The Rose City Gathering of the 4-Legged and the 2-Legged

There I was: 2 for 2. Two blogs entries on the first two days of 2011.

Now, several weeks later, comes number 3. The "two for two" was clearly a fluke and I knew that at the time. I was on vacation and had time to write. Getting back to work after the holiday break brought the pace back to reality. Dogs, laundry, housecleaning, work, dogs, work, laundry, take-out-the-garbage, clean the dog runs, work, laundry. (It seems like I do a lot of laundry, doesn't it? Probably not, but I just hate laundry so I think I fixate on it.)

Wait.....hold that thought: A certain 5 month old Elkhound (Aksel) has just popped his head up beside me and is literally tapping a paw on my shoulder which means, "Hey! Let me outside....or else!" I don't want to clean up "or else" so I'll be back.......

Crisis averted.

Where was I? Life has been very busy for these first weeks of January. I'm always amazed at how maybe only 3 weeks have gone by, yet the holidays seem like they happened months ago. We, meaning Espen and Aksel, were out of town last weekend at a dog show in Puyallup, Washington. Espen got a nice win for more points up there, and Aksel learned that riding a hotel elevator is really fun. Well, he probably wouldn't say "really" but he handled it pretty well. He still needs to work on not bailing out the moment the door opens.

Then tomorrow kicks off the big 4-day "Rose City Classic" in Portland. Being on the Show Committee and President of our kennel club, I can't show my dogs due to interaction with the judges, but it's still an incredibly fun weekend. But then being around nearly 3,000 dogs just does that to me.

I always encourage people to go to this show, saying if you only hit one a year, this is the one to see. At the same time, I caution them that this show is NOT how most shows are. You could say this show has a lot of "glitz." It's in a beautiful building, with beautiful lighting that I say makes all of us, dogs and humans, look really good.

There are tons of rings, great vendors, a gigantic grooming area, and it's put together in a really classy way. It might lull you into thinking when we go off to dog shows it's always this way. Actually, there are many more shows where we're in old barns and buildings at an old fairgrounds, grooming in stalls where we might be standing in the mud, and we lift the dogs in and out so they don't get dirty after we groom them, and using restroom stalls that, rather than a lock, have a nail tied to an old piece of string that you push into a hole to keep the door shut (yes, that really happened.) That's the other side of things. 

Frankly, none of that bothers us, as you go where you have to go to find the points for the dog to win. But, I think we can all agree we appreciate shows like Rose City when they come along. Not only that, but we get to see some of the top dogs in the country who travel here to compete in this show. It's a big deal to win Best In Show here, so the "big guns" come in from all over, and we get to see the top handlers and some of the top dogs, which is fun in and of itself. You read about these dogs in the dog show publications, see their pictures, see their names in the national rankings, and this is a weekend when we get the chance to see them in person.

I always enjoy seeing the reaction someone has the first time they go to a dog show. Frequently it's, "I've never seen such beautiful dogs in my whole life!" To be honest, we who do this all the time often forget this. We're used to seeing them, but when somebody says that, it often does make us stop and really look at them. I always love it when David Frei, the longtime announcer of the Westminster Kennel Club Show, says during the broadcast, "and remember that even though these are beautiful dogs, they're still real dogs and somebody's pet, that drinks out of the toilet, sleeps on the bed, and steals food off the counter." It's all true.

I also love the fact that at a dog show, you have amateurs, meaning "Owner-Handlers" in the ring right beside the professional handlers, and the amateur handler can still win. Sure, the amateur has to work at it, and polish their skills as a handler, but it's completely possible. The pros will always say, "The one thing I can't duplicate is that relationship between the owner and their dog." That's where the owner-handler can have the advantage if they work at it. Those are the special moments that are great to witness.

But there are many of those moments at dog shows. Call me a big mush, which I am, but I don't think we ever get through the 4 days without getting teary-eyed over something. One year it was actually a bit funny only in how much it impacted many of the men who were watching. Our kennel club had raised money to buy more bullet-proof vests for the local police dogs. We had a special presentation for the dogs and the officers who are their handlers and their families were there as well. It took no time for all of us at ringside to get teary-eyed and many of the guys in our club were wiping their eyes. We all actually started laughing at each other for our blubbering, and one of the guys said, "Damn it! I swore I wasn't going to do this!"

There can be tears over a new Champion who might be the son or daughter of a dog who has just passed on. It can be that moment when an owner-handler who bred the dog gets a big win in the Group ring and they drop to their knees and hug the dog.

Sometimes it's actually nothing big, but you'll just be watching at ringside and you'll see this moment when the dog stops and stares up in the face of its' owner and the owner looks back at the dog and there's just that.....something....and you recognize it in their eyes and suddenly you feel that lump in your throat. Or it's that happy puppy who is at his first dog show, clueless as to what he's supposed to do, but he's in there with such joy, that you can't help but smile. Maybe it's hard to explain if you haven't directly felt it, but I'll wager anybody can understand it if they understand that special connection between humans and dogs.

Of course, we more than balance things out with lots of laughs, goofing around, ringside analysis of dog show fashion, and long discussions over when the best time is to make the daily visit to the ice cream vendor.

It will be a great 4 days with our 4-legged and 2-legged friends.

More when we return.