There and Back Again is the subtitle to The Hobbit, a book that, along with the Lord of the Rings trilogy, has the theme of friendship at its heart.
"A friend should be one in whose understanding and virtue we can equally confide, and whose opinion we can value at once for its justness and its sincerity." ~ Robert Hall
And so I write today about friendship and a trek five of us undertook to get to MA and the ALAC National!
LaVonne, Karen, Sue, Jan and I loaded all of our "stuff" into Jan's RV and left for MA on 10/15. I drove to Jan's in WI the day before so I wouldn't have to leave here so early in the morning to make the 6 hour trek to her house on the 15th.
Here is a photo of all the things (except the dog) that I took with me. The others had dogs also (5 total) and an equal (maybe more?) amount of "stuff."
Somehow we managed to get it all packed and we set off!
(Now, what follows might be as interesting as looking at another person's vacation photos. Sorry about that! I tried to keep it brief.)
Of course, we saw a lot of interstate between WI and MA! Everyone talks about the fall colors in the northeast, but we saw many beautiful leaf colors as we traveled through the midwest and into the northeast. Here is one photo I took in upstate NY.
We were running ahead of schedule so decided to visit Niagara Falls. The day was overcast, misty, and chilly. We were glad for our gloves and jackets.
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| Karen, LaVonne, Sue, Me (Jan took the picture) |
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| The 5 of us at the Falls: LaVonne, Jan, Me, Sue, Karen |
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| This is not even a black and white photo. It was a dreary day! |
Finally, here is a video of the Falls in action.
Once we arrived in Boxborough, we were glad to be there, glad to get unloaded and settled in our hotel rooms, and glad to see so many friends from across the country who also had come to MA to show their Lhasas at the various events during the week. Since we were unable, due to COVID restrictions, to have a National Specialty in 2020, it was especially good for so many of us to be together again.
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| Me, LaVonne, Karen, Teena and her husband |
My long-time friend Marsha, who lives in ND, and I have been roommates at the various ALAC Nationals since 2000. Since we missed last year and since Marsha said this was probably her last National, this stay together was bittersweet.
Rusty Makes Me Proud (Yes, I am bragging!)
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| Rusty waiting on the grooming table |
1) MLAC Sweepstakes - First in his class, Best Puppy in Sweeps, Best in Sweeps.
2) MLAC Specialty - Second place in his class
3) ALAC Regional Specialty - Fourth in his class (well, that was disappointing!)
4) SSLAC Match Show - First in his class, Best Puppy in Match
5) ALAC National Specialty - First in his class, Reserve Winners Dog (because there were double the amount of dogs needed for a 5 point major, getting Reserve meant that Rusty also was awarded a 3 point major. He now needs only one point to finish his championship.)
Of course, we had official photos taken of his wins but they have not yet arrived from the photographer. I will post them after they arrive.
In the meantime, here is an informal photo taken of the National's judge, Mr. Steve Campbell, Rusty, and me after Rusty was awarded Best Puppy in the show.
I also enjoyed seeing Beethoven (GCH CH Joyslyn's Beethoven's Fifth West) in person. I last saw him when he was just 6 months old. He is as lovely as his photos! I was also glad to see his owner Gwen again. She and I attended Beethoven's first shows together, with him coming away with 4 points at age 6 months.
It was good to see his handler, Sue Cannimore, also. Sue showed and finished my girls Greta and Winter.
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| Beethoven in the ring with his handler Sue Cannimore |
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| Beethoven received an Award of Merit |
All in all, it was a great trip, a great time to be with friends new and old, and a great pleasure to see so many beautiful Lhasas from across the country.
A special thanks to Kathleen W., a reader of this blog who lives near Boxborough and who, along with her husband, came to meet me and to watch the judging.
She later wrote, "It was very nice to meet you and Rusty! Thank you so much for your kindness and for sharing your knowledge. We learned so much and had a wonderful time. It was such a delight to see so many Lhasas! It has been hard to be without one in our household, so it was such a treat to see them."
Bobbie Wood live streamed the various events during National Week and posted to FB so interested persons could view what was going on.
Use this link to watch the ALAC National week judging, starting Tuesday. Rusty's part starts about 6:10 on the time bar. We are at the front of the lineup. I am wearing a turquoise jacket.
Puppy Photos
All of the Misti and all of the Onyx puppies, except one, have left for new homes. The remaining Onyx puppy, Pearl, is one we plan to keep. She has been a little minx since Josie left -- carrying on and fussing through the night (ugh). She is already spoiled!
Bekka and Josh puppies are now almost 5 weeks old. They don't miss a meal!
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| Black male that looks a lot like his older brothers, Gus and Ty |
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| Gold female |
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| Gold male that we might decide to keep (or not) |
Many of you reading this are on our waiting list for a puppy. I need to let you know that we have breedings planned for 2022 but that the girls are not even due to come in season until late January and February. That means that even if the breedings result in pregnancies, it will be roughly 2 months before puppies are born and another 9-10 weeks before I let them leave. If you find a puppy from another breeder, please email me and ask to be removed from my list. I know that waiting is hard when you want a puppy and cannot blame anyone for shopping around. Just please be careful and buy your puppy from a reputable breeder. Here is a link to an article that may be helpful as you look around.
I truly wish I could snap my fingers so that everyone who wants a Joyslyn puppy can have one.
Notes and Photos From Others
Ty has an instagram page! Nanda wrote, "His name is Ty and he's a real-life teddy bear! Ty teddies company should hire us! They are missing out! Follow Ty at titancares0320 on Instagram. I'm totally imitating big brother Gus who has his own social media."
From Maryann, “Just catching you up on Minako. She is learning the lead quite well. Her tail goes down being a shy at new areas, but she is going almost everyplace with me to get use to society. We are working on the stack. She is doing better at that. Minako certainly has a mind of her own. Lol She sleeps with me and as I had mentioned, her routine is to stack at bedtime, morning and in different environments. Dechen and all took to her immediately as their family. All are taught words such as kiss kiss and be nice. Dechen has been the mentor of the Lhasa to show her the lead, staying beside me, etc. I have a coupler so I use that to encourage the ways of an adult. I then had her do it herself so we have that nearly down.”
From Debbie: "Five and half months. She poses when I say “cheese”! And sits still when I tell her “be a lady”! Such a joy in my life! Thanks"
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| Sparkles |
From Debi about Lacey: "I Just wanted to let you know how Lacey is doing. She is adjusting to her new surroundings very well. She is such a good girl and happy girl. I thought she might cry most of the night, but she did not. She was very content. We had a night light on for her and a radio playing like you had suggested...She loves the turtle and chicken toys you had given her and loves balls. She has a plush soccer ball that is bigger than her head, but she likes to push it with her paws, pounce on it and run around with it in her little teeth.Then she takes her little naps and lets us know when she would like to play again, lol. I think we have laughed more in one day than the last year. We are enjoying her so much! She doesn't seem to be bothered by new noises. She is very curious though...Thank you so much, I will update you again soon."
In a later note she wrote, "Her first encounter with grass was comical, I wish I got it on video. She didn't like the feel of the grass so she tried to hold up every body part she could so it didn't touch the grass while looking up at me with a sad face, so I had to save her. LOL. Now she just wants to eat the grass."
Kathleen H wrote about Pixie: "She certainly is a very busy girl! Loving, curious and teething! Will send pictures when I get more time."
Ginny sent photos and wrote about Maple: "Thank you, she is a dandy! Smart, curious, and loves to snuggle. She has a swagger now when she explores the house and the two Lhasa’s are working on their relationship.😂Maple is a true gem and we are very fortunate🧡 "
Jessie wrote about her Sam, "He has been a great puppy, we are so in love with him!"
Mary R wrote, "...Rusty sure is handsome..I don't see many deep reds anymore. My Taz had that color as a puppy....but I trimmed him down so his color diluted fast. Pic below....they are wanting bedtime snack/meal.....and as you can probably tell... Belle's favorite meal. And Rafe...his sloth in tow..kind of his thing..he has 2....if one needs to be washed...so he is not without. Moka is tired but she won't turn down the snack."
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| Left: Moka, Center: Belle. Right: Rafe |
Judy L posted on my FB page: "...it is Whisper and Raven's 11th Birthday!!!Two very special, loving, feisty, and rambunctious Lhasa Apsos. I love both of them so very much. A huge shout out to Joyce Johanson, who is currently attending the Lhasa Apso National Specialty this week, for her preservation breeding, for the reputable and responsible Breeder that she is, and for allowing me to share my life with these two crazy girls. Well, AND their Great-Nephew/Grandson, Gusto Spitz!! I'm still patiently waiting for Bekka (Gusto Spiitz' mom) to join us, hopefully at the end of 2022. .Anything worth having is worth waiting for. Right? I waited for Raven until she was 4-1/2 y/o so she could be Whisper's companion. I called "dibs" on Bekka 3+ years ago, knowing I would have a wait. I had NO clue that there would be a Gusto Spitz - he is now 2-1/2 years old. I guess Bekka decided that I needed Gus to keep me company until she could get here. Thanks, Bekka! Thank you again, Joyce Johanson. I love The Munchkins so very much."
Jill wrote about Breaker, GCH CH Joyslyn's Heart Breaker, whom she adopted from at an older age (13). "Breaker is so much fun, he fetches his toys like Cruiser. Loves my soft blanket so I put it in his crate. Life is so much better now! When he walks he acts like he is showing himself. Everybody looks at him and says how beautiful he is. I tell them he is a GCH CH. So proud of him and feel very privileged to have him."
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| Breaker, age 13 -- 8/21 |
I just wanted you to know that you should not be afraid to buy a healthy older Lhasa from a reputable breeder. As a whole, the breed is long-lived and healthy.
Book Recommendations
I am an avid reader and especially enjoy mysteries. A few months ago when browsing the stacks in our local library, I ran across a series by Spencer Quinn and eventually read all the books in the series. The latest, #12, is It's a Wonderful Woof. The interesting thing about this series, whose main characters are a private eye (Bernie) and his dog (Chet), is that Chet is the narrator! The books are quick to read and rather humorous as Chet tries to make sense of what is happening.
And I would be remiss -- and a terrible wife -- if I made a book recommendation and failed to include my own husband's mysteries. Two books have been published and are available from Amazon. Look the Rose's Thorn and Havana Brown by Lynn-Steven Johanson. The third book is at the publisher for edits and will be out in the Spring of '22.
Thanks to all who sent notes and photos to share and to all who are reading this blog regularly.
Until next time!
Joyce
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| GCHB CH Joyslyn MLS Dakota Wind Breaker (Josh) He is a Breaker son. |
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