Muppy went to her new home two days ago. She is a character and they will have their hands full down there in Vancouver, WA. Some of you may someday see her in a conformation ring with her new mom or her very sweet and cute son. I don't think that dad is interested in showing the dog. Sounds as if she may go to the 2018 National Specialty. Mom is a vet and gives talks on genetic diversity. I'm hoping that she will send me some of the literature she reads so that I can better understand what she is doing. She said that she would test Muppy, whose name is now Nibs. (They play cribbage. Can you tell?!!!)
Kathleen and I traveled to Ohio for the 2016 National Specialty July 14th in the middle of the night. We spent the first day finding Wilmington, Ohio and getting health tests on Coug and Myshka, including Doppler ultrasounds. They passed with flying colors. The second day we were there we walked around the ring for Sweepstakes. Coug's brother, Rugby, who lives on Long Island, NY, won first in his 9-12 month old puppy class and then went on to be named BOS to Best Junior puppy in Sweeps. Phil Klosinski had fun showing him. I showed Coug and Myshka. Coug came in second in her 9-12 month bitch puppy class. We were happy as ANYtime one takes a ribbon home from the National Specialty it is something very special. I have been told that since I attended my very first National Specialty. So, we were very happy our second day there. (It is 60 degrees and drizzling here today, as an aside.)
Now, to go back just a little. I almost didn't go to the Specialty. Timing is always essential and I had bred Pip to Rennick two months before the Specialty. I thought that she was going to have the puppy before we left. (That's another story.) For a long time, I thought that the breeding just hadn't taken because she showed no signs of being pregnant. Then, about a week before we left, I started to see nipples enlarging and milk if I squeezed one. OK, maybe she has a puppy in there. X-Ray. Yep, one puppy. Surely it will come any day now. To the vet in Poulsbo. She is fine, no need for a c-section. Just wait. Shoulders in knots. Should I stay home?????? Shoulders in worse knots. Chris Harrington said she'd whelp the litter. I go, but the shoulders were in worse knots. Left poor Chris with all kinds of instructions, books, paraphernalia, etc. She read everything. Had numbers for vets, found friends who would help, etc. So, on the 16th, during the first day of the regular classes, in spite of tight, knotted shoulders, I watched the boys show. Rugby only came in second that day in his 9-12 month class. He was giving Phil K a pretty hard time in the ring. I guess that we should be happy that he even came in second!!!! Then the phone rang. Pip had had her one puppy, no problem, all by herself, and it was a BOY. Eight ounces of boy. Thank goodness Chris didn't have to worry about a 2 ounce baby!!!! Whew!!!! So, seeing that the white spot on his chest looks like a woodpecker, we seem to be calling him "Woody" fairly often. I call him "Fats" a lot too. He is three weeks old today and is growling like a real terrier, is cutting teeth right on time, is getting up on all fours and starting to walk and is producing that famous puppy breath that I love. He is about as fat as any baby BT you'd like to see without being a swimmer. He can and does stand on his four legs! So, yippee, we have a boy. I'm hoping that he is good enough for me to keep, but Anne is hoping against me, that she gets him. He will be perfect in her eyes even if he isn't in mine, she says. I'm rooting for both of us, because I know how much she wants her first dog ever. These singleton litters are for the birds!!! Too many people are disappionted!
So, back to the Specialty. My shoulders relaxed and Coug went in the ring and came out with second place in the Bitch Bred By Class. Seeing that there were 19 or 20 girls in the class, I cannot be at all disappointed. In fact, I'm elated. Star Ott, that wonderful person, took Myshka into the Open Class ring and came out with a 4th place ribbon which, when you see Myshka in any Conformation ring, you will wonder how she gets any placements because you might wonder how the judge even could see her!!! She is wild and I think that Star took pity on me knowing that she could show her to much better end than I could. Whew!!! People love Myshka. She is a SWEET, crazy girl, very animated. Bard, now called Bud, took 4th in the Working dog class, from which BOB dog came. Another ribbon. Dusty and Karla Quinn finished Dusty's SE title one of the first days. Coug's half sister was Winners Bitch. Pretty nice. Marg Pough bred her and she lives with Phil Klosinski.
The next day, after BOB, on the 17th, Elwha took 1st in the Breeders Class. Again I was elated. Myshka made a few cuts, down to the end, in Best Otter Head. I think that there were only seven dogs left in the ring when he chose BOH and she was one of them. Elwha did respectfully at the Nationals!!!!
When we got home, the following weekend, we went to Kent for helping get the tunnels ready for Earthdog and Earthdog practice. That was fun. Doris brought Bryce to me and I put Bryce on a plane to Montana on my way home. He now lives with Rick and Donna Lewis in Superior and may be the luckiest boy in the world. They love him and are trying their darnedest to spoil him! It was love at first sight.
Zinger went to Vancouver, BC to her forever home yesterday. She, Reese, Coug, Pip, and Ellie all have kennel cough. That means we are all quaranteened for two weeks from when the last one clears. Must have picked it up at Earthdog. Can't figure out where else it could have been. I'm hoping that Muppy/Nibs and Woody don't come down with it. Myshka, so far, hasn't shown any signs of getting it. She maybe didn't hold still long enough to let it catch her! The dogs sound awful, but are playing ball as if nothing were happening out of the ordinary, thank goodness.
Tired of this yet? I'll put some pictures of Woody on here if I can get that to work. Couldn't get any to show up. I will be happy when I have my computer back when we get to Hawaii. I can't even back this up to fix some of the typos I see on reviewing this. Rats!!!
The Tired, Old Curmudgeon will sign off....
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