrels around the house now and they like to bark at her from the trees and that drives her nuts. She tries real hard to climb and the tree to get them. It is funny. We check out your blog to see the new puppies and see how you are doing at the dog shows. You continue to breed the cutest puppies and you are getting more that look like Biddy. Good Luck and continued success.

Barbara wrote: "Hi Joyce, I know it has been a couple years that you have heard from us. But I wanted you to know that Lovie is wonderful and has turned out to be the most loving little dog. We just absolutely adore her! She is such a mellow little dog (until someone comes to the door haa). She is very scared of thunderstorms and loud booms but we just cuddle her up to us and get her through it. We just celebrated her birthday last night and thought you may like to see some pictures of her. I hope you are doing well and everything is going good with you both. Thanks so much for our Lovie."

Paul, Pam, and Joey stopped by for a visit on their way to MO. Paul later send a photo of Joey (aka Little One) and wrote "Joey is laying on the recliner with his mouse that you gave him as a puppy. He really takes care of him. We call him Mousey. It was great seeing you and Lynn today."

During their visit they told us that everything in their house has a name and Joey knows them all. They also told us about a strange thing Joey does with his water and food. He gets a drink and somehow holds the water in his mouth then goes over to his food bowl, opens his mouth, and puts the water in with the food. Then he eats his food. Evidently when the food is gone he also cleans his own bowl by, again, filling his mouth with water, putting the water in his empty food bowl, then licking up the water until the bowl is clean. Such a character! They don't moisten his food ahead of time because he seems to enjoy doing it himself! His sire is Breaker and dam is Onyx. We named him Joey when he was with us but Paul and Pam call him Little One.

Judy sent photos of her three Joyslyn's Lhasas: Whisper, Raven (litter sisters) and Gus.

Whisper

Raven (L) and Gus (R)

Raven

Gus

I received the sad news from Sally, Dalai's groomer that Dalai passed away. When Dalai's owners passed away, their neighbors took her and cared for her in her old age. Sally told me that they would even take her next door to her first home and sit on the front steps with her (with permission of the new homeowners, of course). Dalai's original owners doted on her and took her wherever they went. Now she is with them again.
Here is a photo of Dalai in her youth, taken on a trip to Branson, MO. This photo was also chosen to appear on a dog calendar "back in the day" and was proudly posted on my office bulletin board until the day I packed my personal "stuff" in anticipation of my retirement.